HOU meaning in Academic & Science ?

The Hellenic Open University (HOU; Greek: Ελληνικό Ανοικτό Πανεπιστήμιο) was founded in 1992 in Patras and is the only online/distance learning university in Greece. Modelled on the British Open University, the Hellenic Open University was established to fill a gap for telematic and distance education in the higher education system of the Hellenic Republic in response to the growing demand for continuing education and lifelong learning.

It is the first and only higher education institution (HEI) in Greece that provides open and distance education at undergraduate and postgraduate as well as doctoral level. Placing great emphasis on research, HOU promotes research programmes aiming towards the development of methodologies and corresponding high technologies for open and distance learning.