December 30, 2025

A new step has been taken to the ongoing strategic cooperation between the Council of Higher Education and the defense industry. A cooperation protocol on graduate education was signed between the Council of Higher Education, the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TUSAŞ), and nine universities.

Speaking at the signing ceremony held at TUSAŞ, President of the Council of Higher Education, Erol Özvar, stated that the cooperation established between universities and strategic sectors is of vital importance for Türkiye’s independence and development goals.

Noting that the signed protocol aims to train the qualified human resources needed by the defense industry and to integrate the strong academic infrastructure of universities with the needs of the sector, Özvar said: “This strong bridge established between our universities and the defense industry will add great strength to our country’s independence and development goals.”

Training at TUSAŞ to Be Recognized as Credit-Bearing Courses

Emphasizing that, under the protocol, vocational and technical training conducted within TUSAŞ will be recognized as credit-bearing courses in cooperation with universities, Özvar continued as follows:

“Assigning experts working at TUSAŞ as instructors in undergraduate and graduate programs or in credit-bearing vocational and technical training programs; and conducting joint efforts to establish and implement thesis and non-thesis master’s and doctoral programs in order to meet TUSAŞ’s needs and support academic development are among the objectives of our protocol.”

Özvar also noted that, through the graduate education activities to be carried out via the universities included in the protocol, it is aimed to establish a more systematic and sustainable structure for knowledge and technology transfer between the defense industry and universities.

SSB President Görgün: “A paradigm shift in university–industry cooperation”

President of the Presidency of Defence Industries, Prof. Haluk Görgün, stated in his speech that the signed protocol represents a paradigm shift in university–industry cooperation.

Emphasizing that, SSB view university–industry cooperation not merely as a project-based or temporary field of interaction but as a long-term competency ecosystem, Görgün said: “In line with this understanding, we are working in close and strategic cooperation with the Council of Higher Education, and we aim to train the qualified human resources required by our defense industry through a systematic, planned, and sustainable approach. Thanks to this system, academia and industry are no longer merely two sides drawing closer to each other, but have become two strategic pillars that develop together and produce together.”

TUSAŞ General Manager Dr. Mehmet Demiroğlu stated that they are striving to provide experience to both young people and all TUSAŞ employees, saying: “We are taking steps one by one together with the relevant institutions and organizations to facilitate the academic work of our family. The protocol that has brought us together today is one of these steps.”

Council of Higher Education, SSB, TUSAŞ, and 9 Universities

The “Graduate Education Cooperation Protocols” signed between the Council of Higher Education, SSB, TUSAŞ, and nine universities were signed by President of the Council of Higher Education Erol Özvar, SSB President Prof. Haluk Görgün, TUSAŞ General Manager Mehmet Demiroğlu, TUSAŞ Deputy General Manager Yakup Arslan, President of the Defense Industry Academy Prof. O. Cenk Aktaş, and the Rectors of Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara University, Fırat University, Gazi University, Gebze Technical University, Hacettepe University, Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Marmara University, and Yıldız Technical University.

At the ceremony, in addition, a “Non-Thesis Master’s Programs in Business Administration in the Defense Industry (MBA) Protocol” was signed between the Council of Higher Education, SSB, Hacettepe University, and ITU for the purpose of developing and implementing non-thesis master’s programs in the field of business administration in the defense industry. With this protocol, it is aimed to train human resources equipped with the managerial and strategic competencies required by the defense industry ecosystem.