Administrators from the Uzbekistan Physical Education and Sports University paid a return visit to the Rector of Atatürk University, Prof. Dr. Ömer Çomaklı, who was awarded an honorary doctorate, visiting Uzbekistan in 2023 to fortify bilateral relations in education and research with the higher education institutions of the Central Asian Turkish world and to establish new agreements.

Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Baydemir, Faculty Member of the South-Eastern Turkish Dialects and Literatures Department of the Faculty of Letters, and Assoc. Prof. Muharrem Alparslan Kurudirek, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Sports Sciences, accompanied the delegation led by Prof. Dr. Bakhrom Musaev, the Vice Rector for Innovation and Scientific Affairs at the Uzbekistan Physical Education and Sports University, and Prof. Dr. Komil Ziyadullaev the Dean of the Faculty of Management and Sports Event Organization.

Bakhrom Musaev, Vice Rector of Uzbekistan University of Physical Education and Sports, emphasized the prestige of Atatürk University in the international arena and asserted that both institutions would greatly benefit from the cooperation opportunities. The meetings resulted in a consensus to conduct collaborative research, particularly in the areas of physical education and sports sciences.

The delegation, which was at Atatürk University to evaluate the Faculty of Sports Sciences and establish a variety of connections, also maintained its contacts by visiting the Winter Sports and Sports Sciences Institute, Athletic Performance Test and Measurement Center, Palandöken Ski Center, and Ski Jumping Towers.

Rector Çomaklı expressed his satisfaction with the Uzbek delegation's visit, stating that he had previously visited the Uzbekistan Physical Education and Sports University. During these visits, he exchanged education-training and research-oriented students and academic staff between the two universities, as well as projects, publications, patents, brands, congresses, and symposiums. He reminded that a consensus was established regarding the joint conduct of scientific investigations.

"We are committed to fostering positive and robust relationships with Uzbekistan."

Rector Çomaklı expressed his commitment to these visits as a means of contributing to the highly intensified cooperation process between the two countries on behalf of higher education and to further strengthen relations. He stated, "We are making every effort to elevate the academic cooperation opportunities with the universities in our heartland." One of the most critical behaviors that our New Generation University Design and Transformation Project has instilled in us is the desire to maintain strong and positive relationships with Uzbekistan in order to further our internationalization mission. Atatürk University, which is the first university in Turkey in nearly every discipline and has no rivals in winter sports, possesses numerous exemplary features in this regard. I am confident that you will establish a positive rapport with our Faculty of Sports Sciences and that the two sister universities will provide mutual support through collaborations.

The visit concluded with Rector Çomaklı providing his visitors with information about the Eastern Anatolian Observatory and capturing a souvenir photo.

Corporate Communication Directorate – June 4, 2024