NEWS CENTER- Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's speech: I am very pleased to host you in the house of the nation at the 2026-2027 Academic Year Opening Ceremony. You are all welcome to our Presidential Complex, this veteran place, and you have brought joy. I hope that the new academic year will be beneficial for our country and nation, especially for our higher education community. I sincerely hope that you will have a productive academic year in which our students will gain new knowledge and experiences, our professors will stand out with new publications and research activities, and hopefully our universities will add new ones to their successes. Likewise, I would like to congratulate our scientists and universities, to whom we will present the Higher Education Council 2026 Outstanding Achievement Awards, and thank our jury members.
"WE NEVER FORGET THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FIRAT"
Of course, I would like to express this right at the beginning of my words. The polyphonic choir group of Harran University has just performed a concert called "What We Forgot on the Other Side of the Euphrates". This composition, dedicated to the children of Gaza whose right to life and education was taken away, impressed us greatly and took us to a very different spiritual climate. On this occasion, I convey my strongest messages of solidarity on behalf of my country and nation to all the Gaza students who buried their mothers, fathers, siblings and friends in the last 3 years, whose homes, universities, schools and educational institutions were destroyed by the Zionist genocide network, but who did not compromise on their struggle for life and dignity and their determination to exist honorably, and to all the oppressed and victimized people in our region and around the world. Today, I express once again and especially that we will never forget the children on the other side of the Euphrates, that we will always be with them, and that we will defend their rightful cause under all circumstances, even if the barbarians wearing the mask of civilization make us forget. On this occasion, I pray that God Almighty has abundant mercy on our 74 thousand martyrs, mostly children and women, who were victims of Israel's state terrorism in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Dear teachers, I find it useful to underline one point here. I also expressed this in my address at the 77th International Astronautical Congress, which we hosted in Antalya yesterday. Even when we look only at our ancestors' work in the field of astronomy, we can clearly observe the depth of our history of science. The geography in which we are at the center in terms of both science and civilization acquis is truly full of countless treasures. From Baghdad to Istanbul, from Cairo to Samarkand, from Nishapur and Bukhara to Iznik and Bursa, from here to the Balkans, our scholars, students, social complexes and madrasahs have revived a very wide geography step by step. The knowledge produced here has been exported, so to speak, to different countries of the world by the students trained in these institutions. Universities, especially in the West, except for their legal entity status, have been established since the 11th century in the light of our education and training methods. In other words, the civilization of which we are members and inheritors has not only produced knowledge, but has also extended the knowledge it has produced to the benefit of humanity. Look, I'm not saying these things to show off. On the contrary, I say this to emphasize that the important thing is not to boast about the past, but to get strength and inspiration from the past. Even though those who inherited the rejection today try to make us forget, I am reminding them to ensure that the next generations grow up with this awareness.
This is important. In our mind map, meaning is at the center of knowledge and truth is at the core of meaning. Considering science as the path to truth is a reflection of this understanding. In this respect, knowledge is the only tool for deepening, contemplating and getting closer to the truth. The following quote attributed to Imam al-Ghazali, one of the most important figures who shape our world of belief and thought, is one of the most concise expressions of this approach. “He who cannot crack the shell of a walnut and get to its core will think that the whole walnut is a shell.” Yes, the main purpose of our centuries-old search for meaning is to penetrate the essence of knowledge, to combine knowledge with perception and understand the meaning. Our ancestors, who honored science and scholars, acted with this understanding and took care to protect scientific activities in the most educational way.
"ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DISABLED LABOR"
Dear professors, dear students, in the past, the primary purpose of universities was to transfer the available knowledge. Starting from the 19th century, research activities began to gain importance in addition to teaching existing knowledge. In other words, universities have become research institutions where knowledge is not only taught but also produced. In the ongoing process, economic and social contribution, called the third mission, was added. In short, today's universities are institutions that transfer existing knowledge to students, reach new knowledge through research activities, share this knowledge with the society and contribute to the solution of problems. These are exactly what we expect from our universities. However, the dizzying developments, especially in artificial intelligence technology, have become challenging for our universities in some areas. First of all, access to information has become easier than ever. Accessing the source and information through artificial intelligence models has largely eliminated the effort spent in the research process. You know this truth best. The importance of considering information comparatively, questioning it, and subjecting it to a rational evaluation based on other sources is gradually decreasing. As the roads to the source become shorter, the value, abundance and return of the effort spent in the research process are unfortunately forgotten. However, in the academy, being on the road is sometimes more beneficial than reaching the destination. When we combine the parts of the picture, we encounter the following picture. Just as we see in dark factories, the human factor is gradually decreasing in academic processes. Moreover, the authenticity of the information provided by artificial intelligence and the reliability of the sources are often questioned. The most vital point we need to pay attention to here is this. The bond between student and academician is not just about transferring information. The teacher shares his experience with his student and instills a scientific culture in him. It measures what he has learned, how much he has learned, and where he has difficulty. When necessary, it directs him to new resources and new research. If the main actor here is not human, the information transferred will not be healthy and permanent. Because knowledge that is not based on research and is acquired without any effort is instantly erased, lost and forgotten, like writing written on water. I believe that our universities should think deeply about these problems, especially in the context of artificial intelligence and new technologies, in the context of teaching procedures and principles.
"WE SEE EVERY INVESTMENT WE MAKE IN EDUCATION AS AN INVESTMENT IN OUR FUTURE"
My dear teachers, dear students, we see every investment we make in education as a state as an investment in people and our future. As you know, we have taken revolutionary steps in the last 24 years, especially in the field of higher education. When we took office, we increased the number of universities from 76 to 208, the number of dormitories from 190 to 877, and our bed capacity from 182 thousand to 1 million. Some insist on handling this in a shallow and malevolent manner. However, we find this achievement extremely valuable in terms of the opportunity to access higher education. While most universities in the West provide education for significant fees, and moreover, students have to start their careers with a heavy debt burden that takes many years to pay off, a very different view prevails in our country. We have brought a highly qualified higher education process to all corners of Anatolia. We mobilized the resources of our state so that the children of this country, regardless of their income group, can receive education in the cities where they live. While the children of the rich are studying, the children of the poor should not be deprived of higher education opportunities. Don't have to postpone your dreams. We didn't want him to start life 5-0 behind. That's why we abolished university fees. We increased the amount of scholarships we provide at undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels. We renewed the infrastructures of our higher education institutions and dormitories. We improved their physical conditions. We strengthened its digital capabilities. We meet the accommodation needs of our university students for only 1,600 lira per month and offer them two meals free of charge.
"OPPOSING THE EXPANDING OF UNIVERSITIES MEANS OPPOSING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IN EDUCATION"
No one should be sorry. But I have to say this openly. Now, from time to time, some people criticize us for opening universities in every city and opening the doors of our universities to international students, with an extremely reductionist approach. However, opposing the expansion of universities means opposing equal opportunity in education. In countries such as Türkiye, where education is still a determining factor in the transition between different layers of society, the children of workers, laborers and farmers are told: "You are a worker, stay a worker." It means. Likewise, whoever is uncomfortable with Turkish universities opening up abroad does not want our country's soft power to increase. Developed countries, including America and England, earn tens of millions of dollars from guest students every year. If they turn this into a tool of culture, trade and science policies, what needs to be questioned here is not the positive steps Türkiye has taken in this field, but why it does not act more proactively and why it does not attract more qualified guest students. Of course, there may be omissions. There may be errors that need to be corrected in some areas. There may even be examples where some opportunities are abused. However, none of these can be a justified reason for targeting our policy of opening universities in 81 provinces with a wholesale approach. If there is a mistake, it will be corrected. If there is any deficiency, it will be completed. If anyone makes mistakes, abuses, or misuses the opportunities given, they will also be held accountable. We are open to any constructive criticism that will improve the system and make it more effective. But we are completely against those who only have hammers in their hands and see every problem as a nail. Likewise, we attach great importance to the fact that women, whose rights to work and study have been usurped for many years, come to the places they deserve in the academy. In this sense, we are very pleased that the rate of female academics in our universities has reached 47.17%. With the law we passed by the Parliament on July 30, we reopened the university doors to our young people whose education life was interrupted due to various reasons. We have taken many steps to make our higher education system stronger with countless legal and administrative regulations that we do not have time to list one by one here. Hopefully, we will continue to work with the same determination, with your contribution.
6 OUR UNIVERSITIES ARE IN THE TOP 500
Dear guests, our President of YÖK just explained it in great detail. As Türkiye, we are one of the countries with the largest higher education family in the world, with approximately 6.3 million students, 208 universities and 190 thousand academic staff. When we look at the rankings of independent organizations, we are ranked 15th among 213 countries in the number of articles and review publications. In particular, the qualified publication rate of our research universities has reached the OECD average of 79%. It confirms the progress we have made with our position in international rankings on a global scale. In 2026, a total of 6 universities, two of which are among the top 300, entered the top 500. In the medium term, we aim for at least 2 of our universities to be among the top 100 universities in the world. Today, I once again congratulate our teachers who contributed to these successes and wish their success to continue to increase.
I would also like to point out that these figures are undoubtedly important. But in our opinion it is not enough. We cannot allow any career considerations to get in the way of knowledge, research, and the enthusiasm to make original contributions to the common treasure of humanity. We also expect our professors to develop ideas, concepts, models, systems and technical innovations that will give meaning to the age. The primary mission of the academy is to present new theses, new arguments, and new ideas waiting to be tested, instead of studies that repeat each other and consist only of citations and quotes. Another point is this. Especially in this period, we want our universities to focus more on their third mission, that is, to increase their contributions to the economy and society. There are currently issues for which we need to develop permanent and sustainable solutions. The most important of these is the expansion of a higher education system compatible with the needs of the real sector throughout the country. It is very important for our country that we minimize the number of young people who are neither in education nor in employment. When we achieve this, we will enable our young people who complete their education to take more part in production and employment, and we will mobilize a huge potential for Türkiye. We achieved efficient results with employment rates of up to 90% in the Organized Industrial Zone Vocational Schools project, which started in 2018. We are now taking this move one step further with the vocational training model in business that we started as a pilot application in seven provinces. In the first stage, we will start this process with 120 thousand students studying in 185 vocational associate degree programs in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Kocaeli, Konya and Gaziantep. I believe that the Career Planning Platform launched by our Presidential Personnel and Principles General Directorate will meet an important need in this regard. With these thoughts, I hope that the 2026-2027 academic year will be beneficial once again. I wholeheartedly congratulate our award winners. I greet you all with love and respect, with the hope of seeing you again. Thank you, live long, stay healthy.
