TAP's educational initiatives in Greece

TAP is helping educate the next generation of energy experts, by funding two Master’s degree programmes offered by the (now, unified) University of Western Macedonia. Over a period of five years, TAP will invest €1 million in the initiative via a donation to the Bodossaki Foundation. The amount will be mainly used to subsidise tuition fees for students – up to 90 people per year and per programme.

More specifically, TAP is financially supporting:

• The 4-semester course "Petroleum oil and gas management & transportation," offered by the Department of Business Administration and the Department of Environmental Engineering & Pollution Control, in collaboration with the Azerbaijan State University of Economics.
• And the 3-semester course "Advanced Engineering of Energy Systems," taught at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering. 

Both programmes will be funded for at least 5 years. TAP’s contribution amounts to €100,000 per year for each postgraduate programme.

This SEI project aims at promoting education and scientific research, as well as improving skills and abilities on a constantly developing strategic sector – i.e. energy. Both courses focus on natural gas, as well as the management of other fossil fuels and renewable energy sources. And by covering at least 50% of each student’s tuition fees for both programmes, TAP renders the offered courses more accessible.

The initiative was endorsed by key local stakeholders, including municipal and regional authorities, as well as the University administration.   

In April 2018, TAP announced its support to the Educational and Vocational Programme "Natural Gas Technology."

The programme is implemented in collaboration and with the management support of the Bodossaki Foundation, while the classes are offered by the Kavala branch of the International Hellenic University (former Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Technological Educational Institute).

The course programme is modular, combining theoretical and laboratory training in both introductory and advanced technologies. It aims to create a new generation of specialists, fully trained in the operation and safety of natural gas pipelines.  

The initiative extends over two academic years and is funded in the context of the Social and Environmental Investments programme that TAP is implementing across the route of the pipeline.  

Between May 2016 and March 2017, TAP sponsored an extensive Road Safety Seminars project, attended by more than 25,000 elementary and high-school students from all three Northern Greek regions traversed by the pipeline: Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Central Macedonia and Western Macedonia.

Safety is TAP’s No1 priority and by supporting this project, TAP aimed to promote the vital practice of road safety from an early age.

The Road Safety Seminars programme was organised and implemented by the Hellenic Institute of Transport (ΙΜΕΤ/EKETA). The seminars, addressed to primary and secondary school students, were delivered by IMET expert educators and transportation engineers, with the use of specialised educational material for every age group.

Specifically, the younger children learned about core safety rules, like using the road network as pedestrians, cyclists or passengers, while the teenagers familiarised themselves with the regulations that they should be aware of as future drivers of motor vehicles.