29, Jan 2026, Study in Greece (SiG), in collaboration with the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE), successfully hosted the inaugural webinar of a new Sino-Greek Higher Education Strategic Dialogue series. The event was attended and witnessed by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Athens, demonstrating the Embassy’s full support for this initiative.

The webinar marked the beginning of a structured, long-term dialogue dedicated to strengthening mutual system understanding, student mobility, and institutional cooperation between Greek and Chinese higher education institutions. The event also benefited from the academic contribution of KELKIP: the Sino-Greek Center for Mutual Learning between Civilizations, representing scholarly engagement from both countries.

The webinar opened with remarks by Mr. Georgios Chatzithanasis, Operations Director of Study in Greece, who outlined Greece’s national higher education landscape and internationalization priorities. It concluded with a keynote academic contribution by Professor Chloe Balla, Professor at the University of Crete and Chairperson of the KELKIP Steering Committee, who shared concrete experience from ongoing Sino-Greek academic exchange initiatives, including a long-standing Greek culture immersion program now welcoming its fifth cohort of Chinese students to Greece.

The core objective of the event was to support Greek universities in gaining a clearer understanding of China’s higher education system, including the different types of bachelor’s degrees, which are all nationally recognized by the Chinese Ministry of Education, as well as the range of academic cooperation opportunities and available Chinese funding schemes.

In the first part, Mr. Georgios Chatzithanasis briefly introduced the structure of Greek higher education, degree frameworks, and national internationalization strategies, enabling CSCSE to better understand how to facilitate effective institutional connections between universities in both countries. In parallel, Professor Wang Yong, Professor at Southwest University and Secretary-General of the Center for Chinese and Greek Civilizations, presented an overview of China’s higher education system, offering insights into its structure, scale, and pathways for international cooperation.

The second part of the webinar focused on CSCSE’s institutional functions and their relevance to Greek universities. As China’s primary national body for international education engagement, CSCSE is responsible for multiple stages of academic mobility and cooperation. Its work spans areas including study abroad services, international cooperation, study-in-China programs, visa and passport, academic credential evaluation, returnee affairs, and digital information platforms.

In this context, Ms. Yu Haiying, Director of the International Cooperation Department of CSCSE, introduced CSCSE’s international collaboration frameworks, including its flagship annual events CIEET and CSAF 2026, as well as the SATC program, which supports structured academic cooperation between Chinese and international universities.

This was followed by Mr. Jia Jinghua, Deputy Director, and Mr. Na Heyang, Project Manager from CSCSE’s Department for Incoming Students to China, who presented study-in-China services and mobility pathways available to Greek students.

Finally, Ms. Yang Kaiyi, Deputy Director of the Department of Overseas Academic Credential Evaluation, explained CSCSE’s degree recognition framework and institutional information system, clarifying its purpose and practical implications for both students and universities.

The webinar concluded with an open Q&A session, allowing Greek universities to engage directly with CSCSE representatives across departments.

This inaugural event laid a clear, factual, and institution-focused foundation for future Sino-Greek cooperation in higher education. It also reinforced Study in Greece’s role as a gateway to Greek academia, supporting Greek universities in engaging more effectively with China through informed, transparent, and sustainable academic collaboration.

Further activities under this strategic dialogue series will follow.