5 May 2026

On Monday 4 May 2026 and Tuesday 5 May 2026, as part of the ongoing academic program, a Symposium on “Universities at a Crossroads: Challenges and Opportunities” was held over two consecutive sessions.

Part I (Monday 4 May, 13:30–14:30) was moderated by Gregory T. Papanikos, President of the Athens Institute & Professor (Adjunct), University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA. The session featured presentations by Gary Comstock, Alumni Association Distinguished Undergraduate Professor of Philosophy, North Carolina State University, USA (“Teaching Americans to Think: One $4 Million Bet on Civil Discourse”); Ingrid Brenner, Associate Professor, Trent University, Canada (“The Effect of Budget Cuts on Education”); Athena Elafros, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge, Canada (“Disability at a Crossroads: Access in the University”); Claudia Mitzeliotis, Professor, Mercy University, USA (“Designing a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Master’s Degree Program”); and Teodora Duarte-Quilao, Professor, Webster Geneva Campus, Switzerland (“Unfolding the Ongoing and Unending Journey of Knowing and Beyond”). Interventions were also delivered by Palle Larsen, Senior Researcher, UCL University College, Denmark.

Part II (Tuesday 5 May, 14:00–15:00) was moderated by Claudia Mitzeliotis, Professor, Mercy University, USA, and included presentations by Parisa Gazerani, Professor, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway (“Rethinking Universities in an Era of Complexity”); Palle Larsen, Senior Researcher, UCL University College, Denmark (“Navigating Complexity: Challenges and Opportunities for Universities in an AI-Driven Era”); and Jose Manuel Castillo Lopez, Full Professor, University of Granada, Spain (“The Challenge that Artificial Intelligence Poses to Traditional Research and Teaching Objectives and Methods: The Perspective of Fraud”). Interventions were also made by Hans Rudolf Pfaendler, Professor, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Germany.

The microsymposium highlighted the evolving challenges and opportunities facing higher education institutions, particularly in relation to complexity, technology, inclusion, and the future of academic practice.