The Greek government’s flagship plan to channel €300 million from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility into public universities has unraveled into delays, questionable evaluations, and looming legal disputes. Originally intended to strengthen research capacity—particularly for young scientists—the initiative has instead become one of the most mismanaged funding efforts in recent memory, with three separate programs faltering: Universities of Excellence, Research Excellence Partnerships, and Trust Your Stars.
The Universities of Excellence program, aimed at funding large-scale, high-impact infrastructure like AI labs and advanced medical research facilities, dispersed funds in small amounts across numerous minor projects. Many universities now face difficulties maintaining new equipment due to a lack of trained technical staff, raising fears that much of the costly gear will go unused. Critics argue that the real beneficiaries were private suppliers, not the universities themselves.
The Research Excellence Partnerships scheme, meant to foster collaboration between universities and private companies, faced allegations of sham evaluations. A single Greek reviewer produced near-identical assessments for multiple proposals, praising their quality yet assigning inexplicably low scores. The scoring patterns fueled suspicions of favoritism, with many rejections narrowly missing the passing threshold.
Trust Your Stars, the most contentious program, suffered from unrealistic timelines and an overburdened review process. Launched in April 2024 for 24-month projects, it was bound by EU rules to finish spending by December 2025. A committee of just 12 reviewers was tasked with assessing more than 1,000 proposals—many outside their expertise—in two months. Accusations surfaced that some evaluations were partially AI-generated, with vague feedback, technical mistranslations, and reviewers lacking relevant qualifications.
Prominent scientists, including Professor Georgios Kollias of the Academy of Athens, condemned the process as degrading to Greece’s scientific community. Structural flaws in Greek research funding—chronic underinvestment, overextended timelines, and conflicts of interest—were cited as underlying causes. Experts questioned why the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI), known for its transparent and internationally reviewed funding procedures, was not tasked with managing the process.
The Ministry of Education has announced plans to move Trust Your Stars into Greece’s NSRF program to salvage it, but many academics believe the damage is irreversible. More than 50 leading researchers are preparing legal action against the ministry, potentially setting a precedent for how EU recovery funds are safeguarded across Europe. For Greece’s research community, the collapse of this program has not only wasted a rare funding opportunity but also deepened mistrust in the management of public resources.
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