The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens is moving forward with the full implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with Google in October 2024, launching a series of educational actions aimed at deepening knowledge and optimizing the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in academia and research.
The first of these actions took place on Monday, 31 March 2025, at the ‘Alkis Argyriadis’ Amphitheatre in the Main Building of the University of Athens with the participation of academic staff who had previously expressed interest. The opening session titled ‘Enhancing Productivity With the Use of Artificial Intelligence’ is part of a series of seminars called ‘AI Awareness and Academic Innovation’.
These seminars are designed to familiarize the academic community with the basic principles, applications, and possibilities of Artificial Intelligence, focusing on its contribution to the educational process, scientific research, and strategic development of University structures. The actions are intended for the entire academic community of the University of Athens and include sessions for faculty members, researchers, PhD candidates, postgraduate and undergraduate students, as well as the administrative staff.
It is important to note that 11% of the world’s leading researchers in AI are Greek with the majority having graduated from the University of Athens.
Addressing the event were the Rector of the University of Athens, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, the Regional Marketing Manager at Google Greece, Theodoros Damianidis, and the NKUA’s Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, Professor Efstathios Efstathopoulos.
Speaking on the occasion, the Rector of the University of Athens, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, said: ‘Our University’s collaboration with Google falls under our strategic plan to promote innovation, extroversion, and digital transformation at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Artificial Intelligence has recently emerged as an integral tool for research and education. Through this collaboration, we are offering our academic community the opportunity to make best use of the latest technologies in a meaningful and responsible way’.
On his part, the Regional Marketing Manager at Google Greece, Theodoros Damianidis, stated the following: ‘Our collaboration with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens paves the way for making the academic community familiar with the advancements in Artificial Intelligence, providing them with practical tools and access to international networks and resources. AI is more than just a technological innovation. It is rather a force that can boost research, free up time, bring new trends to prominence, and—most importantly—give voice and power to those who produce knowledge. And this is our mission at Google: to create opportunities that contribute to the transformation of education and open new horizons for science and society’.
The whole initiative builds on the existing collaboration between the University of Athens and Google, which started with a Memorandum of Understanding signed in October 2024. The two sides have been seeking to establish a common framework for educational and research actions in the rapidly growing field of Artificial Intelligence.
