UoC is part of an ecosystem of academic and research institutes active in Crete. Research and research training at all levels benefit from the synergies and collaborations developed over 30 years with the Institutes of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), the University General Hospital (PagNi) as well as the Technical University of Crete (TUC), the Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU), and other institutions in Crete.

The complex web of national and international research partnerships and alliances is primarily the product of bottom-up initiatives by UoC faculty and researchers. The University’s Research Directory, the University’s Research Center for the Humanities, the Social and Education Sciences (UCRC) and the Departments’ websites are the best current maps of AHSS, STEM and interdisciplinary partnerships for research and research training.