Could Greece “benefit” from the Trump Administration’s “war” on Harvard by attracting its foreign students to continue their studies in the country?
By Dimitrios Linos
There are real fears that the Trump administration’s orders and threats against Harvard, and especially its undergraduate and graduate foreign students, are a reality. Where will these thousands of foreign students, researchers, and professors go after their expulsion from Harvard and the US?
Already, European countries such as Germany are quietly working to temporarily or permanently attract this academic “cream of the crop” for the good of their own countries.
Reports say that Hong Kong, with its 10 million inhabitants (the same as Greece), has also begun an intense effort to host Harvard’s Asian students, who are from India and China and constitute perhaps the largest community of foreign students at Harvard.
Hong Kong has placed great emphasis on Higher Education in recent years, with its two public universities, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and HK University, being among the best universities in the world. Of course, the funding of Education in this country has a double-digit figure in the country’s budget and the priority given to education is a basic political choice.
Could Greece exploit the new reality with Harvard?
Could Greece “exploit” this unexpected and incredible new reality with Harvard? In other words, could it quickly and effectively create that Academic Organization that could welcome foreign students to attend Harvard courses in Greece?
Obviously, this is a very difficult bet, with suffocating time constraints and, above all, large financial obligations. Our similar experience from the organization of the 2004 Olympic Games perhaps allows one to dare to make this proposal to the Greek Government.
There are graduates of both Harvard and other leading American universities in our country and in the USA who could respond positively to such a call. A small-member organizing committee in collaboration with the Government and all opposition parties could theoretically proceed with discussions with the Harvard leadership, so that no foreign undergraduate or graduate student would have to interrupt their studies or be forced to continue at another University.
“Harvard in Greece,” from an unhistorical political slogan (since never in the past was there even the thought of Harvard granting degrees outside of Cambridge, MA) could today constitute a temporary or permanent alternative proposal.
Realistically, however, because this project would be very difficult for Greece to undertake alone, the next proposal would be its substantial participation in either a “Harvard in Europe” or even a “Harvard in Asia”! A few years ago, the National University of Athens honored Professor Arthur Li, who as Minister of Education of Hong Kong dramatically raised the level of public education in that country, with the title of Honorary Doctor of Medicine.
Greece’s active participation in the international academic developments currently taking place due to the negative attitude of the Trump Administration towards foreign students and researchers at Harvard (and other leading American universities) is an opportunity for Greece to engage more strongly with Education, which for some of us constitutes the main hope for progress and prosperity of our country.
Dimitrios Linos M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Surgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Lecturer, Harvard Medical School, Volunteer Orthodox priest
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