Speaking to a large audience at the university's first-ever academic year opening ceremony, Minister Selçuk said, “I attach great importance to the message this university sends to Turkey. This is exactly what we envisioned; a place where science, technology, and application are all intertwined. Students need to internalize the meaning of this even more.”
OSTİM Technical University, which started the 2019-2020 academic year with 232 students – 25 in the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 87 in the Faculty of Engineering, and 120 in Vocational School programs – held its academic year opening ceremony.
The program was attended by Minister of National Education Prof. Dr. Ziya Selçuk, President of the Presidency of Defence Industries Prof. Dr. İsmail Demir, Chief Advisor to the President Ahmet Karayiğit, AK Party Ankara Member of Parliament Zeynep Yıldız, former ministers Ali Coşkun and Beşir Atalay, Deputy Chairman of the İYİ Party Durmuş Yılmaz, representatives from NGOs, the public and private sectors, academics, students, and parents.
“None of us will be wrong in thinking this is the right choice.”
The first speech at the event was given by Veysel Eren Öztürk, a student from the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department who ranked first in the university entrance exam. Expressing his pride in being the top-ranked student, Öztürk said, “University is one of the most important periods in a person's life; it's the time when they build their future. For my own life, I thought that spending this period at OSTİM Technical University would be the right choice. I hope and believe that none of us will be mistaken in this decision. With what our university will give us, we will be equipped with important knowledge for building our future, strengthening our abilities, gaining valuable experience, and as individuals conscious of our national values and possessing the right perspective on global issues, we will be giving our graduation speeches and saying, ‘Thank goodness for OSTİM Technical University.’”
The result of 50 years of effort
OSTİM Technical University Rector Prof. Murat Yülek stated that the institution is the result of an effort that has a practical history of 5 years but whose concept goes back 50 years. Yülek said, “This university is located right in the center of a large industrial basin established with the labor of 200,000 blue-collar and white-collar industrial workers; laborers, businessmen, and entrepreneurs. Therefore, it is the result of an effort and energy that is extremely rare in the world.”
Pointing out that the most important determinant of a country's development is its education system, Rector Yülek said, "When we look at the development process of countries, we see that when education is good, the country's development accelerates, and in societies where education is unsuccessful, not widespread, and of low quality, development slows down. University education is an area where complaints are particularly concentrated all over the world."
"Discussions about first-generation, second-generation, and third-generation universities are taking place intensely around the world. If there are discussions about universities, about third-generation, innovative, and entrepreneurial universities, it means that something is bothering people. We can assume that the belief that something needs to change is becoming widespread. The second-generation university system cannot meet the current needs of humanity. We, too, call ourselves an entrepreneurial, third-generation, innovative university," he said.
“OSTİM is not just a place limited to OSTİM itself”
OSTİM Technical University Board of Trustees Chairman Orhan Aydın said, “As an institution that has learned many lessons, given many lessons, accomplished many good deeds, and achieved many positive outcomes, today, in our 52nd year, we are at the opening ceremony of a university. This is an exciting day for us.”
Aydın, noting that they remembered with mercy Cevat Dündar, whom he described as the founder of OSTİM and the father of the Ahi brotherhood, and those who have passed away after contributing to OSTİM until today, said: “This is an Ahi institution. It was truly founded with an Ahi philosophy, and Ankara's industrialization first began here. OSTİM is the starting point for our other industrial zones in Ankara, the launching point for our other companies. This is fertile land. The name OSTİM is not just about OSTİM. OSTİM, short for Middle East Industrial and Trade Center, is not just a region responsible for its region and city. It is a region responsible for its geography and history. We are aware of this. At the same time, we are an institution that has strived to explain the OSTİM model, entrepreneurship, and production to other countries and people in nearly 20 countries in the Islamic world, at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and at the D-8.”
“Establishing a university within this ecosystem has a special significance.”
Minister of National Education Prof. Dr. Ziya Selçuk stated that establishing a university within the OSTİM ecosystem has a special significance. In his speech, Selçuk said: “We are talking about a situation where OSTİM Technical University is striving to create a living space within such an ecosystem in such a region. This, of course, is pregnant with ideas that hold great promise. Every idea is a seed, and it is not easy to predict what each seed will give rise to. Therefore, we owe a great debt of gratitude to all the minds and hearts that have contributed. Because establishing a university in this region, in this ecosystem, has a very special meaning.”
It's not enough for the quality of education here to be better than other universities! Whether the education provided here is original or not is of paramount importance. Because we are responsible for the dreams of students and their families who come to this newly established university with very high scores. We are aware that every effort we make here to ensure their dreams are not shattered is actually a service to this country.
We need to present a clear picture, one that allows us to answer the question, "Why should students choose this university?" without even a short pause. We need a mindset that is not just about being one of many universities, but about achieving a truly distinguished position in the world and developing a prototype that is as original as a true university. Of course, we must also have a message for the students, because their concept of a university is very complex. If you ask each student, "What is the purpose of a university?", many will reveal the very nature of the university. The university's state and identity are determined by what the student understands about it.
Science, technology, and application are intertwined.
I came here, to this newly established university, very deliberately and specifically because I deeply value the message this university sends to Turkey. We have many universities, but why am I here on its opening day? I also want to convey a message to the students and their families. To show how much we care about this place. This is exactly what we envisioned; a place where science, technology, and application are all intertwined. Students need to internalize this even more deeply.
On the one hand, students also have their own responsibilities. Universities usually have students write resumes or when applying for a job. I generally have them write future resumes. Unfortunately, children's ideas about writing their own future are largely blocked by adults. In other words, adults project their own dreams, thoughts, achievements, and failures from their own resumes onto their children's identities.”
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