Lecture by Distinguished NTUA Alumnus, MIT Professor Dimitris Bertsimas, at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)

With great success, the lecture by Dimitris Bertsimas, Professor and Vice Provost for Open Learning at MIT, took place on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at the Zografou Campus of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). The lecture was titled: "Universal AI and the Future of Education."

The event attracted significant interest not only from the NTUA community—gathering numerous students, academics, and researchers—but also from representatives of the political and business sectors, NTUA sponsors and donors, professors from other Greek universities, and alumni associations of U.S. higher education institutions. In addition to the packed auditorium, the lecture was broadcast live via streaming and drew a large online audience.

In his opening remarks, NTUA Rector Professor Ioannis Chatzigeorgiou introduced Dimitris Bertsimas, a graduate of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NTUA. Bertsimas became an Assistant Professor at MIT at the age of just 26 and was promoted to Full Professor by the age of 32, making him one of the youngest professors in MIT’s history. In 2005, he was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering for his contributions to optimization theory and stochastic systems, and their applications in economics and transportation. This past May, MIT awarded him its highest faculty honor, the James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award for 2025–2026, recognizing his deep scientific expertise, innovation, and societal contributions. His recent project, Universal AI, aspires to gradually educate over 1 billion people in artificial intelligence and make AI transparent, interpretable, and directly applicable in everyday decision-making.

Rector Chatzigeorgiou concluded his remarks by recalling a phrase Bertsimas often uses:

"Science without application is incomplete. Our mission is to turn knowledge into impact and focus on solving problems that bring meaningful change — not in fifty years, but now."

This phrase encapsulates an entire philosophy about the role of scientists, researchers, and academics—one that aligns perfectly with NTUA's mission to produce high-quality scientific knowledge and transform it into tangible, positive impact for society, the economy, and the environment.

Professor Bertsimas then reflected on his journey from Greece and the NTUA School of Electrical and Computer Engineering to international academic acclaim, emphasizing the pivotal role that NTUA and its professors played in his development. In his lecture, he highlighted the impact of Artificial Intelligence in critical areas such as education, teaching, healthcare, and weather forecasting, sparking great interest and meaningful discussion.

The Universal AI program, which aims to gradually educate over 1 billion people in artificial intelligence, combines horizontal technologies (such as optimization, machine learning, and language models) with vertical applications (such as health, energy, and education), with the goal of immediately transforming knowledge into action.

It was an honor for NTUA to host one of its most distinguished alumni, Dimitris Bertsimas, who today holds a leading global position in the fields of operations research and artificial intelligence. His presence at NTUA—not only as a pioneering scientist but also as the visionary behind Universal AI—symbolizes the fruitful connection between the university and the forefront of global science and technology, as well as the administration’s commitment to further collaboration in this domain.