Leaders Celebrate Dual Degree Program with Columbia and NTUA

The Athens Columbia Global Center recently convened a Scholarship Recognition and Scholar Presentation, bringing together the leadership of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Konstantinos Kanellopoulos, a generous benefactor, and the first student to participate in the landmark dual degree program started by Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science and NTUA in 2021.

The gathering offered a meaningful exchange between institution, donor, and scholar. NTUA Rector Ioannis Chatjigeorgiou shared the rich history of the institution and its enduring contribution to Greek society and the development of the nation over the centuries. Kanellopoulos, drawing on his own transformative experience as a student at Columbia College and Columbia Business School, spoke about the values and opportunities that a Columbia education instilled in him — and his desire to extend that same gift to the next generation. 

The generous contribution takes the form of a full scholarship — covering tuition, room, and board — awarded to an outstanding NTUA student who spends two semesters at Columbia Engineering as part of the integrated Master's program. This program, the first of its kind between a Greek and American university, offers the opportunity for students to receive both a postgraduate engineering degree from Columbia and an integrated Master's diploma from NTUA. The scholarship recipient is the very first student to make this journey since the MoU was signed — a historic milestone for both institutions.  

This meeting exemplifies the Athens Columbia Global Center's mission to deepen the ties between these two distinguished academic insitutions, foster intellectual exchange, and create pathways for the most talented Greek students to engage with one of the world's foremost research universities. Through partnerships like this, and the generosity of visionary donors, that mission becomes a living reality.