NTUA is the institution that gave me the foundations in six key areas that contributed to my subsequent career: these are meritocracy, excellence, reward, self-confidence, recognition, and ultimately the opening up of choices.

During my studies I received a total of 12 scholarships and the silver medal in my graduation year. It is an institution that rewards effort on merit and supports students who are in need, reinforcing and sustaining excellence through its own scholarships and endowments. This recognition of effort endows a young student with the self-confidence that their hard work is rewarded and acknowledged.

In the same vein, the results were recognised in subsequent scholarships for postgraduate studies abroad, and of course NTUA was held in high regard by leading international universities, as well as by future employers and partners. Taken together, all of the above gives a young professional choices — career choices, in Greece and abroad — competing on equal terms with graduates of other major international universities.

In terms of the actual subject of study — Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering — NTUA equipped me with a complete engineering toolkit spanning the full spectrum of the discipline. I will not conceal that there were indeed moments during our studies when I wondered whether it was necessary to go into such depth on various topics. Only to discover and confirm at various points in my career that the parallel development in both breadth and depth was precisely what gave me the tools to approach problems in a far more structured way, with a well-rounded education and a complete set of instruments for solving them — distinguishing myself from colleagues from other institutions in Greece and abroad, and ultimately opening up even more choices for me. Working in the Greek professional environment, I observe that graduates of our institution are typically those who stand out and excel. And in the end, we alumni very often collaborate again — as in the beginning — several decades later.

In closing, I would emphasise that I consider it an obligation of all alumni whose time at NTUA shaped and changed our lives to ensure that we support our alma mater and provide even better conditions, tools, and opportunities to the generations that follow, elevating the institution to ever greater heights.