For more than 40 years, DEI (Public Power Corporation) has been recognizing and rewarding the children of its employees who demonstrate outstanding academic performance in secondary and higher education. This year, the tradition continued with two separate ceremonies held in Athens and Ptolemaida, honoring a total of 468 top-achieving students and graduates.
In total, 126 middle school graduates, 213 high school graduates, and 129 university degree holders — including undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral graduates from across Greece — were honored by DEI for their exceptional academic achievements. The award recipients received a personal commendation along with gifts, including Kotsovolos gift vouchers, as recognition of their effort and success.
Through the recognition of these high-achieving children of DEI employees, the initiative highlights the importance of academic excellence while honoring the values of perseverance, goal-oriented dedication, and continuous progress.
The Athens ceremony
This year’s event, themed “Careers in the age of social media and the digital world,” featured senior DEI Group executives who spoke about the growing importance of soft skills — from communication to creativity — in a rapidly evolving technological landscape where social media dominates multiple aspects of everyday life. Special emphasis was placed on the responsible use of social media platforms, the artificial intelligence revolution, and the profound impact AI is expected to have on the future of younger generations.
The Group’s General Director of Human Resources & Organization, Alina Papageorgiou, congratulated the top achievers on their dedication and performance, noting that their academic success — while significant in what is undeniably a challenging era — represents only one part of their personal journey. She emphasized that their experiences and the continuous pursuit of broadening their horizons are far more defining factors that shape their personalities in a holistic way. Antonis Karras, President of GENOP-DEI (the company’s main trade union), also congratulated the honorees and their families, stressing that “effort doesn’t end with a degree.” In closing, he expressed his confidence in the younger generation, noting that young people represent the future and have the power to contribute to a better, more humane world.
The Athens event also featured a lively “Game time” segment, during which the audience was divided into two teams — parents and award recipients — and competed by answering questions about social media. Alongside the interactive game, Elpidoforos Papanikolopoulos, Director of Digital Communications, Maria Dagla, Director of Recruitment, and Eleni Prifti, Director of Corporate Culture & Employer Branding, discussed the evolution of social media — from a simple entertainment tool to an integral part of professional life and the broader economy. They also highlighted the significant impact of one’s online presence on future career prospects. The speakers unanimously agreed that the new generation must develop adaptability and critical thinking skills in the age of AI, which is rapidly transforming both daily life and the job market.
The Athens ceremony was also attended by Sakis Tanimanidis, a well-known television presenter, producer, and entrepreneur, who noted that in the age of social media, “the most valuable ‘currency’ is human attention.” He offered three key pieces of advice on how young people can leverage the power of their personal presence to create opportunities for themselves. First, he encouraged them to talk openly about their work and efforts, turning their everyday journey into a personal “diary” they can share with others. He also suggested they perform a “Google test” — searching their own name to see what impression someone would form upon encountering them online for the first time. Finally, he underscored the importance of taking initiative, reminding students that if you don’t ask for something, the answer is automatically “no” — and that a single attempt can often open a door that would otherwise never have existed.
The Ptolemaida ceremony
In Ptolemaida, the ceremony opened with a warm welcome from the Director of Personnel Development, Natassa Xydou, who congratulated both the honorees and the families who stand by their side at every step of the way. She emphasized that “progress means perseverance, discipline, the curiosity to keep learning, and the strength to set goals, achieve them, and always strive to surpass them,” wishing the students every success in pursuing their dreams. The Group’s General Director of Human Resources & Organization,
Alina Papageorgiou delivered a address focusing on the value of career guidance at a young age — a critical period when students are called upon to make important decisions about their future. Additionally, Kostas Maniatis, Secretary General of GENOP-DEI, emphasized the importance of self-reliance, encouraging the top achievers to build the resilience needed to face future challenges and to always remain open to embracing everything life has to offer.
The Deputy CEO of the DEI Group and Head of Conventional Generation, Alexios Paizis, congratulated the award-winning students and their families, encouraging the young achievers to remain focused on their studies and goals without subjecting themselves to excessive pressure. As he noted, “a strong academic foundation will give you the ability to do whatever you want in life.” He also highlighted that Western Macedonia stands at the threshold of a significant transformation, as the region maintains its pivotal energy role while developing a new, modern energy portfolio — with investments in advanced flexible power generation units, renewable energy sources, and energy storage. As he pointed out, this evolution is creating new employment and development opportunities for both skilled technicians and engineers as well as professionals with emerging skill sets, while also fostering innovation, collaboration with the University of Western Macedonia, and the creation of a new regional value chain.
The Ptolemaida event was also attended by Spyros Michalouli, a Career Guidance Counselor, who pointed out that the job market is changing at a rapid pace and that the professions of the future are not necessarily the ones we know today. He noted that students between the ages of 15 and 17 are not being asked to decide which career to pursue, but rather which field of study suits them best — since a single degree can lead to many different and diverse professional paths. He further emphasized that a career path is rarely linear, and he encouraged students to make decisions that they themselves will be proud of.
“DEI Proodeuo”: advancing education and excellence
The tradition of honoring the top-achieving children of DEI employees has evolved over the years into the established “DEI Proodeuo” (“DEI Progress”) program, through which secondary and higher education students who are children of DEI employees are recognized for their outstanding academic performance.
“DEI Proodeuo” is organized by the General Directorate of Human Resources & Organization and represents a longstanding institutional program that, for more than 40 years, has embodied DEI’s deep-rooted belief in the power of knowledge, effort, and
personal growth. Through the recognition of students at all academic levels, the program honors not only excellence but, above all, the values of perseverance, goal achievement, and continuous progress.
As part of the broader Sustainable Development Strategy of the DEI Group, these educational initiatives contribute to the company’s goals under the “Quality Education” pillar (SDG 4), as defined by the United Nations.
