February 02, 2025 / Istanbul

The fifth Higher Education Vision Towards 2030 Meeting was held at Istanbul Medeniyet University. In his speech at the opening of the meeting, Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education, stated that the number of universities with digital and AI-based programs will be increased from 20 to 70. He emphasized that Türkiye is one of the countries that has taken action quickly regarding AI-based programs in higher education.

Özvar stated that they want to take their time to revamp existing programs, replacing those that offer fewer job opportunities with new, more promising ones and said, “We are also reviewing our vocational schools and their programs. The cyber security vocational school programs may have become the most successful vocational schools in the last few years.”

He said that the Council of Higher Education took swift action against the incompatibility that may arise between education and sector needs, and to do this, they encouraged and directed universities to update their associate, undergraduate and graduate program curricula in consultation with sector representatives. “Supporting thematic vocational schools in organized industrial zones to meet the expectations of the sector has been another model that was put into practice for the acquisition of new skills,” he said.

Stating that digitalization and green transformation in health are on their agenda, Özvar said, “In cooperation with the Ministry of Health, we are determining a road map to ensure digitalization in health education and to create an education model that offers more job opportunities and is compatible with the sector. We are also working on new programs to meet the need for human resources related to digital technologies and green transformation in agriculture.”

Erol Özvar said that the Times Higher Education (THE) revealed the progress Türkiye has achieved in higher education in the THE’s 2025 World Universities Ranking by Subject.

He emphasized that it is necessary to work carefully on the 2030 vision of higher education, especially on determining wage policies in access to higher education, balancing new educational technologies and traditional education, quality assurance and global competitiveness, academic motivation and scientific productivity, changing demographic structure and demand for access to universities, employment-sensitive programs and labor market expectations from university graduates, sustainability and internationalization.

CoHE Members Prof. Naci Gündoğan and Prof. Erol Arcaklıoğlu also took part in the Higher Education Vision Towards 2030 Meeting. The meeting was attended by the rectors and representatives of 37 universities in the Marmara, Central and Western Black Sea regions.