9 July 2026

On Monday 6 July 2026 and Tuesday 7 July 2026, as part of the academic program of the Athens Institute, a Symposium on “Rethinking the Mission of the Modern University” was held over two consecutive sessions.

Part I (Monday 6 July, 13:00–14:00) was moderated by Gregory T. Papanikos, President, Athens Institute & Professor (Adjunct), University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA.

The session featured presentations by Irina Ustinova (Professor, Southeast Missouri State University, USA); Marija Liudvika Drazdauskiene (Professor Emerita, WSB University, University Centre in Warsaw, Poland); Artur Myna (Professor, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland); and Thanos Patelis (Lead Psychometrician, University of Kansas, USA).

Interventions were also delivered by Krasimir Kabakciev; Ziona Strelitz (ZZA Responsive User Environments, UK); Ioannis Karadimitropoulos (Independent Researcher, Germany); Simona Elena Tomozii (Associate Professor, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, China); Jane Anastassopoulou (Retired Professor, National Technical University of Athens, Greece); and Malama Tsimenis (Associate Professor, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada).

Part II (Tuesday 7 July, 13:30–14:30) was moderated by Krasimir Kabakciev (Deputy Director, Arts, Humanities and Education Division, Athens Institute).

The session included presentations by Rosalba Pinto (Professor, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexico); Nicole Farris (Professor, East Texas A&M University, USA); Jackie Di Vito (Full Professor, HEC Montréal, Canada); and Clara Germana Gonçalves (Invited Assistant, CIAUD – Research Center for Architecture, Urbanism, and Design, Lisbon School of Architecture, University of Lisbon, Portugal).

Interventions were also delivered by Rogerio Paulo Vieira de Almeida (Professor, ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon, Portugal); James Irwin (Assistant Professor, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA); Raluca Stan (Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth, USA); Shinian Wu (Professor, Grand Valley State University, USA); and Irina Ustinova (Professor, Southeast Missouri State University, USA).

The symposium examined the evolving mission of the modern university in a period of profound transformation, focusing on the impact of artificial intelligence, changing academic values, institutional sustainability, evolving approaches to teaching and learning, and the future role of higher education in society. Discussions highlighted the challenges and opportunities facing universities as they adapt to technological innovation, shifting student expectations, and new models of knowledge creation and dissemination.