IKY is one of the few Organizations of the public sector in Greece having been certified with the Quality Management System for its overall activity. This certification was accredited for the quality management system developed and implemented by the State Scholarships Foundation. It is yet another great quality distinction following the recent EFQM Excellence Award by the Greek Management Association.
IKY’s overall activity for planning and implementing its Scholarship programmes led to this certification which refers to all its departments (Directorate of Administration and Financial Management, Directorate for Special Programmes and International Scholarships and Directorate of Scholarships). This was the result of the effort and cooperation made by IKY’s personnel. On October 2014, State Scholarships Foundation/IKY was awarded the European Certification EFQM at the “Committed to Excellence” level. Few months later, IKY earned this new distinction of ISO Certification. IKY received appraising comments, by the inspectors, for the overall operation of the Agency, as well as for its efforts to evolve during these adverse economic and social conditions that prevail at national and international level.
These distinctions, combined with IKY’s Quality Manual, as well as with the International Business Excellence Award «Global Business Excellence Awards in Outstanding HR Initiative» recently received by the National Bank of Greece for the IKY-NBG “2+2” programme, prove IKY’s continuous improvement in quality and the ongoing innovation regarding the Scholarship programmes. The president of IKY, Effie K. Basdra, stated that «The quality system applied by the State Scholarships Foundation aims at the best reorganization of its operations at all levels, of its procedures and targets to the dissemination and communication of a quality culture philosophy set by the management to all IKY’s personnel. The specific accreditation by “ISO 9001:2008” shows that the quality of the provided services, lies within its systematic and documented quality procedures. The creation of an efficient system for communication and self-control management approach is also certified. State Scholarships Foundation, as an agency of the public sector, is a best practice example for its services. It has more certifications and awards than other businesses in the private sector. This is due to its excellent personnel who continues working even at the most adverse conditions”. IKY will continue its effort to upgrade its services as it has realized that in order to face the challenges presented there is one key factor: Quality Management.