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Professor Vassilios D. Tourassis
Vassilios D. Tourassis is a Greek engineer, academic leader, and researcher with a distinguished career spanning over 35 years in higher education, research, and strategic institutional development across four continents. He is currently the Vice President for Global Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives at NEOM in Saudi Arabia, where he leads international collaborations and drives innovative educational initiatives aligned with the kingdom’s national vision. He had prior leadership as Vice Provost and Founding Dean at Nazarbayev University and Vice Rector at Democritus University. Adept at fostering student success, faculty development, and financial sustainability in a complex, multicultural academic environment.
Early Life and Education
Tourassis earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (Robotics) and M.S. in Electrical Engineering (Biomedical Engineering) from Carnegie Mellon University, USA. He holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
Academic Career
Tourassis began his academic career as an Associate Professor at the University of Rochester in the United States, where he contributed to pioneering research in robotics and biomedical engineering. He then returned to Greece, where he served as Vice Rector and Vice President for Research at Democritus University. There, he led university-wide transformations, implemented OECD recommendations, and secured substantial research funding from the European Regional Development Fund.
Tourassis joined Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, where he served in multiple leadership roles, including Vice Provost for Technology Commercialization and Founding Dean of the School of Engineering and Digital Sciences. Under his leadership, the university doubled its physical infrastructure, quadrupled research funding, and developed innovative academic programs, including five new MSc programs.
In 2023, Tourassis took on his current role at NEOM, spearheading global academic partnerships and driving educational innovation in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
Research Contributions
Tourassis has published 92 scholarly works with over 1,200 citations in fields such as robotics, biomedical engineering, and engineering education. He has supervised many Ph.D candidates to completion, contributing significantly to the academic and professional development of future engineers and researchers.
Leadership and Policy Influence
Tourassis has played a prominent role in shaping education and research policies internationally. He has served as a Board Member of the National Center of Science & Technology Evaluation in Kazakhstan and a Governing Board Member of the OECD Program on Institutional Management in Higher Education. He has also actively participated in European Commission initiatives and was a delegate to multiple European Innovation Summits.