CoHE President Erol Özvar Attends Iftar Event with Rectors at GNAT
March 12, 2025
Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education, attended the
iftar event with rectors hosted by Numan Kurtulmuş, Speaker of the Grand
National Assembly of Türkiye (GNAT), at GNAT.
In his speech, Özvar stated that they believe that universities should add
value to Türkiye's social and cultural life and that they attach importance
to strengthening the relationship between society and universities. Özvar
said, “In this context, we established the Science Communication Office
within the Council of Higher Education with the aim of making the
scientific studies of our universities visible in our country and on
international platforms and improving the ties between science and society.
These offices will be established within our universities in a short time.”
He announced that the Science Communication Office will launch the Science
Café events in May simultaneously with universities in all provinces.
Emphasizing that the success of universities will mean the success of
Türkiye, Özvar said, “In the last two decades, the Turkish higher education
system has made a great leap forward thanks to the leadership and decisive
policies of our President. Today, we have reached a capacity that is envied
by the world with 208 universities, nearly 185 thousand academics and
approximately 7.5 million students.”
Pointing out that the successful performance of universities in recent
years is clearly seen in the rankings announced by international university
ranking organizations in 2025, Özvar said, “The number of universities in
the top 500 has increased and it is understood that it will continue to
increase in the coming years. We also have universities in the top 300. Our
current goal is for our universities to enter the top 200 and then the top
100 in the world. I believe this is an achievable goal.”
Özvar stated that they believe that development in Türkiye depends on the
strong integration of university education into economic transformation
processes. Noting that the demand for access to higher education is still
strong in Türkiye, he said that providing all young people with access to
university education on equal terms and at reasonable cost is one of the
most important topics.
He emphasized that Türkiye has become one of the most successful countries
in the world in terms of inclusiveness and accessibility in higher
education. Stating that they have recently laid the foundations of a
striking transformation in higher education, he said that they closely
follow the radical change in digital technologies and the information
sector, especially AI. He stated that digital and green transformation
issues are on the permanent agenda of the Council of Higher Education.
Pointing out that the number of qualified international publications and
projects of Turkish academics is increasing day by day, Özvar said, “Today,
Türkiye is among the top 17 countries in the world in scientific
productivity. We continue to work and produce with great effort for the
better.”
At the end of his speech, Özvar expressed his gratitude to Numan Kurtulmuş,
Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (GNAT), for their kind
invitation.