the lists for the expenditure per publication per capita as a percentage of GNP, and second (following Ireland) in regard to the amount invested in scientific publications per country (Nature "Top Countries 2011: Scientific Publications"). In terms of promoting innovation, 32 Patents have been granted during the last 3 years on a national, European and international level. Finally, AUTh is currently involved in establishing new infrastructure, setting up technology transfer systems, and creating an Interdisciplinary Research Center, in order to facilitate the selection process, as well as the implementation, placement and financing of research projects. The A.U.TH. Research Committee is a university body which coordinates the research done at the university. It was established in order to satisfy the special needs of research activity and to administer the "Special Account of Research Funds", allocating funding resources to different research programs. Rankings and academic evaluation Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is among the most prestigious universities in Greece. An external evaluation of all academic departments in Greek universities was conducted by the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQA). Despite the university's good reputation within Greece, internationally the university performs poorly on major international rankings.It is currently ranked 650-700th in the latest (2023) QS rankings, and 801-1000th in Times Higher Education. Also the university is placed amongst the universities with the worst graduate employability in the world, being placed in the bottom of graduate employability rankings. Organization and administration The Aristotle University is one of Greece's public universities and therefore it is a legal entity with full self governance. It is primarily state-funded and functions under the supervision of the Greek Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs. Other financial resources for the university are donations from individuals, participation in various EU research programmes and profits generated through management of the university assets. It is important to note that no fees are charged to the students of the university. The university administration consists of departments that make decisions within the framework of Greek law. The main objectives of the administration are to ensure the proper function of the university and to benefit the academic community as a whole. Hierarchy Every Greek public university comprises the faculties and the faculties comprise the schools. A school covers a basic scientific area and thus is considered to be the basic academic unit. Every school is subdivided into departments, which are responsible for the teaching of