Dr. Nikolaos E. Papadakis of the University of Crete on Public Policy and Internationalisation at Parul University.

Dr. Nikolaos E. Papadakis is Professor of public policy, former head of the Department of Political Science of the University of Crete (U.C. Crete) for approximately 25 years, and now head of the Centre for Political Research and Documentation (CEI P.O.) and the unit of lifelong learning of U.C. Crete. His work is not limited to Greece, and he is already a special adviser to the European Commission; he has worked for the United Nations Development Program in the field of public administration reform and participated in scientific councils, including the National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government in Greece and the Euro-Mediterranean Observatory of Democracy at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Spain, with affiliation at Jagiellonian University in Poland.

He is a bachelor’s and master’s graduate of the University of Crete, a master’s in inclusive and social policies from the Institute of Education (IOE) at the University of London, and a PhD in education policy from the University of Crete. His research interests include public policy, labour-market and employment policy, education and training policy, social policy, migration policy, multiculturalism, and research methodology. He is a visiting professor at University College London and a distinguished visiting professor at a Chinese university. He was a visiting professor at the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Parul University under the Centre for International Relations and Research (CIRR) Program.

India is a country that has always fascinated Dr. Papadakis since his childhood, and his first time visiting the country was very different from what he had read about it, he said. He became interested in Parul University while he was reviewing and assessing the university for the international ranking agencies; it allowed him to follow the emergence of a rather young university with an increasing international profile. Although he was very busy, he took the time to study IVPP thoroughly, and he sent applications with letters of reference from his colleagues in the United States, the United Kingdom, and China, a month-long experience that he also used to learn about the academic scene and the importance of India in global education and research.

At Parul University, Dr. Papadakis moved quickly from teaching to collaboration. Discussions had already advanced toward two research papers, one on migration policy for an edited volume and another on multiculturalism and migration through a comparative European Union and India perspective, and he discussed a possible memorandum of understanding between the University of Crete and Parul University to frame departmental cooperation, exchanges, and joint research. He highlighted the university’s research infrastructure and its linking of research, development, innovation, and teaching, and noted Parul University’s emphasis on interdisciplinary, student-centred learning, which matched his own view.

His main message for students was to try to get as much international exposure as possible through exchange programs, scholarships, and Erasmus or other such programs and partnerships, as foreign exposure – of the educational systems, cultures, and research – broadens knowledge and opens opportunities. He summarised his IVPP experience in three words: fruitful, collegial, and collaborative, and left students with a wider thought: that universities and interdisciplinarity in science are among the key factors for dealing with the challenges of a rapidly changing world.