The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) is honored to host, for the first time in Greece, the 35th General Assembly and the Rectors’ Seminar of ‘UNICA – Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe’, from 18 to 20 June 2025. The event will bring together university leaders from across Europe in a creative dialogue and strategic collaboration on the future of higher education.
‘It is a great pleasure and distinct honor to welcome to Athens our colleagues from the Universities from the Capitals of Europe’, said Professor Gerasimos Siasos, the Rector of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. ‘This event strengthens the ties within the UNICA Network and reflects our commitment to international dialogue, interdisciplinary cooperation and the promotion of humanistic values in higher education.’
The Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe – UNICA (http://www.unica-network.eu) was created in 1990 as a result of an initiative by a group of European Universities, including the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which are the Founding Members of the Network. NKUA is the only Higher Education Institution in Greece that participates in this network. The UNICA network is also a member of other organizations such as the European University Association (EUA), Scholars at Risk Network (SAR), Erasmus Student Network (ESN), among others. It participates both as a coordinator and as a partner in numerous European programs. 
The network’s objectives include strengthening cooperation between member universities, ensuring the quality of academic, research and administrative work, developing joint curricula and encouraging the participation of network members in European programmes. University representatives at regular meetings of the Network formulate common strategies for the internationalisation of studies and the encouragement of mobility of University members, the promotion of education and the advancement of research, the further development of Universities and their connection with society.
The 35th General Assembly of the network will place particular emphasis on the development of common strategies for the future of European higher education. The theme of this year’s Rectors’ Seminar, on ‘The Key Role of the Humanities in our Universities’, addresses a timely issue, the enduring importance of the humanities in education, research, and societal advancement. It aims at highlighting practices to strengthen the presence of the humanities in higher education by showing their catalytic contribution to the quality of higher education, and the necessity of their presence in the Science and Technology curricula.
For more information about the event, please visit the UNICA website at: https://www.unica-network.eu/event/unica-general-assembly-2025/ 
