Meeting “Turkey's Window of Opportunity: Turkish Higher Education”
Takes Place in Muş
July 16, 2019 / Muş
The New CoHE, with the motto “Digitalized CoHE”, has been implementing new
projects aimed at quality in Turkish higher education. The meeting “Turkey’s Window of Opportunity: Turkish Higher Education”
, in which the topics of digital transformation and literacy, and the new goals for
the education of the youth in Turkey, were discussed, took place in Muş.
The project protocols of eight universities newly chosen under the Digital
Transformation in Higher Education Project were signed at the meeting. In
addition to CoHE President Prof. M. A. Yekta Saraç, CoHE Executive Board
Member Prof. Naci Gündoğan, the rectors of the firstly chosen eight
universities and the newly chosen eight universities for the Digital
Transformation Project in Higher Education rectors, and the rectors of some
universities in the region attended the meeting.
Muş Alparslan University hosted the meeting. The studies carried out by
CoHE in the field of future professions, new
undergraduate/graduate programs and the roles of universities in regional
development were discussed.
Prof. Fethi Ahmet Polat, Rector of Muş Alparslan University, and CoHE
President Prof. M. A. Yekta Saraç gave the opening speeches. CoHE Executive
Board member Prof. Naci Gündoğan delivered an informative speech about the
Digital Transformation in Higher Education Project.
CoHE President Saraç began his speech by saying that one sees that Turkey
has a deep experience when looking at the history of higher education in
Turkey. He noted that their ancestors, who strengthened the contributions
of civilizations they had inherited with higher education institutions, had
left them a structure on which they could build a strong university system.
CoHE President Saraç added that they had been adding new studies to the
inclusive and sustainable projects at the beginning of each academic year.
“The concept of “demographic window of opportunity”, which is also regarded
as a demographic gift, is defined as the increase in working age population
since the population growth rate decreases during the demographic
transformation process which affects the future of the countries with its
economic, political and social dimensions. Therefore, we are quite aware
that Turkish higher education needs to assess Turkey’s demographic window
of opportunity in the best way possible. With the fourth industrial
revolution, advances in previously disaggregated fields such as artificial
intelligence and machine learning, robotics, nanotechnology, genetics and
biotechnology are now developing and strengthening each other,” he said.
CoHE President also said that CoHE opened programs such as Information
Security Technology and Artificial Intelligence Engineering at various
universities this year and that he was sure that the number of these
programs at associate degree, undergraduate and graduate level would
increase in the light of suggestions the following year.
President Saraç emphasized that the Council of Higher Education pays extra
attention on the importance of the changing role of universities on
regional development under the works they had initiated with the concept
the “New CoHE” in the last decade. He noted that they had realized the
“Digital Transformation in Higher Education Project” and the 100/2000
Doctoral Scholarship Project, which was considered as the five-star project
of CoHE and had been carried out with an incredible success in its third
year.
Click here to read the full transcript of the speech made by CoHE President
Prof. M. A. Yekta Saraç. (In Turkish)
Following the speeches, CoHE President Yekta Saraç was presented with a
certificate of appreciation signed by 27 university rectors from the
Eastern and Southeastern regions for his contributions to regional
universities and new projects that shaped the academic life. A question and
answer session was held between CoHE President Saraç and the participants.
After CoHE Executive Board Member Prof. Naci Gündoğan's speech on the
Digital Transformation in Higher Education Project, a protocol signing ceremony with the newly selected eight
universities was held.
CoHE President Saraç, CoHE member Gündoğan and university rectors signed
the protocol on the inclusion of Ardahan University, Artvin Çoruh
University, Batman University, Bitlis Eren University, Gümüşhane
University, Hakkari University, Kilis 7 Aralık University and Osmaniye
Korkut Ata University, which were designated as the 2nd stage universities
under the Digital Transformation in Higher Education Project.
In addition to the universities designated for the first stage, which were
Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Bayburt University, Bingöl University, Iğdır
University, Munzur University, Muş Alparslan University, Siirt University
and Şırnak University, eight more universities were also included in the
project.
After the signing ceremony, CoHE President Prof. M. A. Yekta Saraç met with
the rectors of 27 universities from Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia.
He met with the rectors at the senate hall and received information about
the studies of the universities within the scope of the Mission
Differentiation Aimed at Regional Development Project conducted by CoHE.
While the rectors informed Saraç of the academic and scientific studies at
their universities, they also conveyed their requests and issues about the
recent status of their universities.
Here -
https://www.yok.gov.tr/HaberBelgeleri/Haber%20%c4%b0%c3%a7erisindeki%20Belgeler/Konu%c5%9fma%20Metinleri/2019/Turkiye_nin_Firsat_Penceresi_Mus_Toplantisi_Konusma_Metni.pdf