The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) was founded by royal decree on 14 April 1837 and inaugurated on 3 May 1837, by the then King Otto of Greece and was named in his honor “Othonian University”. It was the first University, not only of the Greek state but also of the entire Balkan Peninsula and the wider Eastern Mediterranean region. In 1862, the “Othonian University” was renamed “National University”, following the events that forced the then King Otto of Greece to leave the country. In 1932, the “National University” was officially renamed
“National and Kapodistrian University of Athens” in honor of Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first Governor of Greece, after the liberation of the nation.

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens is the largest state institution of higher education in Greece and one of the largest universities in Europe. With 125,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, more than 2,000 academic staff and approximately 1,300 administrative and specialized staff, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens focuses on the production and dissemination of knowledge. Furthermore, the University as a center of excellence in research, innovation and teaching in all the sciences it treats, contributing in this way to the social, cultural and economic development of the country.