CoHE President Özvar: "I address our universities: Support your
international students. The internationalization of higher education is
one of Türkiye's key strategic objectives included in the Development
Plans."
"We have prepared the “Ethics Guidebook on the Productive Use of
Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Research and Publishing Activities
in Higher Education Institutions”, which will be sent to the
universities next week."
"We want universities to diverge rather than resemble each other. We
observe that productivity, efficiency, and collaboration increase with
the differentiation of universities."
April 20, 2024 / Bursa
CoHE President Erol Özvar paid a visit to Bursa to attend the search
conference hosted by Bursa Technical University (BTU) and to engage in
various meetings.
He first visited Bursa Technical University, where he received information
from Rector Prof. Naci Çağlar about the ongoing activities and academic
endeavors of the university. Then he participated in the university's
senate meeting.
At the search conference themed "What Will BTU Look Like in 2030?", Özvar
delivered the opening speech. In his speech titled "The Future Vision of
Turkish Higher Education”, Özvar stated they had been working intensively
for Turkish higher education to make it competitive, innovative,
sustainable, and high-quality on a global scale. He stated that any views
and suggestions put forward would contribute to their efforts in this
direction.
He said that CoHE had been working to create an innovative and competitive
higher education system that embraces a quality-focused and academic
performance-based management approach, encourages diversity, supports
university-industry collaboration models, and is attentive to national,
regional, and global issues.
He emphasized that it was extremely important for a state university to ask
the question "Where should the university aim at?” concerning its future
prospects. "We value and support all efforts made by our universities to
make them stronger, more competitive, and productive," he stated.
"We have prepared an ethics guidebook for the productive use of
artificial intelligence."
Özvar said that artificial intelligence, digitalization, and big data were
extremely strategic issues for Türkiye, and that they continued their
efforts in these areas. He said that they prepared the “Ethics Guidebook on
the Productive Use of Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Research and
Publishing Activities in Higher Education Institutions” with the
contributions of expert academics. He said that they would send the
guidebook, which was approved by CoHE General Assembly, to the universities
next week. He further elaborated that the guidebook was prepared to inform
higher education institutions about the risks and opportunities of rapidly
advancing productive AI usage in all fields, helping them understand,
evaluate, and take precautions against risks.
“Our goal is to rank among the top five countries in the world in terms
of international student numbers."
Özvar emphasized the importance of internationalization for the Council and
universities, stating, "I want to address our universities: Embrace your
international students. Internationalization of higher education is one of
Türkiye's fundamental strategic goals outlined in the Development Plans."
He noted that nearly 350,000 international students from 198 different
countries were pursuing higher education in Türkiye. "Our country has
become one of the top 10 countries in the world with the highest number of
international students, turning higher education into a global educational
hub. Our aim is to rank among the top five in this field. International
students from various parts of the world have the opportunity to continue
their education peacefully and harmoniously in our country," he said.
"I regret to say that there has been a strong negative perception towards
international students lately. Approximately 95% of international students
in Türkiye are financing their education and return to their home countries
as voluntary ambassadors of our nation. The presence of international
students does not result in any loss of rights for Turkish students.
Therefore, considering international students as irregular migrants or
immigrants is a misguided approach. It is of great importance to avoid all
kinds of unfounded words, actions, or comments that will hinder our
universities from becoming international centers of attraction."
Following the conference, Özvar visited the Research Center for Robotics
and Intelligent Systems at Bursa Technical University which is specializing
in robotics and intelligent systems. He also had talks with both Turkish
and international students.
"A higher education management that does not take student expectations
into account cannot be successful."
Özvar also visited Bursa Uludağ University and received information about
the ongoing activities at the university from Rector Prof. Ferudun Yılmaz.
He engaged in discussions with academics as well. "Student expectations are
changing. A higher education management that does not take these
expectations into account cannot be successful neither on a national nor on
a university scale. Therefore, university administrators are obliged to
consider students' expectations, desires, and dreams. There are sometimes
objections arising regarding this issue at state universities. We are ready
to provide any kind of support. We observe innovative initiatives in
different parts of the world where student expectations are highlighted.
This issue has now become an important parameter," he noted.
As part of his visits, Özvar paid a visit to Bursa Governor Mahmut Demirtaş
in his office. Additionally, he toured the Hünkar Pavilion, which was built
as a hunting lodge by Mehmet Salih Pasha, the governor of Bursa, for the
visit of Sultan Abdülmecit in 1844.
During Özvar's visit to Bursa, he was accompanied by CoHE Executive Board
members, members Prof. Erol Arcaklıoğlu and Prof. Hüseyin Karaman.