Study in Greece proudly introduces the SiG Advisory Board, composed of renowned international academics, leading figures in international and Greek organizations alike and experts in international education. The SiG Advisory Board is charged with the ever important mission of supporting the strategic plan for Greek extroversion in higher education, which is the primary goal of Study in Greece, as well as assisting in broadening the network of partnerships and enhancing the visibility of SiG’s actions. The members of the Advisory Board consist of:
Special Advisor on Education Policy, Presidency of Government, former Secretary General for Higher Education, Ministry of Education.
Dr Apostolis Dimitropoulos (LSE,PhD) is an expert on education policy and the internationalisation of higher education. He has served as Secretary General for Higher Education at the Greek Ministry of Education. He currently serves as Special Advisor on education at the Presidency of the Greek Government.
Executive Chair, Board of Trustees
CYA (College Year in Athens)
Alexis Phylactopoulos has served as President of College Year in Athens and of DIKEMES, an educational associate of CYA, from 1986 until June 2023. In July 2023 he was elected to the position of Executive Chair of the CYA Board of Trustees. His first degree is from the University of Athens and his post-graduate degrees from Princeton University and the University of Cambridge. His specialization is the Law of the Sea. He has served as Director of Press and Information Service of the Greek Embassies in Washington D.C. and Mexico City. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Athens College, member of the Board of Directors of the Greek Archaeological Society, Secretary of the Board of AAECG (Association of American Educational and Cultural Organizations in Greece), member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Canadian Chamber of Commerce, member of the General Assembly of EUASA (the European Association of Study Abroad), member of the Advisory Board of SiG (Study in Greece) and former President of the Princeton Alumni Club of Greece.
Director
Athens Columbia Global Center
Stefanos Gandolfo has been the director of the Athens Columbia Global Center since June 2024.
Previously he was employed at the Office of the Prime Minister of Greece where he worked as a special advisor to the Minister of State responsible for the government’s policy on disabilities. In that role, he led the drafting of the National Strategy for the Rights of People with Disabilities, 2024-2030, and coordinated the streamlining of key reforms including the national accessibility sign and data collection on disability.
Prior to that, he spent more than two years in the Ministry of Education in Greece where as chief of policy he spearheaded efforts to forge global partnerships with universities from around the world and was instrumental in implementing key reforms in primary and secondary education.
Gandolfo has lectured on Chinese history, culture and international relations to undergraduate students at the University of Oxford and the University of Piraeus. He has published broadly on Chinese philosophy and culture and has extensive experience as a translator of contemporary Chinese thinkers. He is currently co-editor of a new series on Chinese culture published by Crete University Press, the leading university press in Greece.
Gandolfo obtained a BA (cum laude) in Economics and Philosophy at Yale University. He pursued his MA at Peking University in Chinese Philosophy (taught in Chinese) where he received multiple awards. He completed his PhD at the University of Oxford where his dissertation on the organization of knowledge in pre-modern China received an honourable distinction by the Royal Asiatic Society.
In addition to Greek and English, he speaks Italian, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Japanese (high reading level) and has excellent knowledge of ancient Chinese.
Managing Director
Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece, Harvard University
Christos has been actively engaged with Harvard activities in Greece since 2003, and he became a full-time member of the CHS team in 2008. He is monitoring the entire operation of CHS Greece; sustaining and expanding the Center’s collaborations with other units of the University in Cambridge and around the world; connecting its operation with that of CHS US; and supporting CHS and Harvard networks and synergies in the region. Since October 2023, he serves as Chair of the new Global Communications Committee that was initiated by the Vice Provost for International Affairs to support the collaboration, operation, and visibility of Harvard’s global offices within the Harvard community.
He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Management from the University of Ioannina, Greece. Ηe is also a Harvard Summer School (HSS) graduate; and he spent the 2017 – 2018 academic year in the US as a Harvard/CHS post-doctoral Fellow in residence, studying the history and operation of Harvard’s international offices.
Among other positions in the public and private sector, he has been actively involved with Study in Greece, the country’s national agency for the internationalization of Greek Universities and their international collaborations, helping its establishment and expansion since 2017, and serving as its strategic advisor until today.
Professor, Head of the Department of Law
City St George’s, University of London
Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos is Professor of Law and the Head of the Department of Law at City St Georges University of London (City Law School, Academic Programmes). He previously held the Inaugural Chair in Law and was the Head of the Department of Law at Goldsmiths University of London. Prof Giannoulopoulos obtained his PhD at the University of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) and holds graduate and postgraduate degrees from the School of Law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aix-Marseille Université, and Brunel University of London. He is an Academic Bencher at the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple and an Associate Tenant at Garden Court Chambers. He is a Visiting Professor at the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens since 2021, a Global Law Professor at the Faculty of Law and Criminology at the University of Leuven (2024-25) and a Research Visitor at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (Mansfield College and Faculty of Law, University of Oxford).
Prof Giannoulopoulos has internationally leading expertise in how human rights norms are applied in domestic criminal justice systems, while, in recent years, he has developed a strong interest in the impact of Euroscepticism, populism and Brexit on human rights.
He has launched a series of internationalisation initiatives over the years, ranging from international summer schools, international placements and the adoption of comparative and international law into the curriculum, aimed at providing students with a cosmopolitan legal education.
Expert Minister Counsellor Α΄
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Expert Minister Counsellor Α΄ in E3 Directorate of Cultural, Educational and Sports Affairs, Hellenic Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Studied History and Archaeology at the University of Athens (BA) where she was also awarded an MA in Ancient History and a PhD in Modern Diplomatic History.
Participated in archaeological excavations and expeditions in Greece (1989-1993), conducted research at the Centre of Hellenic and Roman Antiquity, National Research Foundation (1991-1993). Joined the Hellenic Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1993 and served in the Directorate of Historical Archives, the Diplomatic Cabinet and the Embassies in Belgrade and New Delhi. Member of Joint Committees with Albania and North Macedonia regarding revision of history textbooks and the Hellenic Committee for Intangible Heritage. Focused on Greek language education abroad, including University Programs and educational matters at bilateral and multilateral levels, including UNESCO and the Council of Europe.
Chairman of the Board and General Manager at Athens / Macedonian News Agency (AMNA)
Aimilios Perdikaris has several years of experience in a number of printed, electronic and online media. Since January 2021, he is Chairman of the Board and General Manager at Athens / Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) and earlier served as political correspondent. He also has extensive experience as a communication and media advisor. Among others, he has worked at “Ta Nea”, “To Vima”, “Proto Thema”, “Eleftheros Typos”, newsit.gr, capital.gr, “Vima FM” and the Greek Public Television (ERT). In 2024, he was unanimously elected as Chairman of the Public News Agencies Committee of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) and he is also a member of the Board and former President of the Alliance of Balkan News Agencies and Southeast Europe (ABNA-SE), as well as former vice-president of the Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies (AMAN). He studied Law, Political Communication and New Media (MA) and he specialized in Electoral Sociology (PhD cand.), while he speaks English and German fluently.
Sr. VP at Red Apple Group NY a private Conglomerate with assets in Energy, Real Estate, Finance, Insurance and Media. President of the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce in NY Former President and Lifetime member of the Hellenic American Bankers Association in NY Founding member of ALBA Graduate Business School Athens Greece.
Eftihia Pylarinou-Piper is a seasoned executive with decades of leadership in banking, business development, and international affairs. She currently serves as Senior Vice President of the Red Apple Group in New York, a diversified conglomerate active in energy, real estate, finance, and media. She is President of the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce in New York and a lifetime member and Past President of the Hellenic American Bankers Association.
In her distinguished career, she was the first woman to lead a bank in Greece, serving as President of the Hellenic Industrial Development Bank, where she spearheaded major capital restructuring and privatization programs. She has led numerous business delegations across Southeastern Europe and raised over $50 million for investment initiatives, including New Millennium AEEX and Ithaca Ventures.
Eftihia has represented leading international companies in finance and energy and has been a trusted delegate in official missions by the Greek government. She holds an MBA in Finance and Management from Adelphi University and a BA in Economics from Queens College (CUNY). She is also a founding member of the ALBA Postgraduate Program and the Chair for Hellenic and Byzantine Studies at Queens College.
Professor, Dean of the School of Education, University of Ioannina
NIkoletta Tsitsanoudis-Mallidis is Professor of Linguistics and Greek Language at the Department of Early Childhood Education of the University of Ioannina and Dean of the School of Education. The last three years she had been Associate in Linguistics and member of the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee of the Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece of Harvard University, and member of the Circle of Hellenic Academics in Boston. She is author and/or editor of 20 books, some of which are used as university textbooks. The book “Phovoglossa” (with Nicolas Prevelakis) was included as a textbook in a course at Boston University and Macquarie University. She received the “Distinguished Researcher and Reviewer” award from the Untested Ideas Research Center. She had been visiting lecturer at the Harvard – Olympia Program (2014). She is the founder/director of the International Summer University “Greek Language, Culture and Media”, an important academic institution, which has been included in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ strategic plan for the Hellenic Diaspora (2024-2027). She organized and directed training programs for the staff, employees and journalists of the Hellenic Public Radio and Television (ERT) as well as the Unit of the Laboratory for the Study of Social Issues, Media and Education of the Department of Early Childhood Education of the University of Ioannina. Her monograph “Greek Media Discourse from the reconstitution of democracy to the Memorandums of Understanding” has been published by the Hellenic Studies Monograph Series of the Harvard CHS and distributed by Harvard University Press.
Professor
Newcastle University
Athanasios Vergados is Professor of Greek at Newcastle University. He obtained his first degree in Greek Philology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and his MA and PhD in Classics at the University of Virginia. Before joining Newcastle University he held teaching and research positions in the US and Germany. His publications include A Commentary on the Homeric Hymn to Hermes (De Gruyter, 2013), Hesiod’s Verbal Craft: Studies in Hesiod’s Conception of Language and its Ancient Reception (OUP, 2020), as well as numerous journal articles and book-chapters on various topics ranging from archaic poetry to Imperial Greek literature and documentary papyrology. He has held a research fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, has been fellow of the Academy of Sciences and Humanities of Hamburg at the Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study, and has been elected a member of the Academia Europaea (Classics & Oriental Studies). His research interests include ancient Greek poetry (particularly hymnic and didactic), lists and catalogues as a method of organizing knowledge, and ancient etymological thinking and its place between literature, philosophy, and scholarship.
Professor
International Academic
Dr. Sencer Yeralan is an internationally recognized academic leader with over four decades of experience in higher education, research, and strategic development. He has served as dean of engineering, business, information technology, and natural sciences at universities on three continents—Europe, Asia, and the Americas—bringing a systems-level approach to institutional growth, accreditation, and program innovation.
A Fulbright Scholar and senior expert reviewer for the European Research Council, Dr. Yeralan is known for fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and advancing global academic partnerships. His leadership has consistently bridged diverse academic cultures and regulatory environments, supporting successful cross-border initiatives in curriculum design, digital transformation, and quality assurance.
As Ambassador for North America on the Study in Greece Advisory Board, Dr. Yeralan supports the formation of strategic alliances between Greek universities and institutions across the United States and Canada. His goal is to promote sustainable, bilateral academic exchange rooted in mutual respect, intellectual curiosity, and long-term educational value.
Executive Director
Fulbright Greece
Artemis A. Zenetou is the Executive Director of the Fulbright Foundation in Greece, a nonprofit educational organization founded in 1948 to promote academic exchanges between Greece and the United States. She is the first Greek citizen and the first woman to lead the Foundation.
Educated in both Greece and the United States, she holds degrees in History of Art/Business and Museum Studies/Management of Nonprofit Organizations. This academic background has supported a wide-ranging career across the cultural, academic, and nonprofit sectors. Zenetou’s career includes leadership positions in U.S. and international institutions, including the World Bank in Washington, D.C., where she developed and directed an innovative arts and cultural program; the 42nd U.S. Presidential Inaugural Committee, where she coordinated arts and cultural initiatives; the Smithsonian Institution; and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. She has published in both English and Greek and is the co-author of Museums: A Place to Work (Routledge) and Gender Perspectives: Essays on Women in Museums (Smithsonian). Her professional interests include cultural diplomacy, international academic collaboration, cultural exchange, and issues related to the Greek diaspora. Over the years, Zenetou has served in various board and advisory capacities, contributing to public service and civic initiatives. She served on the Board of the Cultural Olympiad under the Ministry of Culture (2001–2004), the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2002–2004), and the Board of College Year in Athens – DIKEMES (2008–2018). She currently serves on the Advisory Committees of the Greek Diaspora Fellowship Program (IIE), the International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP) for Greek-U.S. collaboration in higher education, and HIGGS (Higher Incubator Giving Growth & Sustainability), supporting innovation in the nonprofit sector.
Our SiG platforms will be temporarily unavailable on July 15th and 16th due to scheduled technical maintenance.
We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
