Programming now being explored will enable us to successfully launch our ambitious and groundbreaking endeavor to deepen the knowledge, networks, and experiences of faculty, students, and partners in Greece and on campus. The Columbia Global Center in Athens will seek to engage faculty, scholars, students, practitioners and staff by coordinating a host of educational activities and by leading projects and programs to address scientific, scholarly, and public issues of great relevance to Greece and the Columbia community.
Shortly after the announcement in 2023 launching the center, it collaborated on the Leros Humanism Seminars held July 3-6 in Leros, Greece. The Leros Humanism Seminars/LSH/ΣΛ are a series of yearly intellectual encounters to take place on the island of Leros in the first week of July.
Faculty Engagement and Research
The Columbia Global Center in Athens will develop, support, and disseminate innovative and interdisciplinary research initiatives in partnership with faculty at Columbia University, and with regional experts and institutions. The Center is committed to former President Lee C. Bollinger's vision of harnessing the strengths of academia and deepening its capacity to address key global challenges.
“In Athens, I formed connections with professors and researchers who have helped shape my applications to research fellowships and edit my graduate school research proposal. I was also able to present at a student research conference and have my work published.”
Faculty engagement programs will facilitate Columbia-Greece collaborations by supporting nascent research projects and encouraging new initiatives. Columbia faculty will be able to travel to and work in Greece, and researchers from Greece will be able to visit Columbia to work with faculty on campus. Funds will be used to support Columbia-Greece promising research collaborations emerging from those engagements and/or contacts. Funds will provide seed subsidies for the initial stages of research projects and may be awarded for related conferences and field research.
Student Programs
Collaborating with local institutions as well as with campus-based academic programs and offices, the Columbia Global Centers support students in myriad ways. A Columbia Global Center in Athens will offer a diverse set of student programs, from immersive study abroad opportunities to internships, both for graduate and undergraduate students.
The Center will also develop collaborative field courses involving students and faculty from Columbia University and partner universities in Greece. Through such courses, students have the opportunity to visit related research centers, governmental and nongovernmental agencies, and other relevant institutions. Courses may also begin at Columbia, with site visits to key institutions in New York City.
Academic Conferences and Workshops
Like other Global Centers, the Global Center in Athens will bring together partners on campus and the region to organize conferences, seminars, networking events, and workshops featuring international scholars and regional experts on a wide range of academic and professional programs. The Center will serve as a hub for knowledge exchange and dissemination, both locally and internationally. As part of the Center’s commitment to promoting scholarly discourse on a range of issues and diverse thematic foci, the Center will draw from expert faculty and practitioners to offer participants opportunities for meaningful engagement and to spark dialogue in the community on issues from business and economics, to the arts and sustainability.