Research in Greece : Wasted Talent, Missed Opportunities

At the recent online symposium “Research in Greece,” organized by the Circle of Hellenic Academics in Boston, a stark message emerged: Greece is failing to leverage its vast research potential. Despite decades of political rhetoric praising the country’s scientific talent, the reality remains one of inaction and lost opportunities.

Two distinguished speakers, Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas, Professor Emeritus at Harvard University and former President of Greece’s National Council for Research, Technology, and Innovation, and Angelos Chaniotis, Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, laid out the evidence in stark terms. Both experts, having recently resigned from Greece’s top research advisory body, highlighted the country’s chronic inability to foster a thriving research ecosystem.

Artavanis-Tsakonas emphasized a fundamental truth: “Basic research, or curiosity-driven research, is the mother of innovation,” adding that “research is inextricably linked to quality education.” He pointed to leading institutions like Harvard and MIT as examples of universities that successfully combine world-class education with pioneering research and entrepreneurial activity.

According to Artavanis-Tsakonas, research, innovation, and education form a “holy trinity” that must remain intact if Greece hopes to translate scientific talent into tangible socio-economic growth. However, the practical reality suggests otherwise. The Greek state’s persistent neglect of research has left the country lagging far behind its European counterparts.

Chaniotis presented compelling data to illustrate this decline. Among European nations with comparable populations, Greece ranks last in securing research grants from the European Research Council (ERC).

Between 2007 and 2023, Greece obtained just 69 ERC grants, while the Netherlands secured 1,124. To put this in perspective, Leiden University alone outperformed the entire Greek research community, securing 132 grants.

The problem, as Chaniotis pointed out, is not a lack of Greek talent but rather a failure of policy: many Greek researchers have won ERC grants—but to work abroad, not in Greece.

One of the key barriers to progress is the lack of institutional support for researchers within Greek universities. Without adequate infrastructure and resources, securing competitive funding becomes nearly impossible. The consequence? A glaring absence of patents emerging from Greek universities, highlighting the country’s failure to transform research into marketable innovations.

A crucial takeaway from the symposium was the urgent need for a stable, long-term national research strategy—one that remains consistent across political cycles.

Currently, research oversight is fragmented among multiple ministries, including Education, Development, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, and Defense. This bureaucratic web, coupled with excessive administrative red tape, has created an environment where researchers often feel more obstructed than supported.

Collaboration between research institutions is further stymied by a legal framework that discourages, and in some cases prohibits, cooperation between entities under different ministries. This inefficiency emphasizes the need for a centralized body to oversee national research policy, funding, and implementation. However, such structural reform remains elusive, hindered by political inertia.

Adding to the challenge is a widespread misconception that research and innovation are confined to the hard sciences. This narrow view overlooks the potential for groundbreaking social research in areas like education reform, refugee integration, and public policy.

Expanding the definition of innovation could open new pathways for Greek research to make meaningful societal contributions.

The symposium made one thing clear: Greece possesses the intellectual capital to compete globally, but without decisive policy reforms, its research potential will continue to be squandered.

Source: Tovima.com