On Wednesday, September 30th 2020, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and its School of Philosophy organised the welcoming ceremony for 28 students of the first four-year undergraduate program taught in English.
The program entitled, ‘BA Program in the Archaeology, History, and Literature of Ancient Greece’, is addressed exclusively to foreign students.
Students from Albania, Canada, China, Egypt, El Salvador, Kenya, Morocco, Palestine, United Arab Emirates and United States of America joined the University’s international students’ community which already numbers 7,600 international students.
Earlier, the Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, Niki Kerameus, the Rector of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Professor M.-A. Dimopoulos, and the Academic Director of the program, Professor Eleni Karamalengou, had the opportunity to welcome the students in section groups due to special pandemic protective measures.
Rector of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Professor M.-A. Dimopoulos, saluted the students upon their arrival and pointed out that, “a University’s leading role shall be safeguarded by a constant engagement to innovation, creativity and excellence.”
“Therefore, it came as no surprise that this first English undergraduate program at a Greek University is offered by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens…”.
Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, Niki Kerameus, then stressed on the fact that, “The Greek Government, the Ministry of Education and I, personally, strongly support the value of fostering an educational system that is extroverted and internationally minded.”
“This is particularly true for institutions of higher education, whose structure and student population make them optimally positioned for international collaborations”.
The ceremony was streamed live for students who had not yet arrived in Athens, as well as for all students’ parents, relatives and friends.
Rector Dimopoulos revealed that the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has been ranked 79th in the world by the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking for its “Quality in Education”.
“Internationalization has been a cornerstone goal of the ten-year strategic plan of our University and today internationalization is perhaps more important than ever,” he said.
“The challenges we face cannot be solved by one person or one nation alone, but we need to stand together. We are rewarded today, because you have selected to trust us in this new program.”
