Comment Extension 8

The Interdepartmental Postgraduate Program "Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education" is, now, the only postgraduate program in Greece, which connects the Sciences of Education with the Neurosciences. The main subject of the IPP is the way in which these scientific fields are connected as well as the way in which this connection can contribute to the change of the way of thinking and human behaviour, through the application of socio-pedagogical practices, which will bring about social justice and social change.

I am in the first semester of my studies and having already attended another postgraduate program at the Pedagogical Department of Primary Education of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, I feel that I am creating a completely new, different and original puzzle of important knowledge related to educational practices for the creation, the organization and management of socio-pedagogical programs, which can be implemented in a variety of groups and contexts consisting of people of different ages (e.g. refugee or migrant groups, homeless, disabled people, families, schools, educational communities, penitentiaries , the elderly, etc.) with the ultimate goal being the gradual elimination of social marginalization and the creation of a society for all.

The interdisciplinary nature of the DMPS, the full of innovative ideas and well-trained professors, who act as our instructors and companions, the highly experiential nature of the courses and the constant information and provision of opportunities for scientific training and academic education (e.g. information and participation in scientific conferences, publications and research activity, collaboration with institutions and universities abroad, internships in different structures) are all those elements that make this particular postgraduate program special and make me feel lucky that I was chosen to attend it.

It is noteworthy that, due to the emergency public health conditions that drastically changed our daily lives during the first months of 2020, professors and new postgraduate students, despite a newly formed team, worked collaboratively, with perseverance and patience to be able to respond to long distance lessons that not only have they not lost their scientific and deeply experiential character, but they clearly prove that the desire and strong motivation of professors and the proper organizational structure of a postgraduate program, offer encouragement to its new students to work, learn and get to know each other even under difficult and complex conditions.

I have gained a lot of knowledge which I am sure will lead me to new scientific paths and will contribute to my academic development either in Greece or abroad. But the most important acceptance and realization I can make for myself is the fact that these months it is like being in a group of people where, in addition to knowledge, we share experiences from our past and present, which help us bond as a new learning community, collaborate and improve primarily as people, as professionals from different disciplines and as young scientists.

After four months of attendance and courses, I feel and believe that the IMS "Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education" came unexpectedly into my daily life, as I discovered it by chance while searching for postgraduate programs on the internet, but by consciously choosing it, my way of thinking and my daily life have changed for the better. I feel lucky to be on this new path, having as my helpers the professors and this wonderful group of fellow students, which did not happen, but was meticulously planned to be a successful one, in other words it was not created by chance, just like previous groups of postgraduate students that we met and which were also purposefully set up to collaborate and coexist harmoniously. I guess something like this will happen with our team, of which I feel fulfilled and happy to be a member. Thinking more optimistically now, a fact that has been helped by the character of IPP for the time I have been attending it, I am sure that sources of new knowledge and relationships of positive interaction are somewhere in the corner and waiting us to welcome them. I am already looking forward and wishing to meet new postgraduate students in the coming years to share thoughts and experiences and create a community that will have a common vision and goals and will always leave its own distinct imprint on the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, but also in society as a whole.

E. Z.