Greece’s leading public university, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA), has launched a new suite of artificial intelligence (AI) training programs as part of a growing European push to close skills gaps in the digital economy.
EKPA is expanding its online learning portfolio with courses covering AI applications in management, marketing, education, finance, healthcare, and cybersecurity. The initiative places Greece alongside other EU member states racing to adapt their workforces to a technology already reshaping productivity and wages worldwide.
Europe’s skills challenge
Across Europe, policymakers warn of a widening shortage of AI specialists. The European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) has repeatedly flagged underinvestment in digital skills, with fewer than one in five EU workers reporting advanced knowledge. By contrast, PwC’s AI Jobs Barometer 2025 shows salaries for AI-skilled employees rising 56% in 2024, underscoring the premium on such expertise.
While global platforms such as Coursera, edX, and Google’s Career Certificates dominate in scale, national universities are seeking to provide local alternatives. Germany’s Fraunhofer Institutes, France’s Sorbonne, and now Greece’s EKPA are integrating AI training across professional sectors to retain talent and avoid reliance on foreign providers.
Greece’s late but necessary entry
For Greece, the expansion reflects both an opportunity and a necessity. The country lags its EU peers in digital readiness, ranked below the European average on most DESI indicators. By linking AI education to its leading public university, officials aim to strengthen domestic capacity and prevent further “brain drain” of skilled graduates to northern Europe or the United States.
The online programs, delivered through EKPA’s long-running e-learning platform, target professionals, students, and jobseekers. They combine theoretical and applied training, from AI-powered marketing strategies to healthcare analytics and machine learning in finance.
Skills as economic policy
Analysts stress that AI adoption will not replace work outright but reshape it, creating demand for employees able to use sector-specific tools. A Pew Research Center survey earlier this year found most experts expect AI to deliver net gains in productivity — but only for economies that invest in reskilling.
Greece’s move signals how smaller EU states are aligning education policy with industrial competitiveness, as governments across the bloc push for “technological sovereignty” in the face of U.S. and Chinese dominance in AI.
