The ACT summer camp “Introduction to Biotechnology", led by Dr. Mary Kalamaki, introduced high school students to concepts that are associated with biology, molecular biology, biotechnology, biochemistry and medical sciences. This new course offered two weeks of hands-on training on essential and current laboratory techniques used in microbiology, biochemistry and molecular biology. The program took place in the new state-of-the-art ACT Chemistry lab, where students completed several projects using equipment found in research laboratories and gained hands-on experience in laboratory techniques and practices such as spectroscopy, enzyme assays and the basic techniques of recombinant DNA technology.

Students, in one of their projects, isolated, characterized and molecularly identified bacteria from ice cream. They first isolated and characterized the bacteria morphologically (through the microscope). Then they performed biochemical profiling and got a tentative identification. Finally they extracted DNA from selected isolates, performed PCR analysis for the 16S gene and, after sequencing and a bioinformatics analysis; they obtained molecular identification of the bacteria.

Dr. Mary Kalamaki, Assistant Professor of Chemistry in ACT’s Division of Technology and Science is currently working on a collaborative project with colleagues from the School of Dentistry of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. They are taking tissue samples from surgery, and performing molecular analysis using ACT’s new, state of the art, real-time PCR machine. The goal is to identify genes related to wound healing and scar formation in patients following periodontal surgery. The preliminary data will be presented at the EuroPerio9, the world’s leading conference in periodontology, this June in Amsterdam. Submission of the results and analyses for publication in an international, peer-reviewed scientific journal will follow.

Next, Dr. Kalamaki will be exploring factors influencing the evolution of the microbial flora of raw milk using Next Generation Sequencing through an IRF Grant as part of ACT Internal Research Funds to work on microbial profiling of raw milk.

ACT is a premier teaching institution in Greece, and focuses on high level teaching and student development. In addition it incorporates research in its activities to further advance student learning and create new knowledge. A team of scientists of the ACT Science and Technology Department is starting a new project in the Fall aiming to investigate food safety practices in community meals (soup kitchens) in Thessaloniki. This is an innovative project, as not much information on the food handling practices of volunteers is available on a worldwide level.

There was a variety of amazing and attractive experiments that appealed to me except for the difficulties and the long procedure that we had to follow. I have never had such an experience in my life and I’d recommend anyone to join! It’s hard to say but I wanted to do more than two weeks…

Great experiments and fruitful science discussions. Congrats to the instructors! There was absolutely no drawback in the process of explaining the experiments. Great first year, good luck guys!

Very hands-on application in real life. [The program] definitely gave me a taste of different areas (bioinformatics, molecular biology, microbiology). I learnt important techniques that are taught in university. The instructors were very knowledgeable. Two weeks were not enough!

On Tuesday, 26 June, the John & Mary Pappajohn Business Plan Competition, organized by The Entrepreneurship Hub at ACT, presented the competing teams that reached the finals and the awards to the winners.

More than 110 teams from all over Greece participated in the competition this year showcasing the impact of the event. The five winning teams will receive 4,000 € each for the development of their business ideas. Apart from the award which is a generous donation by the Greek –American entrepreneur John Pappajohn, the winning teams will have access to a variety of events organized by ACT. The Pappajohn Business Plan Competition is one of the major projects led by ACT Entrepreneurship Hub which serves as a start-up accelerator that disseminates valuable know-how and innovative entrepreneurial spirit to the wider community.

The final phase of the contest was a demanding and competitive procedure since all of the teams exhibited pioneering ideas. Extra factors that played a key role in the evaluation were the maturation and feasibility of the projects, the collaborative work, and the appropriate market that could incorporate those ideas.

The five winning teams of the Competition were:

• Biodynamic Spirits: Production of alcoholic beverages from seeds
• AsthmaFit: A system of prevention and information for asthma patients
• Shift Automated: Shift organization system
• RoboTiles: An educational robotic game about computer programming for children.
• i-Plus: Smart app automatizing hotel operations via smartphones

George Kokkas, Director of Entrepreneurship Hub at ACT, the AsthmaFit Team (Alex Alexopoulos, Christodoulos Spagagas), Dimitris Kourtesis, Head of Research and Product Innovation Apifon and VentureGarden mentor.

Harris Spyropoulos from Shift Automated with George Kokkas, Director of Entrepreneurship Hub.

George Kokkas, Director of Entrepreneurship Hub, Nano Tsikhiseli, Antonis Panagiotidis from Biodynamic Spirits, Professor Bakouros from University of Western Macedonia.

George Kokkas, Director of Entrepreneurship Hub, Manolis Hatzigiannis from RoboTiles, Giota Zografaki, Adjunct Professor, ACT and VentureGarden mentor.

George Kokkas, Director of Entrepreneurship Hub, Alexis Kosmidis from  i-Plus, Professor Yannis Hatzidimitriou from University of Macedonia.

The American College of Thessaloniki (ACT) which is the tertiary division of Anatolia College, a private non-profit Educational Institution, is presenting its educational opportunities for students in Thessaloniki or abroad with combined degree programs in the United States.

September 14, 2018 at 6:00pm
Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre - US Pavilion

Register here

Εναλλακτικές δυνατότητες σπουδών στο ACT

To American College of Thessaloniki (ACT) που είναι ένα ιδιωτικό, μη κερδοσκοπικό εκπαιδευτικό ίδρυμα, μέλος του Κολλεγίου Ανατόλια παρουσίαζει τις σημαντικές εναλλακτικές δυνατότητες σπουδών που προσφέρει είτε με προγράμματα που γίνονται εξ'ολοκλήρου στις εγκαταστάσεις του στην Θεσσαλονίκη, είτε με συνδυαστικά προγράμματα σπουδών σε συνεργασία με κορυφαία εκπαιδευτικά ιδρύματα στην Αμερική.

14 Σεπτεμβρίου 2018 στις 18:00
Περίπτερο ΗΠΑ - ΔΕΘ

Εγγραφείτε εδώ

The Career Development Program is an initiative of the Career Office to enhance the Career Readiness of ACT Students. Towards that direction, students will be able to collect Career Development Points (CDPs) towards a Career Readiness Certificate, while the top 10% of those who will be awarded the certificate will access the ACT Career Leadership Circle.

Once you have completed an activity, you need to get a verification of attendance / completion and then submit the respective form. You can find both in the table below.

The activities that will allow you to collect points are:

Schedule your appointment

Following an invitation from ACT, Anatolia College’s sports premises became the training ground, for four days, for the newly-founded Men's National Lacrosse Team of Greece in view of the most prominent international competition, the World Lacrosse Championship (Israel, July, 15- 21). This is the debut participation of the National Team, which consists of Greek-American athletes from the US and one from Thessaloniki, in an international competition.

Lacrosse is a team sport, relatively unknown to Greece, but highly popular around the world and especially in the State and Canada. It is a field sport where two teams, with nine players and a goalkeeper each, are trying to score using sticks with small nets attached to the top. With these sticks, the players are trying to through a small at the opposite team’s net.

Lacrosse originates from a similar game that the Native American played in order to solve their disputes. Today, lacrosse is one of the most popular and impressive sports, both for men and women. It is also a joyful and pleasant activity for people of any age.

The Greece National Lacrosse Team was founded in the USA from Apostolos Katsiaounis, a 20 year old Greek American college student and athlete. Katsiaounis started looking at the social media networks for players of Greek origin across the US, in order to form a Greek lacrosse team that would participate at the World Lacrosse Championship, and motivate the next generation of Greeks to start playing lacrosse. Among the 23 players of the team is Anthony Katagas, an Oscar awarded Greek American producer, who is the goalie of the team. Anthony Katagas is highly renowned in Hollywood for his participation, along with Brad Pitt, in the film production “12 Years a Slave” for which he received an Oscar award in 2014.

Among the athletes that constitute the National Team, is Ilias Zaharopoulos, an Anatolia College student. 

ACT leads the efforts of introducing lacrosse to the student and sports community of Greece. It has organized games and free seminars for coaches, athletes, and friends of the sport, in collaboration with the Federation of International Lacrosse/ FIL. In May 2018, ACT organized the 1^st Lacrosse School Cup with the participation of Anatolia College High School and public schools (2^nd Lyceum of Polihni, 1^st Lyceum of Pilea).

The schedule of the matches of the National Lacrosse Team can be found here:
http://worldlacrosse2018.com/schedule-app/

You can watch the matches of the National Team during the World Lacrosse Championship here:

• https://fanhub.filacrosse.com/nZp2YY4X
• https://plus.espn.com/?om-navmethod=top%20nav

Anthony Katagas: Oscar awarded producer for the movie “12 Years a Slave” and goalkeeper of the National Lacrosse Team.

The Greek National Lacrosse Team during the Opening Ceremony of the World Lacrosse Championship taking place in Israel. On the left: Apostolos Katsiaounis, the 20-year-old athlete that contributed to the creation of the National Team.

ACT's graduate and undergraduate students enjoyed a wonderful and emotional Commencement Ceremony on the 3^rd of July at the outdoor amphitheater of ACT campus. The event marked the successful completion of demanding academic requirements leading the class of 2018 to degrees, academic awards, and distinctions for outstanding performance in extracurricular activities. In his opening remarks Dr. Stamos Karamouzis, ACT Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs stretched the institution’s role in educating a diverse student body within the framework of the Greek heritage and the principals of the American Liberal Arts education philosophy, and acknowledged the contribution and the deep commitment of the faculty to the core mission of the institution.  

This year’s keynote speaker was Dr. Zizi Papacharissi, Professor of Communication and Political Science and Head of Communication and University scholar at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Dr. Papacharissi (Anatolia High School alumna), was introduced by Markos Papageorgiou, Anatolia College Trustee and vice chair of the ACT Governance Board.

During her riveting and engaging speech Professor Papacharissi underlined the role of education, experience, and unexpected “happy accidents” that can lead to a fascinating life journey. Addressing “the stars of the evening”, as she described the class of 2018, she urged them: “Be modern. Be with your time. In your time. Of your time. In the present”. She marked that there is no success story that lasts forever, and added: “I hope you are uncertain about your future. Even though you are graduating from a college that is amazing at giving you what is needed to cope with uncertainty and excel”, and wished them to stay ambivalent, curious and confident.

This year’s valedictorians were Sonja Coko (undergraduate) and Konstantinos Theodoridis (graduate). Dajana Thomai was the recipient of the William McGrew Award for Excellence in International Relations, Panagiota Petmeza received the Alki Kyriakidou-Nestoros Memorial Prize in the Liberal Arts, Christina Kalekidou received the George B. Zotiades Memorial Prize for Excellence in International Relations, Evagelia Theodoridou was honored with the President’s Distinction Award. Marija Korunoska received the Elizabeth Yfantis Demeter Award for Excellence in Business Administration.

The Teaching Excellence Award was given to Mr. Konstantinos Karagiannis, Instructor of Mathematics in the Division of Science and Technology.

One of the highlights of this year’s ACT Ceremony was the performance of ACT Choir “Bissell Singers” under the direction of the renowned conductor Alkistis Togia, accompanied by Elena Argalia in the piano.

ACT became, for one more time, the center of the preparation for the Men and Women National Team of Beach Handball on their way for the World Championships at Kazan, (Russia, 24-29/7/2018), and the National Beach Handball U-18 Teams (male and female) for the European Championships U-18 at Montenegro (28/6-1/7/2018).

The heart of beach handball beat at the facilities of ACT, where the Greek teams practiced. Athletes from different parts of Northern Greece (Veria, Alexandroupoli, Thessaloniki, Kilkis) were present to the ACT Beach Sports center and training hard under the instructions of the HHF National Team coaches, Maria Karantoni, Sofia Dimitriou and Yianni Lazaridis.

The National Women’s team was drawn to Group A, despite having as opponents the National Champion Team of Spain and the teams of Paraguay and Australia. The National Youth Team of females, in her league, will be facing the teams from Germany, Poland, and Russia while the National Junior Male Team will be facing Russia, Slovakia, Croatia, and Turkey.

Before their departures, the Head and the athletes of the national teams met with ACT Provost Stamos Karamouzis and thanked the educational institution for the support.

The American College of Thessaloniki is proud to announce the 4th Summer Music Program, from 28 June - 8 July, 2018. The program draws together top international performing artists, creating a world class event featuring master classes, lectures, discussion panels, concerts, and an opera production. The program aligns itself with the Anatolia College goals of being a premier educational institution in the region, known for its innovative and quality education and its internationally oriented participant’s body. Summer Music Performance Program is taking place for the fourth consecutive year, in collaboration with the Georgia State University (US) and the Music Society of Macedonia. The program is under the aegis of the Region of the Central Macedonia.

Participants in the program will enjoy master classes on Voice/Opera, Flute/Flute Ensemble, Violin, Cello, Piano, Chamber Music and Composition. Additionally, participants and community members are invited to attend concerts, lectures and discussion panels on pedagogy, performance anxiety, relaxation techniques on body tension and career orientation. The classical music concerts will be the epitome of the Program which has gathered world acclaimed soloists and professors from the prominent Music School and Universities, such as: Dwight Coleman, Richard Clement, Kent Smith, Christy Lee, Nevart-Veron Galileas, Christos Galileas, Christiana Reader, Yannis Tsitselikis, George Konstantinidis, Alex Peh and George Vassilandonakis. The music artists are giving open master classes on vocal training/classical singing/monody, flute, violin, viola, cello, piano, musical composition and chamber music.

The Summer Music Program has received international recognition and is the meeting point of students of any age and level, from all over the world (Australia, Armenia, Belgium, France, Ghana, Greece, the United States, Canada, Cyprus, Lithuania and the Bahamas). This annual blend of cultures, through the love of music in the grounds of ACT, proves the value of the program. At the same time, the students are able to attend lectures and participate in musical concerts, along with their professors.

The program will unfold as follows:

• Monday, July 2, 9:00 p.m. Concert given by the students, ‘Stavros Kougioumtzis’ amphitheater, Cultural Center of Panorama. In collaboration with the Municipality of Pylaia - Chortiartis
• Tuesday, July 3, 9:oo p.m. Concert on Arvo Part and Gomitas compositions, Museum of Byzantine Culture.
• Wednesday, July 4, 9:oo p.m. Concert of Contemporary Music and Bissell Library Composition Competition, Bissell Library (ACT).
• Friday, July 6, 8:30 p.m. “Dido and Aeneas”. Opera by Henry Purcell at the Archeological Museum of Thessaloniki.

Executive Director: Dr. Christos Galileas
Artistic Director: Dr. Nevart-Veron Galileas
Program Coordinator: Dr. Grigoris Baglavas, Assistant Dean of Academic and Student Affairs, ACT, Mrs. Christina Panagiotidou- Scragg

Free entrance

For more information: 2310 398 382, 2310 398 223, 6944 912 629, 6945 392 301

We live in a time when everything is changing fast.

Just a few years ago, it would have seemed crazy to us to see driverless cars, to rent our home to a tourist, to watch series and movies on streaming websites rather than TV channels, or to think of becoming a start-upper like so many young people today. During our years of studies, nobody knows how many changes will have taken place; changes that might even make a degree seem obsolete. Just like a cassette tape, a floppy disk or an old-school photography film. At ACT, we believe that the role of a college today isn't to teach you things that will already have changed by the time you graduate, but to teach you how to adapt to every change. In today’s world, the choice is simple:

Embrace change. Study at ACT.

At ACT, the tertiary division of Anatolia College, we do not teach you what will have changed by the time you graduate. We teach you how to adapt to every change!

We offer:

• Challenging, high quality and modular programs based on the US educational model, offering great flexibility through the combinations of majors and minors
• An active approach to learning that is service oriented
• An extensive need and merit-based financial aid program
• World-class facilities
• A diverse, multicultural environment
• Accreditation by NECHE in the US
• Validation for our undergraduate programs by Open University, UK
• Experienced and highly qualified faculty
• A dedicated, Career Services office that keeps students and alumni updated on new and relevant job postings
• New life-long learning programs and certificates
• A history of over 130 years in academic excellence, guaranteed by the name Anatolia College

Greek License

ACT holds a license by the Greek Ministry of Education (License Number: 108256/05.08.2013, Government Gazette 1986B/14.08.2013).

Professional Recognition

According to law 4093/2012 and subsequent regulations (Government Gazettes: 229/19.11.12, 3324/12.12.12 and 258/08.12.2014), degrees awarded for programs of studies by ACT are eligible for recognition of professional equivalency to degrees awarded by the Greek public system of higher education.

Learn more about our undergraduate, graduate, or combined degree programs.

Seize the opportunity at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call us at 2310 398398.