BAU International University Batumi's New Service Building Opened

The academic year and the new service building of BAU International University Batumi, which BAU Global added to its international education network 4 years ago, were opened with a ceremony. Bahçeşehir Uğur Educational Institutions Chair of the Board Enver Yücel said, "Today we are taking the university we opened in Batumi 4 years ago to a bigger and more perfect place."

An opening ceremony for the academic year and the new service building was held for BAU International University Batumi, which began education with its first medical students in the 2015-2016 academic year in the city of Batumi in Georgia, Türkiye's neighbor. The ceremony was attended by Minister of Health and Social Affairs of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara of Georgia Zaal Mikeladze, Consul General of Türkiye in Batumi Makbule Koçak, Bahçeşehir Uğur Educational Institutions Chair of the Board Enver Yücel, Istanbul Bahçeşehir University President Prof. Dr. Şirin Karadeniz, Medina Hospital General Manager İris Borchochvili, as well as educators and students.

YÜCEL: WE WANTED AN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Speaking at the ceremony, Bahçeşehir Uğur Educational Institutions Chair of the Board Enver Yücel stated that Georgia is an important, friendly and allied country for Türkiye and said that the presence of a Turkish university in the country would further strengthen relations between them. Yücel said: "We wanted to create an international university. Our language is English. We want to be a good university attended by students from the Black Sea Region, Türkiye and the world. Health is at the top of this region's needs. Both health policies and developments in health are very important for this region. It is very important for us that, with good and high-quality education, excellent doctors are ultimately trained here. We have also established collaboration between our Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Medicine in Istanbul and this university. In other fields, too, we will establish relations between this university and our universities in various parts of the world."

"WE HAVE A TARGET OF 1,500 STUDENTS"

Stating that with the new building the university now has bigger, more beautiful and more modern laboratories, Yücel said: "Our university currently has only a faculty of medicine. In the coming years it will be followed by other faculties, primarily in health, and a faculty of engineering, and with a target of 1,500 students within 3 years, more than 100 jobs will be created here. We want our relationship and collaboration with Medina Hospital to develop further and to turn this into an internationally strong health university. As BAU Global, we have universities around the world in Washington DC, Berlin, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Istanbul. The developing relations and communication among these universities will add even more strength to our university in Batumi. As a university, we were founded in Istanbul 21 years ago, and before that we are an educational institution with 52 years of history. We are one of the largest educational institutions, in fact the largest."

PROF. DR. KARADENİZ: WE HAVE A STRONG INTERNATIONAL NETWORK

Istanbul Bahçeşehir University President Prof. Dr. Şirin Karadeniz stated that their university has a very strong international network through its ties with many universities around the world, and said: "First of all, I would like to tell our students here that they are also part of the network of our university in Istanbul and our other universities. With our Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences and newly opened Faculty of Dentistry at Istanbul Bahçeşehir University, and the master's and doctoral programs of these undergraduate programs, we strive both to provide pioneering education in health and to contribute to our country and the world through research and development. We now plan to increase these international ties in Batumi."

CONSUL GENERAL: WE HAVE JOINT INITIATIVES IN HEALTH AND EDUCATION

Speaking at the ceremony, Consul General of Türkiye in Batumi Makbule Koçak stated that Türkiye-Georgia friendship and cooperation have spread to all fields, and said:
"We also have very successful joint initiatives in health and education cooperation. Today we are here at the opening of an educational institution that has emerged from a fine collaboration between Bahçeşehir University, which has opened very successful educational institutions and universities that have proven themselves both in Türkiye and internationally, and Medina, an important hospital here. Investing in education is investing in the future, but investing in health education is even more important; it is an investment in the future of all our health. Türkiye is increasing its investments in health every day and has become one of the leading countries in health tourism. Of course, the prerequisite for this is qualified teaching staff and qualified health and medical staff. Our educational institution, which will serve here with advanced technology, is very important for all of us and for our region. It is very important for Türkiye and Georgia, and of course it will also have important effects on our economy. In the short term, its first effect here will be an increase in the number of international students; in the long term, entrusting our health to these experts will benefit us all."

Minister of Health and Social Affairs of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara of Georgia Zaal Mikeladze also stated that the two friendly countries cooperate in every field and said that they are happy to have BAU Global, which has made important breakthroughs in education, in their country.

STUDENTS FROM 20 COUNTRIES

Following the speeches, the guests opened the new service building and toured the campus. At Türkiye-based BAU International University Batumi, ranked among the best universities in Georgia, medical education is provided by expert staff to students from 20 different countries.