The main Scientific Team
Dimitris Soumpeniotis is Professor of the Department of Organization & Management at the University of Macedonia (UoM) and Director of the University Research Institute of Applied Economics and Social Sciences. He is also a member of the Special Inter-University Interdepartmental Committee (EDDE) of the Inter-University Interdepartmental Postgraduate Program “Organization and Management of Technical Systems” of Democritus University. He is an active researcher and writer with publication on his field.
Nikos Marantzidis is a political scientist and professor at the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies of the University of Macedonia. His main research interests are Communism (political ideology, parties and regimes), political and electoral behavior and the civil wars with emphasis on the Greek Civil War (1943 -1949). He is a book writer and often he writes articles about current affairs.
George Siakas (phD in Comparative politics) holds a Master in International Relations and a bachelor in Accounting and Finance. He joined PORU in 2013 and from 2015 he’s been serving as its Research Director. Previously, from 2007 to 2013 he was employed as a business consultant. He’d also been a member of the Ministry of Competitiveness evaluators registry and participated in the design and implementation of European and other developmental projects.
Panagiotis Paschalidis holds a Ph.D. in Media and Communication (Universite Paris III- Sorbonne Nouvelle). He was a post-doctoral researcher in the department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies of the University of Macedonia (2013-2015) and a visiting professor in the department of Journalism of the Aristotle University (2017). His research interests include the study of media representations of the Balkans in the Greek and international media, the representations of Balkan countries in the Greek media and the coverage of the refugee/migrant crisis in the European and Greek media.
Iordanis Lazoudis is a graduate of the New York Baruch College and holds an MBA from NY Institute of Technology. Since 1999, he has been working as IT consultant in New York, and from 2000 to 2003 as a developer in Goldman Sachs. In 2004, he’s back to Greece and since he has developed significant activity as an IT expert, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the development of cloud services and portfolio management.
Assistants
Maria Zemperidou is a graduate of the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies of the University of Macedonia. She holds a Master of Arts in Global Risks and Analytics from the University of Peloponnese. She serves as an Administrative Assistant in the Public Opinion Research Unit. Ms Zemperidou joined PORU in 2015, and since, she has been involved in the preparation, implementation, and reporting of quantitative and qualitative research projects. From July 2022 and onwards, she participates as a member of the National Centre for Social Research pool of experts, serving as a field supervisor.
Previous Assistants
Within the framework of the first round of scholarships of the Public Opinion Research Unit, three scholars were selected, with responsibility for the administrative and scientific support of the Unit’s work.
Vaso obtained both an undergraduate and postgraduate degree from the University of Macedonia. Her first degree is in the department of Bablic, Slavic and Oriental Studies and her master in International and European Studies.
Maria Armirioti is a graduate of the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia and holds a postgraduate degree in Business Administration of Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki.
Rodolfos Ghegas is a student in the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia.
Eva Statheropoulou is a graduate of the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia and a post-graduate student in Political Analysis in the department of Political Sciences of Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki.
Korina Dimitriadou is a graduate of the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia and, She is also a graduate of the Masters program of “eBusiness & Digital Marketing” in the International Hellenic University.
Field Researchers
In order to carry out its research work, PORU draws its research associates from its Researchers’ Registry.