PRESIDENT'S GREETING
Dear students
On behalf of the Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, I would like to welcome you all, whether you are starting now or continuing your educational journey in our Department, for the new academic year.
As a Department of the wider family of Positive Sciences, focusing on the education and preparation of future geoscientists, we encourage their learning from each other, fostering a community free from intolerance and discrimination, promoting a climate that is supportive and safe with respect and cooperation . These core values have enabled us to provide for over 50 years a learning environment, where everyone can pursue their dreams and reach their highest potential.
Never in world history has there been a more important time for the study of Geosciences. The way we live and operate on the planet must rapidly change in order to address the global challenges arising through climate change and the multiple crises caused by the environmental stress. This realization is the basis for our Department for the continuous improvement of the educational process, with a view to strengthening the employability of our graduates in key sectors, but also for the production of research with an international impact.
I feel the need to extend to our new undergraduates a hearty congratulations on their success. You have officially entered the stage of Tertiary University Education. University is not only a valuable stage of development in your life, but also an important opportunity to broaden your horizons and shape your future. The first challenge you will face is the change in lifestyle. In the next four years at the University and in particular at the Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, you must learn to be independent and organized, develop time management skills, cultivate yourself creatively and maintain a positive attitude towards new challenges. Additionally, you will experience a change in your learning style. Compared to secondary education, university studies require you to take initiatives and be more active, as the fields of knowledge and learning needs will be much wider than before.
From our part, we assure you that you will receive support and encouragement at all stages of the study program. All members of the Department work to ensure that you have a beneficial and engaging experience during your studies at the University and we hope to build a relationship that will last for years, well beyond your time in the Department itself. You enter the department as undergraduates. You will leave as geologists, as our colleagues. The success of our graduates is primarily our success and at the same time inspiration and realization of our vision.
For the rest of our undergraduate students, although you are already familiar with university life, the new academic year will be a next stage to further develop your scientific knowledge and improve your research ability.
With unprecedented changes in a century worldwide, and a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, different academic challenges await you to solve and overcome. I hope that you will pursue innovation in each of your research projects, taking a problem-oriented approach with interdisciplinary knowledge and methods.
The Department attaches great importance to the development of research and innovation and to the promotion of an excellent academic culture and environment in order to provide students with more opportunities to participate in cutting-edge scientific and interdisciplinary research. Our university, which according to the international rankings of higher education institutions is one of the leading educational institutions in the world, requires you to strictly adhere to the ethical and academic standards of research. I hope that you will take full advantage of the possibilities and resources provided by the University to pursue your own research directions. In this new beginning, I hope you will be diligent in thinking, conscientious in your pursuit of scientific truth, and courageous in research and innovation.
Once again, have a great academic year!
I wish you all health and progress in your studies.
The President of the Department of Geology and Geoenvironment
Asimina P. Antonarakou,
Professor of Micropaleontology, Marine Geology and Teaching of Geosciences