A few days ago, on August 8, 2018, the Apolitical International Company published the list of the 100 Most Influential People In Digital Government, based on their influence in determining global developments. The list also includes Giannis Charalambides, Associate Professor at the University of the Aegean, at the Department of Information Systems Engineering and Communication Systems of the Polytechnic School, based in Samos.

The Apolitical list aims to show the international spread of e-government or digital governance and includes people from all continents who are working to transform the public sector with the help of technology. The list was created through the proposal of candidates from experts and senior executives of states, businesses and international organizations, including the OECD, the Open Government Partnership, the Alan Turing Institute, the World Bank, and others.

The list includes celebrities such as Tim Berners Lee, Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, pioneer businesswoman, Martha Lane Fox, senior government and local government officials from countries such as Estonia, Denmark, Sweden, India, the US and Canada.

The distinction is for Mr. Charalambides “a result of a systematic research, implementation and educational effort, with an international orientation, which takes place at the Research Center for eGovernment, at the University of the Aegean. Always through the joy of collaborating with professors, researchers and students from Greece and abroad and against a lot of adversity. “

The insertion of the Greek professor to the list of the 100 comes after an escalation of distinctions in recent years (2nd prize in the European eGovernment Competition, was distinguished as the 8th most important author in the field of eGovernment, won first prize at the IFIP-eGOV international conference three times, and others).

The rector of the University of the Aegean, Professor Stefanos Gritzalis, speaking in APE-MPE, stated that “Recognizing the high value of Greek academics at international level can only contribute to the advancement of higher education in Greece. Especially in the field of governance, it shows that significant know-how poles are being created in Greek universities, which can channel unique knowledge and experience on a very critical issue that concerns the entire society. We are proud, at the University of the Aegean and in the Aegean in general, that we have people of the scientific maturity and academic extroversion of Mr. Charalambides “.

Moreover, Giannis Charalambides is one of the pillars of the movement of startups in Greece and has contributed as only a few academics have in the evolution of the startup scene in a real innovation ecosystem.

He is a graduate of Varvakio, but also of the National Technical University of Athens, where he received a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Ph.D. from the same department. He is currently the head of the Research Center for eGovernment, a research, education, planning, and support organization for the implementation of modern approaches and methodologies for governance at local, national and international level. He is also CEO of the University of the Aegean Investment and Property Management Company.