The building of a new "bridge" between Athens and Dublin as well as between K-12 Education and Higher Education institutions was celebrated on February 14, 2019, at ACS Athens. The signing of the Mutual Collaboration Agreement between two high-quality educational institutions, ACS Athens and Griffith College, opens up new possibilities of partnership for the ACS Athens community but also for other distinguished academic institutions in Greece.
The Agreement for Mutual Cooperation signed yesterday by the Presidents of the two institutions ensures a framework for bi-directional partnership on different levels for students and faculty and for building a strong training program for professionals that will meet the needs of many international schools worldwide. New opportunities for undergraduate studies in Griffith College will be promoted to the graduates of ACS Athens in various offered disciplines, such as Design, Business, Computing, Journalism and Media Communication, Music and Drama and Training and Education. Furthermore, the ACS Athens faculty will have the opportunity to engage in graduate programs and attend Master's courses offered at ACS Athens by Griffith College during the summer. Also, selected highly qualified ACS Athens faculty will be able to further grow professionally through opportunities to teach at the Griffith College as adjunct faculty.
Professor Diarmuid Hegarty, founder and President of Griffith College and Ms. Catherine Papin of the college's International Office visited ACS Athens on February 14th to seal the beginning of this fruitful collaboration. They had the chance to take a tour on campus and join a round table discussion with the faculty and administration regarding the philosophy and vision of the two institutions. Prof. Hegarty and Ms. Papin joined a senior class and discussed with the students regarding their experience in a multinational environment and their future plans and aspirations.
The visit was completed with the signing of the General Agreement for Mutual Cooperation at the innovative space of ACS Athens, the Incubator of Students' Creative ideas.
Professor Hegarty, expressed his excitement about the cooperation with ACS Athens: “You are shaping people here, and that will carry them not only just to the third and fourth level of education but also into their careers and into what is becoming a global future. In Griffith College, we have 70 different nationalities and we do sense that we are preparing people for this future. We need - Ireland needs, the world needs - the students you are producing. Congratulations!”
The President of ACS Athens, Dr. Stefanos Gialamas, highlighted: “What I have seen at Griffith College is coherent with what we have at ACS Athens: caring about the students, being open-minded and looking towards the 21st century. I do believe that our commitment indicates that there are interest and excitement from both sides which will benefit our students and our faculty. It's the beginning of a wonderful collaboration. Let's seal this first commitment to our partnership with our signature!”
