National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA)

The idea of establishing a University in Greece emerged alongside with the Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution. The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, officially founded in April 14th, 1837, is the first Univers founded in April 14th, 1837, is the first University not only of Greece but both the Balkan peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean region. The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; Greek: Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Zografou, a suburban town in the Athens agglomeration, Greece.[2][3][4] It has been in continuous operation since its establishment in 1837 and is the oldest higher education institution of the modern Greek state and the first contemporary university in both the Balkan Peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean.[5] Today it is one of the largest universities by enrollment in Europe, with over 69,000 registered students.[6] The University of Athens was founded on 3 May 1837 by King Otto of Greece (in Greek, Óthon) and was named in his honour Othonian University (Οθώνειον Πανεπιστήμιον). It was the first university in the liberated Greek state and in the surrounding area of Southeast Europe as well. It was also the second academic institution after the Ionian Academy. This fledgling university consisted of four faculties; Theology, Law, Medicine and Arts (which included applied sciences and mathematics). During its first year of operation, the institution was staffed by 33 professors, while courses were attended by 52 students and 75 non-matriculated "auditors".[5] It was first housed in the residence of architects Stamatios Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert, on the north slope of the Acropolis, in Plaka, which now houses the museum of the university. In November 1841 the university relocated on the Central Building of the University of Athens, a building designed by Danish architect Christian Hansen. He followed a neoclassical approach, "combining the monument's magnificence with a human scale simplicity" and gave the building its H-shape.[7] The building was decorated by painter Carl Rahl, forming the famous "architectural trilogy of Athens", together with the building of the National Library of Greece (left of the university) and the building of the Athens Academy (right of the university). Construction began in 1839 in a location to the north of the Acropolis. Its front wing, also known as the Propylaea, was completed in 1842–1843. The rest of the wings' construction, that was supervised at first by Greek architect Lysandros Kaftantzoglou and later by his colleague Anastasios Theofilas, was completed in 1864. The building is nowadays part of what is called the "Athenian Neoclassical Trilogy".[7] The historian and professor Konstantinos Paparrigopoulos, founder of the modern Greek historiography, was elected rector of the University of Athens in 1872. The Othonian University was renamed to National University (Εθνικόν Πανεπιστήμιον) in 1862, following events that forced King Otto to leave the country. Statue of the first Governor of Greece, Conte Ioannis Kapodistrias, whose name has been given to the university in 1932, after the unification of the Kapodistrias University (theoretical schools) and the National University (scientific schools). A major change in the structure of the university came about in 1904, when the faculty of Arts was divided into two separate faculties: that of Arts (Σχολή Τεχνών) and that of Sciences (Σχολή Επιστημών), the latter consisting of the departments of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Pharmacy. In 1919, a department of chemistry was added, and in 1922 the School of Pharmacy was renamed a department. A further change came about when the School of Dentistry was added to the faculty of medicine. Between 1895 and 1911, an average of 1,000 new students matriculated each year, a number which increased to 2,000 at the end of World War I. This resulted in the decision to introduce entrance examinations for all the faculties, beginning for the academic year 1927–28. Since 1954 the number of students admitted each year has been fixed by the Ministry of Education and Religion, by proposal of the faculties. The idea of establishing a University in Greece emerged alongside with the Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution. The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, officially founded in April 14th, 1837, is the first University not only of Greece but both the Balkan peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean region. The vision of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) is based on four main principles: research, education and training shall be characterized by a quest for high quality and distinction; the University’s leading role shall be safeguarded by a constant engagement to innovation and creativity; the academic community members shall participate actively in scientific, social and cultural events; our standpoints shall reflect our historical and contemporary Greek culture worldwide through scientific activities. NKUA is a research University and, as a leader since 1837, it aims to advance knowledge and educate students in sciences and arts that will best serve the nation and the community of the twenty first century. Committed to innovation and academic excellence, we seek to infuse each member of our academic community with the passion of research and knowledge gain. We encourage cultivation of creativity, maturation of social and cultural sensibilities as well as critical thinking, by supporting free and open dialogue and a culture of integrity and diversity. The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the National University of Music Bucharest join forces to launch an international postgraduate program entirely dedicated to the study of Byzantine Μusic in both Academic Theory and Artistic Performance. The program will start in October 2022, in a blended learning model, combining online teaching with traditional on-campus methods; the courses will be taught by academic staff from the partner Universities along with a number of guest Professors of international recognition accompanied by distinguished Byzantine Music performers, including the Archon Protopsaltis of the Holy Great Church of Christ Panagiotis Neochoritis. ...view more