Message from the Rector to the First-Year Students of the National Technical University of Athens

Dear first-year students of the National Technical University of Athens,

It is with great joy that I welcome you to our large Polytechnic community. And I do so, first and foremost, consciously, as one of the members of the NTUA family, to which you now also belong. You are, in fact, its newest and most dynamic part, and, naturally, by inheriting the great history of the Polytechnic, you will shoulder the paramount duty of advancing science and contributing to the development of our country, while at the same time enriching the reputation and tradition of our great School.

You deserve the warmest congratulations on your achievement, which was undoubtedly the result of hard work, personal sacrifices, and dedication to your goal. You are now entering a new period of your life, with less stress but with high expectations and many challenges, reasonable ambitions, and future aspirations. You have succeeded in being admitted to one of the nine Schools of the largest and oldest technological Institution in the country and, at the same time, the top-ranked University unit in Greece according to the official rankings of the Hellenic Authority for Higher Education. NTUA exists primarily for you, its students, and it owes to you the high prestige and respect it enjoys from Greek society as a whole.

Your student years are a milestone in your life, and certainly not the final stop. They are also the time during which you will acquire the essential foundations for your future professional career. Make the most of this period and use it creatively and productively. Study, and also enjoy yourselves!

You have the privilege of being educated in facilities, laboratories, and spaces unique in the country and of being taught by leading teachers, scientists, and researchers in their fields. You will go through all the stages of education and be nurtured as engineers, so that you graduate with this qualification — a fact that will shape your personality and decisively influence your life.

Our Institution spares no effort in providing for its members, and naturally for its students. Take advantage of the environment in which you will be educated over the next five years. Visit and study in our Central Library, exercise in the fully equipped gym of the Polytechnic Campus, enjoy the green space we are privileged to have, make use of the student welfare services, the psychological support unit, the Technology Transfer Office, the Career Office, and the new NTUA Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. Join one of the existing student groups, or even create a new one. The administration will be there to encourage and support you.

I must stress, however, that your time at the Polytechnic is not only linked to rights but also to obligations. The foremost of these is your obligation to yourselves: to be consistent and to complete your studies within the prescribed timeframe. It is also your duty to adhere to the rules of ethics and academic conduct that ensure the cohesion and smooth functioning of our Institution. In this context, you must show due respect — first and foremost to yourselves, but also to your fellow students, your teachers, and all staff members of the Institution, at every level, since they are here to serve you, and their work is directly linked to your sound education and future success. You are also obliged to respect and protect the environment in which you work, study, and are trained. The Polytechnic devotes significant resources to maintaining the functionality, orderliness, and cleanliness of its facilities, aiming to ensure a dignified environment, primarily for its students. Finally, you must respect the law and avoid actions that contravene its provisions. It will indeed be an undeniable sign of maturity and responsibility to embrace these principles, to safeguard them willingly, and to uphold them.

I wholeheartedly wish you every success in your studies, as well as health and boundless strength in your endeavors.

Sincerely,
Ioannis K. Chatjigeorgiou
Rector of the National Technical University of Athens