Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hacımüftüoğlu, rector of Atatürk University, was present at the Council of Higher Education's (CHE) "Research Orientated Mission Differentiation and Specialisation Programme Evaluation Meeting."
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hacımüftüoğlu, Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education, Prof. Dr. Haldun Göktaş, Prof. Dr. Naci Gündoğan, Prof. Dr. Erol Arcaklıoğlu, Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Karaman, Prof. Dr. Arif Bilgin, Prof. Dr. Mahmut Ak, and other invited guests attended the meeting in the capital, Ankara.
The yearly performance of universities was assessed using 31 indicators in the areas of research quality, research capability, interaction, and collaboration during the conference held by Gazi University and presided over by Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar, President of CHE. As a result, Atatürk University maintained its position and ranking in the A2 category among the Research Universities and placed among 23 universities this year, just as it did last year, at the Research Universities Meeting, where universities were divided into three categories: A1, A2, and A3. It also improved its score in all of the categories of research quality, research capacity, interaction, and cooperation.
Atatürk University has demonstrated growth in 17 indicators overall, with the first five showing the largest increase over the previous year: the rate of international students (342.6%), the rate of university-industry cooperation publications (107.1%), the amount of funding received from R&D and innovation projects conducted in collaboration with the university-business world (259.4%), the amount of funding for international projects (235.6%), and the number of national science awards (200%).


"Our goal is to increase research universities' visibility on a global scale," said President Özvar.
Research universities' performance evaluation criteria were presented during the conference by Prof. Dr. Naci Gündoğan, a member of the Council of Higher Education's Executive Board. Following Gündoğan, Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education, took the floor. In his opening remarks, he highlighted the steps taken to improve universities' competitiveness both domestically and internationally and said that their goal is to increase research universities' visibility globally.
"We have included 6 universities in the Research Universities Candidate Monitoring Program," Özvar stated, stressing that he keeps a close eye on the performance of research universities. These universities include Sakarya, Selçuk, Ondokuz Mayıs, Kocaeli, Akdeniz, and Gaziantep. As of 2024, we have incorporated our six institutions that are part of the Candidate Monitoring Program into this framework for the two-year monitoring process. If their performance among these institutions surpasses that of the current research universities at the conclusion of this time, which is at the end of 2025, we intend to incorporate them in the program. As a result, we maintain the option for all of our institutions to become research universities.
"The Evaluation Meeting of the Research-Oriented Mission Differentiation and Specialisation Program organised by the Council of Higher Education (CHE) is of great importance for universities to improve their existing research capacities and to position them more strongly in the international arena," said Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hacımüftüoğlu, rector of Atatürk University.

‘We Care About Collaborating with Scientists Recognised Worldwide’

Prof. Dr. Hacımüftüoğlu made an assessment of the meeting: ‘The effective use of big data studies in our universities plays a critical role not only in scientific research but also in terms of industrial collaborations and social benefit. As Atatürk University, we are expanding the scope of the research projects we carry out using big data technologies day by day. However, we are also taking important steps to strengthen our national and international cooperation in this field. Another important issue discussed at the meeting was the process of establishing international advisory boards. The success of a research-oriented university should not be limited to its own internal dynamics, but should also be in constant interaction with international scientists. In this context, Atatürk University continues to have a global vision in both academic and research projects by collaborating with world-renowned scientists. International advisory boards will play a key role in increasing the international visibility of our university and ensuring that we gain a stronger place in the academic world.’

Rector Hacımüftüoğlu: ‘We are proud to be a part of this mission’

Rector Hacımüftüoğlu stated that the beneficiary statistics within the scope of the International Researcher Projects of the Council of Higher Education once again reminded the importance of scientist mobility: ‘The mobility of scientists at the international level is indispensable for the acceleration of knowledge transfer, the integration of different research schools and the realisation of multidisciplinary projects. As Atatürk University, we will continue to provide favourable conditions for international researchers to come to our university and encourage this process. This meeting once again demonstrated the strategic role of research-oriented universities for the future of Turkey. As Atatürk University, we are proud to be a part of this mission with pioneering projects at both national and international level. We will continue to work with all our academic and administrative staff to carry forward the achievements we have achieved in the processes of specialisation and mission differentiation.’

The meeting ended with listening to wishes and requests and determining the new road map.

DIRECTORATE OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATION - 16.09.2024