Purdue enters 3 agreements with European partners to accelerate research and education

The new MOUs with the Greek academic institutions build upon agreements signed in June 2023 with four leading research universities in that country to create vital academic, research and innovation collaborations among the partners and study abroad opportunities for Purdue students.

The partnerships come as Purdue looks to highlight and expand its international influence and leadership in the expanding digital and technology economy. 

“Purdue students and faculty are excited to have these new opportunities for exchange and collaboration with the University of Piraeus, the Technical University of Crete and King’s College London. The continued rise of Purdue’s reputation and visibility internationally will also bring more talent and business to West Lafayette,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said. 

The MOUs with Greece further deepen the relationship to develop joint academic and research programs in critical technology fields, including semiconductors, microelectronics, artificial intelligence and computer science, with an underlying goal to strengthen workforce development. Discussions are ongoing about faculty and staff exchange offerings, research and discovery collaborations, and dual and joint degree programs and academic offerings to further connect a growing list of universities in Greece with Purdue. 

“We are excited to build ‘human bridges’ with like-minded countries, and Greece is a critical one,” said Dimitrios Peroulis, senior vice president for partnerships and online. “Greece is an important gateway to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. We are thankful to the University of Piraeus and the Technical University of Crete for their vision and high-impact proposals.”

While in Greece, Chiang and other Purdue officials met with the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, which focuses on promoting and fostering economic and business relationships between the U.S. and Greece. The partners agreed to build upon an MOU signed in 2023 that intends to lead to workforce development opportunities in Greece. 

“The average Greek student is ambitious and well educated,” Peroulis said. “We look forward to this next partnership so that Purdue can help them propel their careers through advanced degrees, credentials or digital badges. We see this as a big opportunity in this area.”

The MoU with King’s College London, a prestigious research university that placed No. 40 globally in the 2025 QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Rankings, will escalate collaborative research related to semiconductors, microchips and artificial intelligence hardware — all critical building blocks of the Purdue Computes initiative.

Last year the United Kingdom announced a national strategy to expand the semiconductor ecosystem and aims to power more research and international collaboration.

“King’s College London is renowned for its prestigious academic programs, rich history and significant contributions to research and education,” said Vijay Raghunathan, Purdue’s vice president for global partnerships and programs, director of semiconductor education and professor in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “This partnership between King’s and Purdue, America’s leading university for semiconductor workforce development and innovative research, will benefit researchers and students from both institutions and unlock potential to foster academic excellence.” 

In May 2022 the UK signed a memorandum of understanding with the state of Indiana, its first-ever state-level agreement. The MOU created a framework to remove barriers to trade and investment and create opportunities for academic collaboration, which Purdue is delivering through joint research and study-abroad opportunities. 

These collaborations add to the strategy of Purdue’s partnership in Europe, which over the years have included student co-op in Germany, tech companies in Sweden, imec in Belgium, sports organizations in Italy and Switzerland, and academic institutions now in Greece and the U.K.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.