An opportunity that could help reverse the brain drain

The caller president of the American College of Greece, Edward Wingenbach, outlined his vision for the emergence of the instauration arsenic a starring university successful Europe by taking vantage of its geographical location, which functions arsenic a span betwixt Greece, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Speaking to Kathimerini, helium says that there are presently galore students reconsidering their plans to study successful the United States, and Deree offers an fantabulous alternate arsenic it provides prime studies successful Greece, and astatine a importantly little cost.

‘Our ambition is to marque ACG an adjacent greater hub for planetary talent. We program to strengthen ACG’s planetary recruitment by highlighting what sets us apart: US accreditation, rigorous programs and our unique determination successful Athens’

Wingenbach talks astir the college’s advancement so far, while placing peculiar accent connected the value of the 150th day of its founding. He besides describes the caller Greek instrumentality that allows the cognition of backstage universities successful Greece arsenic a historical accidental for the college, which has been the starring backstage instauration successful Greece for galore years. The president says that with the caller ineligible framework, it will beryllium capable to connection studies to a larger fig of students, providing university degrees recognized by the state.

Why did you take the American College of Greece?

I was drawn to ACG due to the fact that it is an entrepreneurial instauration with a arrogant past of innovation and service, animated by the champion of Hellenic and American values. Throughout my vocation I person sought retired opportunities where colleges were acceptable to accommodate boldly to changing acquisition and economical realities, and ACG embodies that spirit. Its determination astatine the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia, combined with its American roots, makes it uniquely positioned to amended planetary citizens and leaders that will code the urgent challenges we look together while advancing antiauthoritarian commitments worldwide. Moreover, ACG is an planetary person successful biology sustainability, recognized by AASHE arsenic the top-performing field extracurricular of North America; astatine this inflection constituent successful the planetary clime crisis, the accidental to articulation an instauration showing the way for higher acquisition is compelling. Finally, I was besides inspired by however profoundly the ACG assemblage believes successful its ngo and by the genuine pridefulness you consciousness everyplace successful the institution. The warmth with which my household and I person been welcomed successful Athens speaks to that reality.

Many Greek precocious schoolhouse graduates who planned to study successful the US are reconsidering. Does this make an accidental for Deree?

Yes, unquestionably. For decades, Greek families person valued the strengths of American higher acquisition that, by deliberately balancing breadth with depth, produces graduates who are some professionally susceptible and adaptable, precisely the qualities that are progressively valuable successful dynamic economies and planetary labour markets. Students reconsidering US study plans are often looking for high-quality world options person to home, with little costs, little uncertainty, and strong planetary recognition. Deree is uniquely well positioned to conscionable those needs. With US accreditation, American-style education, planetary partnerships, established vocation networks, and vibrant field beingness successful Athens, we supply the value and rigor of an American grade astatine a outgo acold beneath our adjacent institutions successful the US. And done our study overseas program, our students tin still spend a semester successful America (or elsewhere) astatine 1 of our much than 70 spouse universities. That makes ACG an progressively charismatic prime not lone for Greeks but besides for students from crossed the region. This is the infinitesimal to marque sure Greek families cognize they person an outstanding enactment present astatine home.

How tin you pull much American and different non-Greek students?

Our ambition is to marque ACG an adjacent greater hub for planetary talent. We program to strengthen ACG’s planetary recruitment by highlighting what sets us apart: US accreditation, rigorous programs, and our unique determination successful Athens. Expanding partnerships with American universities, enhancing study overseas and speech pathways, and investing successful planetary selling will rise our visibility. We tin besides leverage our worldwide alumni web to tell ACG’s story.

For American students, Deree represents the champion of some worlds: a high-quality US acquisition astatine a fraction of the cost, enriched by the accidental to study successful 1 of the world’s astir historical and dynamic capitals. For planetary students much broadly, we tin connection an American acquisition successful Europe, successful English, within a harmless and welcoming environment. We person seen melodramatic maturation already, with our entering people of planetary degree-seeking students expanding this year by astir a third.

What is the value of the 150th day of the founding of the institution?

This day is not conscionable a milestone; it is simply a infinitesimal to bespeak connected ACG’s bonzer bequest and to illustration our future. For 150 years, ACG has been a nonprofit instauration dedicated to transformative acquisition and work to Greece. Today we are the largest and oldest accredited American instauration of higher learning successful Europe, with astir 70,000 alumni worldwide. The day is an accidental to grant that past while besides launching initiatives (in fundraising, world innovation, planetary partnerships, research) that will presumption ACG for its adjacent period and a fractional of impact. But this is not lone a look back. It is besides a launchpad for the aboriginal – with a spirit of advancement and a committedness to excellence, we clasp the adjacent section knowing that our astir important achievements still prevarication ahead. By the way, adjacent Saturday (September 27) is the ACG 150 Celebration astatine our Agia Paraskevi campus, a flagship lawsuit to grant ACG’s historical footprint and impact. It will beryllium combined with the statesmanlike inauguration. We expect astir 2,000 participants, including delegates rom universities from each implicit the world.

What has been accomplished so acold astatine ACG?

ACG has consistently demonstrated its capableness to innovate. We person integrated Deree, Alba and Pierce into a broad instauration spanning K-12, undergraduate, and postgraduate education. We are advancing plans to found a University Legal Entity (ULE), which will widen ACG’s acquisition payment to adjacent much students successful Greece. ACG has extended and deepened our probe production, much than doubling publications successful the past year and attracting large grants and funding. We are a trusted spouse for businesses and organizations crossed Greece, and our graduates are highly desired successful Greece and abroad. We proceed to put successful module excellence, teaching innovation, and student success. Some specific highlights of our caller maturation see a study overseas programme that brings implicit 1,000 students annually to Greece; the Parallel Study programme done which implicit 1,000 students prosecute a Deree certificate; insignificant oregon afloat grade successful tandem with their nationalist university degrees; exile acquisition initiatives, including collaborations with the US Embassy, that person supported implicit 170 displaced students with afloat scholarships to be ACG; expanding Pierce to make the highest-quality kindergarten and superior schoolhouse successful Greece; the Simulated Trading Room – unique successful Southeastern Europe – providing students with experiential learning successful concern and trading; the Heritage Greece program, which has welcomed much than 600 Greek-American students to reconnect with their legacy, successful concern with the National Hellenic Society; designation arsenic the top planetary field successful the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability successful Higher Education sustainability rankings; and operation of the 4th and 5th campus-owned student residences, serving implicit 1,500 students annually.

What are your goals for the adjacent aboriginal and your semipermanent vision?

In the adjacent term, we purpose to implicit the ULE process, turn further our planetary student body, and grow programs responsive to the needs of Greece and the wider region. We will besides proceed to strengthen our fiscal instauration and capableness to connection substantial scholarships done ambitious fundraising, engaging alumni and friends of the assemblage worldwide. I envision ACG arsenic 1 of Europe’s premier universities and becoming a exemplary of planetary wide education: advancing antiauthoritarian values, addressing urgent planetary challenges done transdisciplinary scholarship, and serving arsenic a span betwixt Greece, Europe, Asia and Africa. Our relation is not conscionable to amended but to empower students to go leaders who will signifier the aboriginal of Greece and the world.

How does the caller instrumentality allowing for non-public universities successful Greece interaction Deree?

It is simply a historical opportunity. ACG has agelong been the starring non-public instauration successful Greece, and with this caller model we tin grow our interaction and service adjacent much students by establishing state-recognized university degrees. Because our programs are accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, students and employers already cognize that our degrees conscionable the highest planetary standards. Having the authorities endorse degrees that are already recognized everyplace other successful the world will beryllium a large payment to our students. But the law’s true value lies successful what it makes imaginable for Greece arsenic a whole. The country’s economical aboriginal depends connected producing graduates who tin accommodate to accelerated technological and marketplace change. The American exemplary of wide education, combining disciplinary expertise with wide cognition crossed sciences, humanities and arts, offers a proven pathway. This breadth equips graduates with the problem-solving, connection and innovation skills that employers consistently fertile arsenic astir captious for semipermanent success. By allowing ACG to present wide acquisition into the Greek higher acquisition ecosystem, the ULE instrumentality helps Greece unafraid a competitory vantage within Europe. Early specialization prepares students for today’s professions but leaves them little resilient when industries evolve.

Liberal education, by contrast, cultivates adaptable leaders who not lone succeed successful their careers but besides thrust maturation and transformation. Embracing this exemplary strengthens the workforce, attracts planetary collaboration, and positions Greece arsenic a determination person successful acquisition innovation.

Finally, the instrumentality besides contributes straight to reversing Greece’s long-standing encephalon drain of students and faculty. Thousands of talented young Greeks permission each year, often reluctantly, to prosecute the benignant of high-quality, flexible, and entrepreneurial acquisition that US universities provide. Once American-style wide acquisition is available present arsenic a recognized and little costly university option, galore of those students will take to stay and physique their futures successful Greece. At the aforesaid time, the expanding trouble for planetary students to study successful the United States means that a state-recognized US-style grade successful Greece will pull planetary talent here. Those students will not lone enrich the acquisition situation but besides lend to Greece’s system and innovation capacity. Similarly, galore outstanding Greek professors working overseas are anxious to instrumentality to Greece, under the close conditions, and surveys amusement that the accidental to work successful a backstage university mounting would beryllium a large gully for their return.