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Meeting of Research Universities Held at Erciyes University

March 25, 2022 / Kayseri

CoHE President Erol Özvar headed the Meeting of Research Universities hosted by Erciyes University and organized under the Research-Oriented Mission Differentiation and Specialization Programme by the Council of Higher Education. The list in which 23 research universities are matched with the priority fields listed in the 11th Development Plan and their strong fields of health, science and engineering and social sciences was announced at the meeting.

CoHE President Erol Özvar, CoHE Executive Board Members, Prof. Naci Gündoğan and Prof. Ömer Açıkgöz, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Hasan Mandal, the rectors of research universities, Tolga Balcı, Head of Education and Culture Department of the Presidency of Strategy and Budget, and the vice rectors of research universities attended the meeting held at Erciyes Cultural Center.

In his speech, Özvar stated that seeking solutions to global crises such as wars, epidemics, hunger, forced migration and global warming was considered as a responsibility placed on the shoulders of universities today.

He touched on the fact that universities were looking for a new way to protect their global positions in international competition and to find solutions to increasing problems. He also said that some universities decided to merge and that two long-established British higher education institutions, University College London and Institute of Education, merged to compete more strongly on a global scale in December 2014.

He underlined the importance of human resources and said the following:

"The Republic of Türkiye has recently made higher education accessible across the country to increase the quality of the country's human resources and to respond to the demand for higher education that has increased with the young population. Moreover, Türkiye wants to produce knowledge for its primary objectives and to secure its economic benefits. In this direction, Türkiye has enriched the financial support programs for higher education to increase both the quality of universities in our country and their international competitiveness in line with the will of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

In accordance with Türkiye's development goals, we want universities to be leading institutions in training qualified manpower and creating knowledge and technology. We believe that they can become the reputable members of the global information society with these qualifications."

He reiterated that 23 universities, 20 of which are state universities and 3 are foundation universities, were declared as research universities for the "Research Oriented Mission Differentiation and Specialization Program” initiated by CoHE and continued as follows:

"The objectives of higher education institutions in the development plans are important for us. In this context, we make efforts to support the production of high value-added outputs of universities and develop their capacities as we take into account the needs of our country. The following article in the 11th Development Plan is particularly important for us. 'Research universities will be matched with priority sectors according to their competencies. The business models based on projects that were created to achieve the determined goals will be put into practice and these collaborations will be supported.'"

The limits for rates in academic titles have been removed at research universities

Özvar talked about the importance of support and added:

"I would like to share with you for the first time the good news of an important flexibility regarding the use of the resources transferred within the scope of the Research Universities Support Program with the amendment we have made in the Regulation on Scientific Research Projects in Higher Education Institutions (BAP) which we will announce soon. After the Council of Higher Education ensures the effective use of the appropriation provided under the program and carries out the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation process and results, a related report will be prepared and shared with the Presidency of Strategy and Budget. The procedures and principles regarding the operation of the support program are also being prepared by CoHE in coordination with the Presidency of Strategy and Budget and will be completed soon.

Another arrangement that is closely related to Turkish research universities is about the norm staffing. With the amendment we have made within the framework of the ‘Regulation on the Amendment of the Regulation for the Determination and Use of Staffing Norms for Academic Staff in State Higher Education Institutions' published in the Official Gazette dated March 3, 2022, we brought flexibility regarding the norm staffing at all universities and provided relief by removing the rate limitation for titles in research universities. In the coming days, we will share with you the good news of important legislative regulations that are closely related to these research universities."

Özvar thanked Prof. Aykut Özdarendeli and his team for their contribution to the development of TURKOVAC and stated that the local vaccine gave confidence to everyone.

He talked about the importance of research universities and added, "These developments show that Turkish universities are still dynamic and competitive institutions. The rectors of these universities will carry their universities into the world league. I believe that in a few years, some of these universities will enter the top 300 and 500.”

TÜBİTAK President Prof. Hasan Mandal touched on the importance of conducting research at universities and gave information about the report in 2021 announced by the World Economic Forum.

He talked about the decisions taken at the Türkiye Climate Council and noted that Türkiye would carry out important studies on climate change, environment and biodiversity, clean and circular economy, accessible energy supply, green and sustainable agriculture, and sustainable transportation.

He pointed out that there were special quotas allocated for research universities and said that TÜBİTAK continued to give its support for the development of human resources.

CoHE Executive Board Member Prof. Naci Gündoğan gave information about the "Protocol on Cooperation for the Support Program for Research Universities” signed on March 17, 2022 between the Presidency of Strategy and Budget and the Council of Higher Education.

Gündoğan announced the results of the matching of research universities in the fields of health, advanced technology and social sciences in which they are competent, as well as their priority fields listed in the 11th Development Plan.

ERU Rector Prof. Mustafa Çalış also noted that the annual transfer of performance-based resources to research universities in accordance with the Protocol on Cooperation for the Support Program for Research Universities would increase the international competitiveness of these universities, and encourage and motivate their administrators and researchers.

Following the meeting, Özvar met with the students of Erciyes University and answered their questions.

“The more you read, the more you realize how little you know. This is a paradox. The first condition for an efficient undergraduate education is not to study. It is true that studying is important. However, the first condition is to have a good social environment. Universities give all of us a chance to build a unique social environment. The successful people I see around me are all positive people with good social circles. We have a brilliant youth. You are brought up by self-sacrificing families. Take advantage of the social network that are offered by universities. Some of you are introverts, some are extroverts. But skills can be developed with self-confidence. The network of relationships gives us this self-confidence. That's why universities exist. This network of relationships is extremely important. The Arabs have a saying: 'Opportunities are like clouds’. A safe social environment is very important. People are under pressure to be alone. Despite this pressure of isolation, we are in need of a social environment. Do not delay getting involved in a social environment after graduation. I am talking about meeting people from different cultures, environments, potentials and abilities. I think the second key to success is to be able to contact the outside world related to your field outside of campus. Learn a foreign language. Participate in social projects. Be curious. Curiosity takes you on a science journey.”

Özvar and the accompanying delegation also went to the research centers of Erciyes University and were briefed on the projects.

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