Canadian Embassy announces first university partnership forum with Greece, Cyprus
Canadian Ambassador to Athens Robert Peck this week announced the first Canada-Greece/Cyprus University Partnership Forum, which will take place in Athens on September 16.
Eight Canadian institutions will take part in the showcase of Canadian higher education. These are the universities of McGill, York, McMaster, Ottawa, Simon Fraser, Montreal, New Brunswick and the University of Waterloo-based Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics founded by Greek-Canadian Mike Lazaridis, co-founder of Blackberry.
Greek Education Minister Constantinos Arvanitopoulos will open the event, which will also see broad representation from Greek and Cypriot universities.
The aim of the forum is to promote new institution-to-institution partnerships between universities in both Greece and Cyprus with Canadian institutions, with Peck noting that there are already a number of existing agreements between Canadian and Greek universities and there has been renewed interest going forward in deepening broader bilateral academic cooperation.
The forum promotes faculty exchange/enrichment programs, lectures, semester abroad programs, Canadian and Hellenic studies, and collaboration in research and development.
Peck also saluted the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for the endowment of new scholarships at leading Canadian universities targeting Greek students in honor of the 70th anniversary of Canada-Greece diplomatic relations.
To date, scholarships have been established at the universities of McGill, Ottawa and York.
The Forum’s program will also include two Canadian university roundtables, the first with potential non-university partners in Greece and the second with local guidance counselors/consultants. The day-long event will conclude with an open house for Canadian university graduates.
Details regarding participation and registration for the open house can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CanadainGreece or by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. Canadian university alumni in Greece can join the Canadian University Graduates in Greece group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/cuggforum/
