Prof. Kocabıçak, THEQC President, and Prof. Çufalı, THEQC Vice-President, Attend the 2023-2024 Academic Year Opening Ceremony

The “2023-2024 Academic Year Opening Ceremony” organised by the Council of Higher Education (CoHE) was held at Beştepe National Congress and Cultural Center with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Prof. Ümit Kocabıçak, President of the Turkish Higher Education Quality Council (THEQC), and Prof. Mustafa Çufalı, THEQC Vice-President, attended the ceremony, as well as state officials, public institution administrators, university rectors, academics and many other participants.

In his speech, President Erdoğan noted that they will continue to support academics in all kinds of qualified studies on science, culture and education, and that universities, which are considered the centers of excellence of the society, have roles beyond providing professional formation to individuals.

Stating that universities, in addition to being centers of science, are universal institutions with traditions that contribute to the intellectual development of students and enable them to discover their talents, President Erdoğan pointed out that science diplomacy is of critical importance in increasing Türkiye’s international recognition and improving intercultural interaction and communication. Expressing that they encourage universities to work on concrete cooperation projects with their counterparts abroad, Erdoğan said that they expect the development of joint scientific projects that will improve Türkiye’s economic, social development and cultural cooperation.

In his speech, Prof. Erol Özvar, CoHE President, stated that the universities that received institutional accreditation as a result of the works carried out by the Turkish Higher Education Quality Council in the field of quality assurance have now started to be included in the lists of international umbrella organizations.

President Özvar continued, “In the coming period, we want to make our quality culture visible in higher education throughout the world, especially in the TRNC and our cultural geography. As the Council of Higher Education and universities, we observe with great satisfaction that our quality-oriented approach and work have begun to bear fruit.”

After the speeches, President Erdoğan presented awards to the academics and universities who won the “CoHE 2023 Outstanding Achievement Awards”.