President Nikos Christodoulides inaugurated on Monday the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA)-Nicosia campus, describing it as an "historic day".
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, founded in 1837, will be operating four Schools and eight Departments in Cyprus, offering courses in Greek and English in Nicosia and Larnaca. It is the first Greek University to operate a branch outside Greece.
The inauguration of the Medical School and the student dorms took place in the heart of the old city of Nicosia, near the City Hall, in the presence of a host of dignitaries, as well as the first students who received their medical gowns as first-year students and started classes on Monday.
The NKUA has two offices at the historic Eleneion Elementary School and will make use of the Achilleios Library. It also has equipped reading rooms, laboratories, student dormitories and classrooms.
Speaking at the inauguration, Christodoulides, an NKUA graduate, highlighted that the largest and oldest university of Greece, the first in the entire Balkan Peninsula and the wider Eastern Mediterranean region, with global recognition and prestige, has begun operations in Cyprus.
He described the launch as a milestone in the effort to further internationalise and upgrade tertiary education in Cyprus and strengthen the strategic goal of making Cyprus a regional centre of knowledge, research and innovation.
The battle against 'anti-Hellenism'
Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus, also a graduate of the University of Athens, referred to its invaluable contribution to Cypriot Hellenism, saying that for many years the University of Athens accepted thousands of Cypriots without exams, regardless of their baccalaureate degree, and educated many generations with the Greek ethos, at a time when the British were sending graduates to their own universities "with the aim of anti-Hellenism".
The archbishop spoke about the importance of Greek education on an island like Cyprus, which has known so many conquerors in its long history. The anti-Hellenic efforts of the conquerors failed due to Greek education, without which Cypriot Hellenism would have perished, he argued.
In his greeting, NKUA Rector Gerasimos Siasos referred to the role of the university in supporting Cypriot Hellenism throughout the years with various actions and activities and the promotion of programmes and theses, missions and excavations.
Historic step
He described the establishment of the branch in Cyprus as a historic step, adding that after the Medical School, courses for the Departments of Nursing, Business Administration, Primary Education, and the English-language programme of Classical Studies will begin in Nicosia in 2026, while the departments of Psychology and Port and Maritime Management will also begin their operation in Larnaca.
Nicosia Mayor Charalambos Prountzos noted the enormous benefits that the new branch has for the divided city, adding that the walled city of Nicosia warmly embraces the professors, students, researchers and staff.
He called on President Christodoulides to evaluate the expansion of the student housing subsidy scheme that operated under the Recovery Fund to meet increasing demand.
Source: CNA