The UoI Mediation Office opened in 1996. In 2005-2008 it received funding from the ERDF – European Regional Development Fund (70%) and State Funds (30%) from the Ministry of Development.
In December 2010, it was merged with the UoI Special Research Fund and was relocated to the building that houses the Research Committee.
The purpose of the Office is to:
- Support the utilization of research results that are carried out at the University of Ioannina, in order to help find appropriate modes of utilization, appropriate funding for the selected mode of utilization and advisory support on cooperation agreements or utilization issues;
- Help intensify participation of UoI research groups and individual researchers in projects, by providing support in finding the right project for expressed ideas, finding partners, and providing information about requested partnerships related to the research topic of labs and researchers.
The Mediation Office is divided into two units: the Public Relations and Research Cooperation Promotion Unit and the Research Results Utilization Unit. The first unit is responsible for supporting researchers in intensifying their participation in projects, by creating contacts with local, national and European entities to launch synergies and find partners that meet project-specific criteria. The second unit is responsible for supporting researchers in further utilizing research results that were derived from projects or independent research at the University, by providing advice and assistance at every stage of the utilization process (patent applications, cooperation agreements, etc.).
The Mediation Office uses a number of tools to provide the above services, including:
- A system that constantly records the interests and capabilities of the UoI labs;
- A system to provide information to UoI researchers based on their declared interests;
- A system that constantly records utilizable research results from the UoI labs.