The 2nd We Are UoA Festival took place on 15 October 2025 in a festive spirit, full of energy and strong symbolism, at the University’s historic Main Building, the Propylaea (30 Panepistimiou St, Athens).
As part of the Festival, the University warmly welcomed its first-year students across all Schools and Departments. The celebrations also included an awards ceremony honouring the highest-achieving first-year entrants in each Department, alongside the much-anticipated Career Days. The final curtain came down on the Festival with a lively party held in the courtyard, featuring a performance by the talented Music Odyssey band from the Department of Music Studies.
New Student Welcome
The Festival kicked off with a warm welcome for the incoming first-year students from all Schools and Departments, alongside their families and the wider community. During the event, they had the opportunity to engage with faculty members from across the University of Athens, learning more about both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Top Entrant Awards
In addition, a highly symbolic awards ceremony was held in the Great Hall of the University’s Main Building, recognizing the highest-scoring new entrants in each Department.
Career Days
Another highlight of the Festival was the Career Days organized in collaboration with the University’s Career Office (https://career.uoa.gr). The initiative provided a unique opportunity for students and graduates to network with over 40 major organizations from a variety of industries.
Live Concert with Music Odyssey
The 2nd We Are UoA Festival concluded with a lively party held in the courtyard, featuring a performance by the talented Music Odyssey band from the University’s Department of Music Studies.
The Rector of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, stated in his address: ‘The awards ceremony for the highest-scoring new entrants is a truly special moment for our entire University community. You, the young people who, through your dedication and achievements, embody the value of excellence, inspire us all with your outstanding performance.
Your admission to the University of Athens marks the beginning of a new chapter in your lives—one that will be full of challenges, new experiences, moments of difficulty, but also accomplishments and rewards. Your perseverance, your commitment to your goals, and your outstanding performance in the national examinations have brought you here today—to the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens—as the top entrants in your respective Departments!
Through you, we recognize and honour all the first-year students of our Departments whose dedicated effort and outstanding achievements have earned them a place at the University.
Today, in a time full of challenges and change, when highlighting prime examples of scientific innovation matters more than ever, you have earned your place at a public University with a proud 188-year history—a leading Institution that has played a key role in shaping early-modern Greece. This is where the nation established its first university faculties, laid the foundations of Greek research, and saw distinguished figures emerge who have honoured both their country and the global scientific community.
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens stands as the top choice for most high-achieving students in the national examinations; this is no coincidence—it reflects the strength of a vibrant academic and research community, ranked first in Greece and Cyprus and among the top 300 Universities worldwide.
The global rankings and recognition our University enjoys are the result of the collective effort of all who share a strong sense of responsibility and a common vision for its continued development—along with the overwhelming trust society places in us as a public Higher Educational Institution, for the prestige, value of our degrees, and the quality of instruction we provide.
I warmly congratulate each and every one of you and sincerely wish you a successful academic journey filled with creativity, countless achievements, and personal growth! Warm congratulations also to your families, who stood by your side over the years and today have every reason to feel proud, seeing you as students at the best University in the country!
“We are the University of Athens”, and together we build the future of science and social progress’.
Photos: Dimitris Konstantinidis
