When I received my degree from the School of Rural and Surveying Engineering at NTUA in 1980, I felt fully equipped to face the challenges of life. I was fortunate to have been taught by outstanding professors, such as Giorgos Veis, Dionysis Balodimos, Vangelis Livieratos, Myron Myridis, and above all my mentor Dimitris Rokos, the person who guided my first academic steps. My diploma thesis on the Integrated Utilisation of Natural and Human Resources shaped my entire subsequent scientific and political career. Throughout my academic career, which began at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and continued at the University of Piraeus, I always told my students with pride how important it is to be a geoscientist, having studied at a leading institution that provides all the tools needed to contribute to development at local, regional, and national level.

I feel boundless gratitude for the five years I spent at NTUA, as they offered me not only scientific knowledge but also a deep awareness of the importance of respect for the environment and of the engineer’s role in addressing social, economic, and national challenges.

Every time I pass through the Patission Street gate or climb towards the NTUA campus in Zografou, I am overwhelmed by a feeling of profound respect and nostalgia, as I realise how decisively these experiences have shaped the principles and choices of my life.

A heartfelt thank you to my teachers.