“Creating and nurturing lasting collaborations” in academia through the Greek Diaspora Fellowship Program

The Greek Diaspora Fellowship Program (GDFP), launched by the Institute of International Education with support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and in collaboration with the Fulbright Foundation Greece, encouraged long-term, mutually beneficial links between scholars worldwide and Greek universities. Three of the fellows, who took part in collaborative research, curriculum co-development, and graduate student teaching and mentoring, looked back on the program to share how it established connections that are still having an impact today.

Alexandra Touroutoglou stands in front of an MRI scanner — Alexandra Touroutoglou, MSc, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and Director of Imaging Operations at the Frontotemporal Dementia Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital

Panayotis Kevrekidis smiles at the camera — Panayotis Kevrekidis, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

Constantinos K. Coursaris smiles at the camera — Dr. Constantinos K. Coursaris, Professor of Information Technologies at HEC Montreal, Director of M.Sc. User Experience, and Co-Director of Tech3Lab

"Getting together to collaborate on international research projects like this is a step towards promoting discoveries that have the potential to transform clinical care worldwide.” – Alexandra Touroutoglou

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"Participation in the program paved new directions of research with both of my hosts in Athens and Ioannina, allowed me to collaborate with junior researchers (such as PhD students) there and the influence of the resulting research directions is ongoing.” – Panayiotis Kevrekidis

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"GDFP and similar programs serve as community bridges with multiple benefits for all stakeholders involved. While the tangible value of professional activities performed during the fellowship are meaningful, there is a longer term, cultural dimension to value creation that cannot be overlooked.” – Dr. Constantinos K. Coursaris

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