Education Addressed at the American-Turkish Council Conference

At the American-Turkish Council (ATC) Annual Conference held in Washington, DC on 2–5 June, a panel on education was organized for the first time this year. Speaking on the panel, Enver Yücel said: "Education on a national scale is no longer sufficient. A national mindset is no longer enough. So all the countries of the world must come together."

 

The 32nd ATC Conference was held in cooperation with the Turkish-U.S. Business Council (TAİK), the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) and the American Friends of Türkiye (AFOT).

 

While topics such as banking and finance, defense and security are discussed every year at the conference within the framework of Turkish-American relations, this year a session on education was also held for the first time. The panel titled "Investment Potential and Expansion Opportunities in the Education Sector", attended by Carolyn Aker, Head of Program Development at Cambridge Institute; Bahar Akıngüç Günver, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kültür University; Nuri Çolakoğlu, President of Doğan Media International; Andrew Levi, President of Cisco Systems for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Russia; and Enver Yücel, Founder and Chairman of Bahçeşehir University, was moderated by Dr. Burak Küntay, Chair of the Education Committee of the American-Turkish Council.

 

AN OFFICIAL EDUCATION PANEL FOR THE FIRST TIME
 

In his opening speech, Dr. Burak Küntay stated that they had realized that education had become very important in relations between the two countries, particularly in terms of creating financial value, and that for this reason they had organized an official education panel for the first time this year.
 

Speaking first on the panel, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kültür University Bahar Akıngüç Günver talked about the history of Kültür Educational Institutions and of education in Türkiye. Noting that establishing private schools became easier with the 1982 Constitution, Akıngüç Günver said that although there was demand from families in the 1990s, these schools struggled to find students due to financial constraints, but that the number of private schools, which was 300 in 1985, is 3,149 today. "Although this number may sound high, the private school rate of 3.2 percent is well below the 25 percent rate in developed countries," she said. Akıngüç Günver stated that this rate will soon rise to 20 percent with incentives, thereby reducing the burden on state educational institutions.
 

Also addressing the quality problem in Türkiye's education system, Bahar Akıngüç Günver explained that Türkiye's population is expected to reach 99 million in 2050, with a working population of 65 million at that date, which creates great opportunities. Akıngüç Günver said: "Looking at today's statistics and projections, opening up internationally, investment opportunities in education and private sector participation at every stage of education are being encouraged. Türkiye appears to be a very attractive area for global investors. However, despite all these advantages, there has not been enough foreign direct investment in education over the past ten years. Ensuring economic and political stability, removing the obstacles facing the sector and bringing together global and local knowledge could change this situation."
 

Carolyn Aker, Head of Program Development at Cambridge Institute, talked about the activities of the consultancy firm Cambridge Institute, which works with 200 colleges in the United States, and the sustainable cooperation models they have established with international schools. She then stated that education is vital to the success of both countries and noted that the education models used to date are not sufficient in terms of individuals' competitiveness in the globalizing economy.

 

In his speech, President of Doğan Media International Nuri Çolakoğlu explained that birth rates are falling and that the need for human labor is steadily decreasing with new technologies. Çolakoğlu said this means that in the future we will live in a world with too many people and too few jobs, and underlined that working life will be a highly competitive environment in which education will come to the fore.

ENVER YÜCEL: "IT IS NECESSARY TO DEVELOP THE CONCEPT OF THE THIRD-GENERATION UNIVERSITY"

 

Stating that there are 765,000 international students in the USA today, only 12,000 of whom come from Türkiye, Çolakoğlu noted that 2,000 American students study in Türkiye. Çolakoğlu said this means that universities in Türkiye are not making use of their potential. Explaining that universities today operate under a standard model due to the YÖK law dating from the military regime period, with no distinction made between research institutes and institutions offering only MBA education, Çolakoğlu added his prediction that with the passage of the new law, new opportunities would arise in Türkiye for foreign universities and that this would be the trend of the next decade.
 

Addressing technological innovation in education, Andrew Levi, President of Cisco Systems for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Russia, said that he had worked with the British government before Cisco and, in this respect, underlined five points in education policies for countries: visionary leadership, a focus on global standards, rational and results-oriented legal regulations, public-private partnership, and innovation.
 

Speaking last, Enver Yücel, Founder and Chairman of Bahçeşehir University, said: "The world is talking about education because the world has three major problems: poverty, the environment, and ethics and the culture of living together. The whole world is looking for a solution to this and asking what kind of education we need to provide for it." Saying, "Education on a national scale is no longer sufficient. A national mindset is no longer enough. So all the countries of the world must come together," he stated that all countries should put the concept of global citizenship on their agenda.
 

Referring to the fact that education was discussed for the first time at the American-Turkish Council Conference, which has been held for 32 years, and that the importance of education in US-Türkiye relations was also mentioned in meetings held following the recent talks between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Barack Obama, Yücel said: "Three years ago, at this same meeting, I received an award for my contributions to education between the two countries. I will repeat what I said that day: We are a country that attaches great importance to its relations with the United States. My university and educational institutions also believe in this. But in the 21st century, we want this relationship to change somewhat and become more sustainable. And for this, we will turn to education."
 

Stating that Türkiye has become a very important country in the world in terms of educational potential but that the quality of education must also rise, Yücel underlined the importance of competition in education and of the private sector, and the need for the state to remain only in the role of regulator.
 

Enver Yücel said: "Thestate of the Republic of Türkiye is making major investments in education. Over the past ten years, a large part of the budget has been allocated to education. Substantial resources have been allocated to research and development activities. In this sense, while the number of our universities is increasing, we also want to raise the quality of education."
 

Stating that Bahçeşehir Educational Institutions serve every level of education, Enver Yücel said: "But the most important thing I do is to serve the concept of global education." Stating that we need to develop the concept of the third-generation university, Yücel said that American universities are very strong and that we should try not to repeat the mistakes they made in the past.
 

Recalling that Bahçeşehir University recently opened a campus in Washington, DC, Yücel added that Washington, DC is an important center for those who want to study in departments such as Political Science and International Relations, and that it would be beneficial for technology-related departments to be located in Silicon Valley.