The strategic academic partnership between the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Boston University is now taking shape, following a meeting of the senior leadership teams and delegations of the two institutions on 2 November 2026.
Boston University was represented by Michele Schiele, Senior Vice-President for Advancement; Katerina Katopis-Lykiardopulo, Chair of the International Advisory Board; Dr Nahid Bhadelia, Founding Director of the Centre on Emerging Infectious Diseases; and Tuoyang Mu, Executive Director of International Advancement.
The University of Athens delegation comprised Professor Gerasimos Siasos, Rector; Professor Sophia Papaioannou, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, International Relations and Extroversion; Professor Pagona Lagiou, Dean of the School of Health Sciences; Professor Konstantinos Christodoulou, Dean of the School of Law; Professor Nikolaos Arkadopoulos, Chair of the School of Medicine; Professor Nikolaos Nikitakis, Chair of the Department of Dentistry; Professor Dimitris Plantzos, Director of the BA Programme in the Archaeology, History and Literature of Ancient Greece (BAAG); Professor Effie Basdra of the School of Medicine; and Dr Eleni Vasilopoulou, Executive Director.
The meeting opened with remarks from University of Athens Rector Professor Gerasimos Siasos and Vice-Rector Professor Sophia Papaioannou, who described it as an important milestone, building on previous discussions. Representing Boston University, Michele Schiele reaffirmed the American institution’s strong interest in developing a productive, long-term strategic partnership with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece’s oldest higher education institution.
The discussions focused on the Master Agreement, due to be signed in Boston on 17 November 2026 by University of Athens Rector Professor Gerasimos Siasos and Boston University President Professor Melissa Gilliam.
Professor Pagona Lagiou, Dean of the School of Health Sciences, outlined the proposed collaboration in medicine and the steps involved in putting it into practice. She also outlined opportunities for collaboration in dentistry. Professor Nikolaos Arkadopoulos, Chair of the School of Medicine, presented the School’s Greek-taught and English-taught undergraduate medical programmes, as well as its extensive network of clinical departments and laboratories. These operate across the University’s four affiliated hospitals and some of the largest hospitals in Attica, reflecting both the School’s academic strengths and the University’s extensive clinical and research infrastructure. Professor Nikolaos Nikitakis, Chair of the Department of Dentistry, highlighted the Department’s international standing, noting that its five-year degree programme consistently places it among the world’s top 100. He also outlined its postgraduate programmes and the plans for the development of an English-taught undergraduate programme.
Vice-Rector Professor Sophia Papaioannou and Professor Dimitris Plantzos, Director of BAAG, the English-taught undergraduate programme offered by the School of Philosophy, presented a memorandum of understanding that BAAG and Boston University’s Department of Classical Studies have agreed to sign. Under the agreement, Boston University students will be able to spend one or two semesters at the University of Athens as part of their degree and attend an annual five-week summer school, with the courses they complete recognised for academic credit.
Following remarks by Professor Konstantinos Christodoulou, Dean of the School of Law, on the importance of expanding academic exchanges across a range of disciplines, Dr Nahid Bhadelia outlined Boston University’s research teams and its leading role in cutting-edge research. She highlighted two major research programmes already under way that could provide a basis for collaboration:
- In Medicine, these include programmes in Public Health and Epidemiological Surveillance of Infectious Diseases.
- In Law, the focus is on a programme in Public International Law.
Professor Effie Basdra of the School of Medicine praised the quality of the University’s English-taught undergraduate medical programme, which she described as a benchmark for south-eastern Europe.
Michele Schiele, in turn, stressed the importance of networking and collaboration among researchers from different disciplines, both to explore innovative ideas and to open up new academic opportunities.
In her closing remarks, Vice-Rector Professor Sophia Papaioannou praised the constructive atmosphere of the discussions and announced a series of follow-up working meetings to take place through December. The process is expected to culminate shortly in the formal signing of a memorandum of understanding between the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Boston University, at the American institution’s headquarters in the United States.
