The Department was established in 1985 under the name Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering as one of the three academic departments comprising the School of Production Sciences (renamed later as School of Engineering) of the University of Thessaly. In 2009, the Department was renamed Department of Mechanical Engineering. The first students were admitted to the Department in the academic year 1990-1991, and the first three faculty members were elected in 1992. The coursework is based on a five-year curriculum and the requirement of a “Diploma” Thesis, which upon completion a “Diploma” is awarded (equivalent to an MSc in Engineering). In 1996, the three Divisions of the Department, which are still in operation, were established. They are: (i) Division of Energy, Industrial Processes and Pollution Abatement Technology, (ii) Division of Mechanics, Materials and Manufacturing, and (iii) Division of Production Organization and Industrial Management.
Up until the academic year 2011-2012, the number of Diploma-level students that were admitted to the Department varied around 60 per year. Since the academic year 2012-2013, this number has increased to more than 100. The Department has over 800 alumni until today. The Department’s Diploma program of studies has undergone three major reforms. The main goal of the first reform, implemented in late 1990s, was to improve and bring up to date the curriculum structure and the course contents. The goal of the second reform (carried out between 2003 and 2008) was to bring the teaching methods up to date and to develop a system for monitoring, evaluating and improving the educational process. In the spring of 2009, the first Internal Evaluation Report of the Department was completed, based on the Hellenic Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education standard. A minor reform was implemented after the External Evaluation Report in 2011.
The first PhD degree was awarded in 1997, while the first organized Postgraduate (Post-diploma) Programme of Studies (PPS) was put in operation during the academic year 1998-1999. The programme was initially funded by project funded from the Ministry of Education and today is self-financed. The objective of the PPS is to provide second-level postgraduate studies in several areas of Mechanical Engineering, by offering students the opportunity to take advanced courses and carry out research, leading to a Postgraduate Specialization Diploma (PSD) degree and a PhD degree. Up until today, the Department had awarded more than 354 PSD degrees and 88 PhD degrees.
In 1996, the Department awarded its first honorary PhD degree to Professor John Argyris of the University of Stuttgart, who was among the creators of the Finite Element Method.
Today, the department is a dynamically developing, but also quite mature university department, as it has been operating successfully for 34 years. The department has 20 faculty members, 3 members of Specific laboratory & Education Personnel, 10 members of administrative personnel and 4 technical staff. In addition, a remarkable number of collaborating scientists and PhD candidates work in the Department. The Department is housed in one of the buildings of the former Paparigas factory in the area of Pedion Areos, Volos, which was restored into a contemporary university building. The University of Thessaly has embarked on implementing an ambitious plan for expanding its building installations, which includes the construction of a new building for the Department. The architectural and engineering study of the first phase of the new building, which is expected to be constructed on a university-owned building site in the area of Volos’ Bus Station, has been completed and approved. The new building installations will no doubt facilitate the further development of the educational and research activities of the Department.