Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, " by offering very specific career opportunities, the most talented university graduates will be enabled to find a place in in the public or private sector." said.
Erdogan, in his speech at the opening ceremony of the higher education academic year held in the Beştepe National Congress and Culture Center, said that gratuitous scholarships given to 150 thousand university students across Turkey.
In European Higher Education Ministers Summit Turkey received full marks in three of the five titles, and in next summit two years later, the target is to get full marks in all 5 titles, said Erdogan.
Renewal works for Vocational Schools in line with the needs of the industry will be accelerated and within this framework, industrial and manufacturing programs in Organized Industrial Zones are given special incentives, Erdogan expressed.
Erdogan said that they consider the increase in the occupancy rate of high school quotas as a sign of progress on the right path. He stated that they attach special importance to the two chapters when establishing the Presidential Government System and that these areas are taken directly among the offices attached to it. President Erdogan stated that one of these offices is Digital Transformation and the other is Human Resources Office.
That Higher Education Council (HEC) have set this year's title under the same title was an appropriate choice, mentioned Erdogan and he said Turkey has the obligation to complete the Digital Transformation to capture the contemporary age in all fields and to go beyond.
"We want to be among the leading countries"
Erdogan said, “A country which is behind the technological improvements cannot reach its goals in science and industry. We rely on the intelligence, hard work and productivity of the Turkish nation. It is enough to create the necessary education and science infrastructure for our children. Then the real potential of this nation will show itself.”
Erdogan indicated that towards its goal "Digital Turkey”, Digital Transformation Office will lead the Turkey’s digital transformation and he continued:
"We want to become one of the leading countries in the world in the use and development of digital technologies. We have a determination here. Only in this way can we increase our level of economic and social welfare in real terms. For this, we will support projects that will increase efficiency and competitiveness. Cyber security and information security will be one of the priority areas of our Digital Transformation Office. We will not be able to look at our future with confidence if we do not protect the data and information produced by our country with the same sensitivity as our lands. "
Erdogan said it should not be forgotten that future wars will be carried out not with conventional weapons but with cyber ones.
"As in the saying of Sheikh Edebali to Osman Gazi, we know that no flower will bloom prematurely. However, we realize we can't go far without starting." Erdogan said, "That's why we want to start a big technology move with the support of our Digital Transformation Office, universities and the private sector."
"We will be with our students."
President Erdoğan continued his speech as follows: "Through our Human Resources Office, we plan to carry out studies that are closely related to the future of our university students.
One of the first things we will do in this context is to switch to 'Talent Management' system in higher education.
We will provide very special career opportunities to the most talented students who graduate from our universities and ensure that they can be appreciated in public or private sector. I would like to let you know that we will be with our talented students in every field from foreign education scholarship to project finance and employment.
Another important work we will do through our Human Resources Office is to establish career centers in all of our universities. These centers, which will guide university students about their careers since the first year they enter school, will operate in cooperation with the real sector. "
Stating that career activities will be organized in universities in order to introduce the employment opportunities in the public and private sector to students, Erdoğan also said that in these events employers and students will be directly in contact and obtain the opportunity to meet each other.
President Erdoğan said, "By following the employment of university graduates, we plan to measure the level of success at the university and department level. Thus, we can see which universities and which departments will contribute to what extent to the employment of our students. Moreover, we may also consider making these measurement results one of the criteria of our support to universities."
Erdoğan stated that through the Human Resources Office, they are planning to set up a standard for the foreign language education in Turkey, a problem that has been left unresolved for many years. He said: “In order to provide a standardization, the language exemption and proficiency exams can be carried out through OSYM (Student Selection and Placement Centre). Through that, we are planning to reach to a standard in foreign languages. Our Human Resources Office will support, follow and report these works, so that we will be able to see our strengths, weaknesses and we will be able to make some corrections.
Pointing out that Turkey has been carrying out immense fights inside and outside, Erdoğan said that they needed the help of everyone, including the academicians.
Reminding of the visits and contacts that he carried out in Germany and USA, Erdoğan pointed out that many false and misleading information have been circulating around the western media, academia and public opinion.
“The media is governing”
Erdogan stressed the necessity of working with a collaboration spirit to fix these malpractices and said:
“I realized that not the people in authority, but the media was governing these huge and so-called powerful countries because ‘the media says so, the media says like this...’ was what they uttered in the meetings I had with them. I said, in turn, “What do your people say? Have you thought about it? Put the media aside.” We used to have it, too, as you know. The media governed our country, as well. What they say is ‘the fourth power, the fourth wing’. You talk about democracy, but you set the public aside and talk about the media. Press will make news about it tomorrow, let them do so. The matter is our people. What we provide our people with, what our people say, how our people see us, this is what is important. Democracy takes its strength from the public. Democracy resides in the public. Democracy has nothing to do with the media. In presence of a powerful democracy, the media is also powerful. However, there is no logic in saying ‘I am making up democracy’. If a politician is abstaining from or afraid of the media, then it is not possible for him/her to engage in real politics. It is clear that our job will be much easier when everyone does their best in their own area. I think our academics can contribute in this struggle by telling the truths of our country in their fields. We have to make this collaboration as a country against which news were made or published, and gossips were spread on social media. On the other hand, it hurts our feelings deeply to see our own citizens abroad who are busy with activities against our nation and country. We have difficulty understanding how these people who are either journalists, academics or members of non-governmental organizations and politicians become such enemy of their own country. At this point, it all boils down to education since majority of these people were brought up in our own education system. It seems that the fault is in the system and it will go on and on unless we cannot pass our values, history and culture into our youth. If we would like to build a safe future for ourselves, we have to set out with education. Our biggest regret in the last 17 years in which we took the responsibility of governing our country is on this issue.