​- Mission Differentiation and Specialization Aimed at Regional Development Meeting Held at Kastamonu University

- An Annual Assessment of the Universities was made within the scope of the Program

- CoHE President Özvar: “I sincerely believe that our regional development universities will contribute more and more to the future of our country, taking into account both regional and national needs.”

December 2, 2022 / Kastamonu

CoHE President Erol Özvar visited Kastamonu to attend the Mission Differentiation and Specialization Aimed at Regional Development Meeting.

Erol Özvar was accompanied by CoHE Executive Board Member Prof. Naci Gündoğan and CoHE General Assembly Member Prof. Hüseyin Karaman.

CoHE President Özvar first visited Kastamonu Governor, Avni Çakır, and then Kastamonu Mayor, Rahmi Galip Vidinlioğlu.

He later attended the Mission Differentiation and Specialization Aimed at Regional Development Meeting hosted by Kastamonu University.

The rectors of 22 member universities and Muhammet Adak, the President of the Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution, participated in the meeting. An overall assessment was made about the performance indicators of these universities for 2021 and their activities from the year they were included in the program. Kastamonu University Rector Prof. Ahmet Hamdi Topal, CoHE Executive Board Member Prof. Naci Gündoğan and CoHE President Erol Özvar delivered their speeches.

Özvar said that he was glad to visit Kastamonu University, which is the only specialized university on forestry and nature tourism in Türkiye and he underlined that individual visits and similar group meetings not only provided the opportunity to observe the problems of higher education institutions at first hand, but also enabled the Council of Higher Education to express its expectations for the future from universities.

- “I do not think that a uniform university structure could contribute to the mass higher education arena”

Özvar underlined that they aimed to share a role between institutions and said that he did not think that a uniform higher education structure would contribute to the society, the business world, or the future of the country in today's mass higher education arena, where resources are limited, needs are different, and expectations are diverse.

- “The society should also be integrated into the triple helix structure consisting of state, university and industry cooperation”

He underlined that it was extremely important for higher education institutions to take the triple helix, that is, state, university and industry cooperation, one step further and integrate the society into this process while establishing the boundaries of regional cooperation. “When you include the society in this triple mechanism, the quadruple mechanism that you will establish will be a facilitator for you to realize a healthy cooperation. In this way, higher education institutions will be able to create an integrated mechanism with the public private sector organizations, the business world and the society. As a result of the proper functioning of these mechanisms and processes, universities will be able to become organizations that are compatible with public and private sector organizations, can respond quickly to the information and human resource needs of the business world, meet the expectations of the society, and thus pave the way for regional and therefore national development,” he said.

He stated that the leading universities in the region could make the region a center of attraction by attracting both students, who move to different regions for education, and the business world that will invest in the region. He drew attention to the fact that universities with different structures and missions were a functional part of the higher education system in Türkiye, with their differences and priorities.

- “We launched the YÖK Academic Mobility Project”

CoHE President Özvar highlighted that the Turkish universities aimed at regional development cared about cooperation with Turkish research universities and other state and foundation universities and continued his speech as follows:

“As one of these cooperation processes, we will launch the YÖK Academic Mobility Project as of the Spring Term of the 2022-2023 Academic Year. With this project, we primarily aim to support programs that have difficulties in recruiting academic staff at universities established after 2006, increase the mobility of academic staff among Turkish universities, and bring our students together with the faculty members of different universities.”

- Statistics of Regional Development-Oriented Universities-

Özvar shared some statistical information about the universities under the program to better evaluate the current situation and create future goals within this framework and said that 22 universities within the scope of the Mission Differentiation and Specialization Aimed at Regional Development Program constituted around 10 percent of the total number of universities. He stated that the total number of students receiving face-to-face education is 13 percent of the total number of students receiving face-to-face education at Turkish state universities, and that the total number of faculty members is 11 percent of the total number of faculty members at state universities.

- “Regional development-oriented universities took on a huge responsibility in terms of education”

Özvar stated that the total number of students receiving face-to-face education at regional development-oriented universities is 45 percent of the total number of students receiving face-to-face education at 60 state universities established after 2006, and that the total number of faculty members is 39 percent of the total number of faculty members at state universities established after 2006. He also stated that the universities focused on regional development took on a huge responsibility in terms of education.

He said that the total number of associate degree students at regional development-oriented universities constituted 19 percent of the total number of associate degree students and 12 percent of the number of undergraduate students at Turkish state universities.

“The total number of graduate students at regional development-oriented universities constitutes 11 percent of the total number of graduate students at state universities. The number of doctoral students constitutes 4 percent. Similarly, four percent of the total number of doctoral students graduate from the regional development-oriented universities. While there are 18,500 students per university in our regional development-oriented universities, there are 395 faculty members.

While the total number of international students at Turkish regional development-oriented universities is 12 percent of the total number of international students at state universities, the total number of international faculty members is also 12 percent. While the total number of international students at the regional development-oriented universities is 39 percent of the total number of international students at the state universities established after 2006, the total number of international faculty members is around 33 percent. The number of publications per academic staff published in indexed journals of Turkish universities with a regional development mission in 2021 varies between 0.1 and 0.54.”

He said that they expected the universities to take a role in regional development and develop their research capacities and concluded his speech by saying that he wholeheartedly believed these institutions would contribute more to the future of our country, considering both regional and national needs.

The General Program Evaluation Meeting was held in the afternoon session of the program. Muhammet Adak, President of the Agricultural and Rural Development Support Institution, made a presentation at the meeting. Özvar chaired the Senate meeting of Kastamonu University and chatted with the students. The research assistants working under 50/d contract and the students who returned to the university by taking advantage of the student amnesty thanked CoHE President Erol Özvar for his contributions throughout the process and presented him flowers.

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