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 Milestones
in the History of NTUA
1836: The Founding
NTUA was established by Royal Decree in 1836, a few
years after Greece gained its independence. It was then
named the "Royal School of Arts", a part-time vocational
school (Sundays and Holidays only) with the purpose of training
craftsmen, builders and master craftsmen. In 1840 due to
its increasing popularity and the changing socio-economic
conditions in the new state, it was upgraded to a daily
Technical School, housed in its own building in Pireos Str.
1843: The Restructuring
In 1843 the School of Arts underwent its first major restructuring.
Three departments were created: The part-time vocational school,
the daily school and the Higher School of Fine Arts. It was
then renamed as the "School of Industrial and Fine Arts".
The word "arts" was used for fine arts as well as engineering.
This created a tradition as NTUA today includes a Department
of Architecture and maintains close links with the School
of Fine Arts, which has in the meantime become a separate
independent establishment.
1873: The Historical Campus
The School of Industrial and Fine Arts rapidly evolved
towards a major higher education institution, a Technical
University with a large number of students and a rich curriculum
in scientific and professional courses. In 1873 it moved to
its new "suburban campus" in Patission street (then in the
outskirts of the capital) and was renamed (unofficially) as
"Ethnicon Metsovion Polytechnion" after the birthplace of
its benefactors that financed the construction of this historical
campus.
1887: The Schools
The institution was partitioned into three schools of
technical orientation (the schools of Structural Engineering,
Architecture and Mechanical Engineering), paving the way for
its growth and the establishment of its leading role in the
technical and economic progress of Greece during the industrial
revolution. It continued functioning with this form until
1914 when new schools were created and the officially now
named "Ethnicon Metsovion Polytechnion" went under
the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works, a reflection
of its close ties with the techno-economic growth of the Greek
state (in a later stage NTUA joined the other universities
under the supervision of the Ministry of Education).
1917: The Present Form
NTUA took its present form in 1917 by special law that
organized it into the Higher Schools of Civil Engineers, Mechanical
& Electrical Engineers, Chemical Engineers, Surveying
Engineers and Architecture. Up to the 1950s, NTUA was the
only University in Greece offering degrees in engineering.
Since then, Engineering Schools have been set up at the Universities
of Thessaloniki, Patras and Thraki, and another Technical
University was established at Chania in Crete.
1923: Technical Chamber of Greece
The NTUA alumni form the core of the Technical Chamber
of Greece, a very powerful professional organization that
serves as the official technical advisor of the State and
is responsible for awarding professional licences to all practicing
engineers in Greece. Between its foundation in 1923 and 1963,
the Technical Chamber of Greece had 7,800 members, while by
the end of the 1980s the number of professional members reached
approximately 49,000.
Contribution in History of Modern Greece
NTUA students were in the front line of popular struggles,
with highlights the National Resistance under the German
occupation (1941-44) and the more recent struggle against
the Colonels' dictatorship (1967-74).
During the period of the National Resistance, the
Student Movement was powerful and well-organized. Shortly
after the occupation of Greece by German troops in April,
1941, the Resistance movement began to organize everywhere
- in the towns and villages, factories and universities.
Within a few months the Resistance Movement was in operation
within the confines of NTUA, which in addition to its function
as an academic institution, became one of the most active
resistance centers.
After a delay of forty years on the 16th of November 1984
NTUA paid tribute to the National Resistance Movement by
erecting a simple commemorative column bearing the names
of the 18 students who fell in the struggle for liberation.
In 1985, a commemorative publication, entitled ``The
NTUA [and its part] in the National Resistance Movements
1941-44'', was issued.
 The
recent struggles against the military dictatorship of 1967-74
escalated with the student gathering at the NTUA Patission
Campus on the 14th of February, 1973, followed by an unprecedented
brutal attack by the police inside the campus and the arrest
of several students. This was followed by demonstrations,
the occupation of the Law School of the University of Athens
on 23rd February, and again on 20th March. Each of these
demonstrations was met by force. The protest culminated
in the greatest blow against the Junta, the Polytechnion
(NTUA) Uprising in November, 1973.
 Events
began on Wednesday, 14th November, and ended on November
17th 1973 with the unprovoked intervention of army tanks
and the attack by the army and police against those besieged
inside the NTUA Campus and the demonstrating supporters
outside in Patission Str. These few days saw the growth
of an impressive popular uprising centered at NTUA. The
people of Greece and the country's youth all rallied in
support of the students, united around the ideals: Freedom,
Democracy, Independence, Education and Social Progress.
The toll of the Polytechnion uprising was tragic. Several
demonstrators were killed; many more were arrested by the
military police and were tortured for months in military
prisons.
The Junta fell a few months later and Polytechnion is being
commemorated every year on November the 17th by the students,
high school pupils, the NTUA Senate, the democratic authorities,
political parties, the Greek Parliament and the people of
Greece.
The Polytechnion Uprising is an outstanding event
in recent Greek history. NTUA honored the victims of the
Uprising with a monument within its courtyard, opposite
the gate which the tanks of the dictatorship demolished
that night. The monument was placed alongside the column
commemorating the National Resistance. The two memorials
emphasize the continued struggle of the Greek people and
the country's youth over the years.
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