CoHE and EÜAŞ Sign “Cooperation Protocol on Energy Academy Program”
June 9, 2022 / Ankara
The Council of Higher Education (CoHE) and the Electricity Generation
Cooperation (EÜAŞ) signed the “Cooperation Protocol on Energy Academy
Program”.
CoHE President Erol Özvar made a speech at the signing ceremony of the
protocol. He emphasized that they attached importance to train
highly-skilled individuals with the qualifications needed by the industry,
and to create employment-oriented policies. He said that they wanted the
graduates of higher education institutions to have the skills sought when
they enter the job market and said that they expected the analytical and
technical skills of these individuals to be developed in a way that could
adapt to changing conditions.
Özvar emphasized that the cooperation with the leading sectors in the
economic development of the country continued in this scope and reiterated
that they, as CoHE, had established cooperation with stakeholders such as
opening a higher education program, developing a curriculum, creating a
graduate tracking system and designing an internship program. He noted that
they had realized higher education-sector cooperation by signing protocols
with the representatives of the sectors of mining, petroleum, textile and
land surveying, which had an important share in employment and exports.
Özvar also said they agreed on signing a protocol on energy with EÜAŞ in
the field of energy, which had an extremely strategic position in the
development of the country.
“We aim to develop national technologies with high added value in the
field of energy”
Özvar stated that EÜAŞ was a public institution that continued its
activities to produce the electrical energy needed for the growth and
development of the country in a reliable, economical, quality and
environmentally friendly way by using the country's resources efficiently,
and said, "The Cooperation Protocol on Energy Academy Program, which was
signed between the Council of Higher Education and EÜAŞ, aims to develop
long-term strategies, implementations and national technologies with high
added value in the field of energy. It also aims to increase the share of
capital in the energy market in the national economy, to strengthen the
human capital of the energy sector in terms of knowledge, skills and
competence, and to offer graduate education based on products created by
R&D technologies. It is aimed to do postgraduate education."
Özvar said that the protocol included the announcement of a project call
for priority problematic areas in the energy sector (the expenses of the
protocol will be covered by EÜAŞ), the applications of the determined
universities for the project, the conduction of graduate programs under the
project, and the provision of additional quotas to be determined by CoHE in
graduate programs for EÜAŞ personnel.
- Energy Academy Universities-
According to the information given by CoHE President Özvar, Gazi
University, Istanbul Technical University, Izmir Institute of Technology,
Marmara University and Middle East Technical University were determined as
"Energy Academy Universities" under the protocol. In accordance with the
protocol, projects for graduate programs in energy such as Energy
Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering, Nuclear Energy Engineering, Energy
Science and Technology, Energy Management, Energy Economics, Energy
Production, Energy Resources will be carried out between the Energy Academy
Universities and EÜAŞ.
Students, who take part in projects within the scope of the Energy Academy
Graduate Program and graduate from a graduate program, can be employed at
EÜAŞ within the framework of the regulations to which EÜAŞ is affiliated.
The diploma to be awarded at the end of the program will provide students
with the same rights as the diplomas awarded by universities in graduate
programs. Applications for additional quotas reserved for EÜAŞ personnel in
graduate programs will be made according to the admission requirements of
the relevant university for graduate students and will be evaluated separately.
- A New Dimension to University-Industry Cooperation -
CoHE President Erol Özvar said, "With the protocol, we aim to bring
university-industry cooperation to a new dimension and to move the energy
sector further in our country."
He said that he believed the Energy Academy Graduate Program would
contribute to the development and sustainability of the technology and
knowledge of EÜAŞ and added, “An applied technological project environment
will also be provided to Turkish universities and academics under the
protocol. We foresee that the projects under the protocol will increase the
competitiveness of our country in the field of energy by contributing to
the development of technologies that are valuable for the energy sector in
Türkiye."
He emphasized that the energy sector had always had a strategic and vital
importance and expressed his pleasure in signing the protocol with the
Electricity Generation Corporation.
“We will bring university professors together with the engineers and
experts of the institution”
Özvar answered the questions of a press member regarding the admission
requirements to energy academies and the new technologies that would be
produced. "We will bring university professors together with the engineers
and experts of the institution in the research areas that EÜAŞ will point
out under the protocol. Thus, it is aimed to develop national technologies
in certain areas. We have come up with an agreement with Turkish
universities to expand the education and training opportunities of the
personnel working in the field of energy. Those who wish to apply to
master's and PhD programs can apply. The application conditions are the
same for those working at EÜAŞ as they are for other candidates. There is
no special condition here. However extra quotas may be added for students
who want to apply from there. Otherwise, all conditions are the same as for
other applicants," he said.
“The issue that I focus on the most is that university professors are
constantly involved in the implementation”
He stated that he, as the President of CoHE, wanted cooperation between
public institutions, in which the application for the sector was more
dominant and said, "The issue that I focus on the most is that university
professors are constantly involved in the implementation. We believe that
we can become more prominent in the national technology move in Türkiye and
come a long way as long as university professors become involved in the
implementation.”
İzzet Alagöz, the General Manager of EÜAŞ, stated that they signed a
protocol with CoHE to train energy experts and said, “The world talks about
green deal, carbonization, alternative energy sources, energy efficiency
and energy generation technologies. The Energy Academy will provide us with
these opportunities and train people in these fields. An energy system with
domestic resources but foreign technology does not free us from dependency.
As EÜAŞ, we believe that we will make the best use of our domestic
resources.”