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Columbia Global Centers | Athens is part of a network of 11 global centers of Columbia University in the City of New York, one of the world's leading academic institutions. The centers serve as knowledge hubs that aim to educate and inspire through research, dialogue, and action. They advance understanding, facilitate partnerships, and build the bridges necessary to tackle our changing world.

News

A landmark conference co-organized by Columbia Global Center Athens reflected the growing institutional collaborations between Columbia and Greek academic institutions, as scholars gathered to discuss area studies in China and Russa.

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.

In May 2026, the Columbia Climate School and the University of Western Macedonia (UoWM), in partnership with Columbia Global Center Athens, launched their inaugural joint Summer School in Greece. 

Nikolas D. Pateras makes $500,000 donation in memory of his sister Maria D. Pateras to advance medical innovation and collaboration with Greek hospitals 

How has Greece’s treatment of refugees evolved over the past decade, as the country moved from an emergency humanitarian response to long-term policies?

A two-day forum in Athens brought together pro-democracy activists from around the world to share resources.

An open session for students, academics, and human rights practitioners to consider how legal systems are suppressing journalism and dissent.

The Columbia Global Center Athens officially launched the Lab to Market Initiative on January 16 at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), marking a new partnership between Columbia University and NTUA aimed at bridging academic research and entrepreneurship in Greece.

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History

Greece and Columbia

Columbia University announced in November 2022 the launch of a new Columbia Global center in Athens, Greece. 

The impact of Greece on western civilization is unmatched, extending far beyond the Athenian democratic experiment that is considered the origin of modern-day democracies across the globe.

Many European and US American universities study Greek antiquity, but, in Columbia’s academic life, Greece has always had a special role.

The Core Curriculum that all Columbia undergraduate students are required to take–anchored in Western literary, historical, political, and art traditions—starts with Greece.

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Columbia in Greece

Columbia's presence in Athens offers unique opportunities for the University to gain a deeper understanding of the juxtaposition of history and contributions of ancient Greece with the Greece of today and tomorrow: a country situated at the confluence of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, partaking of the culture of her neighbors to the north, east, and south, and bound to them by history and geography.

At the same time, Greece offers the unparalleled opportunity for working together with academics and practitioners in Greece to advance areas of mutual interest and to contribute to the vibrant academic and cultural life of the country. From the classics, to business and innovation, to climate change and its impact, to migration and international affairs, Athens– with its libraries, museums, archives, and monuments–is a living laboratory for research and education.

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“The aspirational challenge that we embrace through the centers is to chart a path forward that builds on the needs of our global and Columbia communities, captures the intersectionality of our work, and, quite simply, harnesses our imagination and intellectual curiosity.”

 

Wafaa El-Sadr, Executive Vice President of Columbia Global
Wafaa El-Sadr, Executive Vice President of Columbia Global