With strong participation from members of the university community, students, researchers, representatives of organizations, and citizens, and in the presence of the Minister of Education, Religion, and Sports Ms. Sofia Zacharaki, took place on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at the “Kostis Palamas” Cultural Center “Kostis Palamas” of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, an event titled “One Health: A New Era in Environmental Sciences and Global Public Health.”
The event was a significant initiative in outreach and international academic collaboration by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and its central theme was the presentation of the newbilingual dual Master’s program “Environmental Sciences and Global Public Health,” which is implemented in collaboration with Yale University and funded under the “Universities of Excellence” project of the “Greece 2.0” Recovery and Resilience Fund.
The event was welcomed by the Rector of the University of Athens, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports Sofia Zacharaki , and the Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports Nikos Papaioannou, who emphasized the importance of the internationalization of higher education, strengthening strategic partnerships with leading universities abroad, and linking scientific knowledge to the major challenges of our time.
In her opening remarks, the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports Sofia Zacharaki stated that “The collaboration between the University of Athens and Yale is one of the most significant international academic partnerships and is part of our strategy for a more outward-looking, international, and competitive.
Due to its geographic location and the environmental challenges it faces, Greece has the potential to become a regional hub for education, research, and innovation in the fields of environmental science and public health. In this regard, the collaboration between the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA) and Yale University takes on particular significance.
Of particular value is the opportunity given to the top five graduates of the program to continue their studies at Yale on a scholarship, thereby promoting international mobility and academic excellence. I would like to extend my special congratulations to Professor Nikos Thomidis and his team at the Department of Chemistry of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens for implementing this important initiative.
The program is funded by the Recovery Fund with a budget of 7.9 million euros. At the same time, at the University of Athens, we are funding joint and dual master’s programs with more than 13 million euros, while the Foundation receives additional support through the “Universities of Excellence” initiative with over 10 million euros. Through the Research Excellence Partnerships, with a total budget of 98.2 million euros, and the Industrial Doctoral Programs, we are strengthening the link between research, innovation, and production.
At the same time, we are investing in the student experience, with 60 million euros for internships through the NSRF 2021–2027, over 33 million euros for scholarships and the mobility of young researchers, as well as the complete renovation of the Zografou Student Residence, with a budget of nearly 13 million euros.
Our goal is for Greek public universities to secure an increasingly strong position on the international academic landscape through internationalization, research, excellence, and strategic partnerships with the world’s leading universities”.
During his speech, the Rector of the University of Athens, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, emphasized that “the launch of the new foreign-language dual Master’s Program ‘Environmental Sciences and Global Public Health’ is an initiative of great strategic importance, which highlights the dynamism of our University’s international collaborations and its ongoing commitment to addressing the major challenges of our time through education and research.
The program is the result of a collaboration between the Department of Chemistry of the School of Natural Sciences, the Department of Medicine in the School of Health Sciences, and the Department of Political Science and Public Administration in the School of Economics and Political Sciences at the University of Athens, in collaboration with the Department ofEnvironmental Health at the Yale School of Public Health.
This is a landmark partnership that brings together different scientific fields and two universities with long-standing academic traditions and a shared vision: the generation of knowledge and the training of scientists capable of addressing the complex environmental and health challenges of the 21st century.
The University of Athens, the country’s first and largest university, has the greatest number of international collaborations with leading universities around the world. In total, international collaborations have been established with 932 different universities in 70 different countries. One hundred of these collaborations were established in the last two years. Furthermore, the University of Athens is the first and only Greek university to have established and operate an autonomous branch outside Greece, in Cyprus.
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 190 years after its founding, continues to invest in knowledge, research, innovation, and international collaboration, consistently fulfilling its mission for the benefit of society and future generations.”.
The Vice President of the University of Athens’ Governing Council, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and the program’s academic director, Nikos Thomidis presented a detailed overview of the philosophy and structure of the new master’s program, noting that the “One Health” approach highlights the interdependence of human health, the environment, and ecosystems, while also offering a way to address contemporary challenges in global public health. As she noted, the climate crisis, chemical pollution, pandemics, biodiversity loss, and contemporary environmental challenges make it essential to educate a new generation of scientists with interdisciplinary knowledge and a strong international orientation.
Special mention was made of the program’s unique features, which offer two distinct master’s degrees from the University of Athens and Yale, and provides scholarships to top-performing graduates of the Greek program to continue their studies at Yale tuition-free.
In his remarks, Deputy Minister of Education Nikos Papaioannou stated, “The collaboration between the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Yale University is yet another strong example of the outward-looking nature and international advancement of Greek higher education. The new joint master’s program in such a critical field as Environmental Sciences and Global Public Health links knowledge to the major challenges of our time. Our goal is to create more opportunities for young scientists and to strengthen the position of Greek universities on the global academic map.”
Speakers at the event included Professor Vasileios Vassiliou of the Yale University School of Public Health, the Dean of the Medical School at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Professor Nikolaos Arkadopoulos, the Associate Chair of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Professor Emmanouela Dousi, Professor Andreas Papandreou of the Department of Economics
Professor V. Vasileiou highlighted the importance of Greek-American academic cooperation and the great opportunities the new program creates for students and researchers, emphasizing that global public health challenges require international collaboration, the exchange of expertise, and joint scientific action.
Also noteworthy was the remarks by Dr. Kyriakos Sampatakakis, Chairman and CEO of Accenture and a graduate of Yale University, Dartmouth, and the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). Mr. Sabatakakis congratulated the University of Athens and Yale on the initiative, emphasizing that a Greek university is taking the lead on an issue that concerns all of humanity. He underscored the importance of access to knowledge in an era of rapid developments, while expressing his support for the project, noting that from the very beginning he had embraced the initiative presented to him by professors Nikolaos Thomidis and Vasileios Vassiliou. Finally, he highlighted the importance of international collaborations, particularly during a period of major challenges for universities worldwide.
The new program “Environmental Sciences and Global Public Health” aims to become an international benchmark in the field of linking environmental sciences with public health, contributing to the training of specialized scientists and the development of policies that will address the complex challenges of the 21st century.
In addition, the event was attended by, among others, the President of ETHAAE Periklis Mitkas, members of the Governing Council of the University of Athens, Dimitrios Kainourgios, Professor in the Department of Economics at the School of Economics and Political Sciences, Athanasia Smyrniotou, Professor at the School of Physical Education and Sports Science, the Vice Rector for Academic, International Relations and Outreach at the University of Athens, Professor Sofia Papaioannou, the Vice Rector for Finance and Development, Aristides Samitas, the Vice Rector for Administrative Affairs, Student Affairs and Lifelong Learning, Christos Karagiannis, the Dean of the School of Sciences, Aristides Parmakelis, the Dean of the School of Theology, Emmanouil Karageorgoudis, and the Dean of the School of Economics and Political Sciences, Nikolaos Ireotis, the former Secretary General of the Ministry of Health Yannis Kotsiopoulos, the President of Study in Greece Christos Michalakelis, the department chairs of the School of Theology, and numerous professors from the Schools of Health Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Economics and Political Science.
