Yale’s chancellor has a Greek name, as his father read Thucydides. He uses technology a lot, but tries to stay away from it in order to think more clearly. After all, he worries about our attention span in the days we live. In a conversation with K, Pericles Lewis sees the ideal model as an educational system that combines public and private universities, ensures the autonomy of the teaching staff, and has a quick response to the changes taking place around us. He talks about the role of state support in ensuring equal opportunities for quality education and explains why it is not necessary to exclude ChatGPT from universities: “We can allow students to use ChatGPT for the first project and then asking them how they can improve what they have created ChatGPT“.

* Mr. Lewis visited Athens and gave a lecture at an event organized by the Yale Club of Greece with the support of Accenture. As part of the initiative, he participated in a dialogue with the director of “Kathimerini” Alexis Papahelas.

– Well, in the 1960s, when I was born, my parents were very interested in the history of Greece. In particular, my father studied political science and the classics and read a lot of Thucydides. So, I was given the name of the leader of the first republic.

– It is important that the teaching staff have the right to independently set the curriculum and conduct research without outside interference. Universities must respond well and quickly to student expectations. The state should oversee the quality assurance of the educational program through some form of accreditation, but ideally it should give universities considerable autonomy in relation to the implementation of the educational program.

– In North America, many of the first universities were founded in partnership with churches or as private charities. In the United States, these universities have become largely private, self-governing non-profit institutions. Since the 19th century, several large public universities have also been established in the United States. I think the combination of public and private is effective; private non-profit universities work well where there is a strong tradition of philanthropy and where students and their parents are willing to pay higher fees, which in turn allows more investment in education. .

– The key factor, obviously, is state support for higher education. Programs that either make tuition and living costs affordable or make it easier to repay a loan can be helpful. Potential students also need to be convinced of the financial benefits of pursuing higher education instead of directly entering the labor market. Adequate salaries for teaching staff can also help attract strong teaching candidates.

We must teach our students skills that the computer does not have.

“Ideally, universities should teach skills that a computer cannot provide. These include the study of computer programming, as well as critical thinking about social issues, high-level scientific research, and effective writing. We need to move away from memorization and develop higher level thinking skills.

— I agree that AI is a powerful tool, the same as calculators and computers in the 20th century. AI is difficult if we are asking our students to do relatively simple writing tasks and if we are worried about cheating (which is indeed a problem). Ideally, we should strive to teach students how to write at a level far beyond what ChatGPT can currently achieve. One possibility is to let the students use ChatGPT for the first draft and then ask them how they can improve the ChatGPT generated result.

– We have certainly seen this in the United States. Understandably, students tend to look for educational programs that they think will help them find a job, so programs that prepare them for careers in finance and technology are especially popular. One of our goals at Yale is to offer students a comprehensive education so that even those in economics or computer science also have some exposure to the liberal arts. But vice versa – students of the humanities also study a little positive science. We believe that this broad education adequately prepares students not only for the labor market, but also for their subsequent contribution to society.

“I don’t have much data on this, but I also think that today people are more likely to read and write very short messages. Personally, I use technology a lot, but I also try to spend some time away from it every day in order to think more clearly.

– The aim of this program is to collaborate on public health and environmental solutions. These are high priority areas for both Yale and the University of Athens. Yale has a long tradition of collaboration with Greece, including many distinguished Greek students, alumni and faculty. We are pleased to continue closer cooperation with the University of Athens.