IVth Turkic Council General Assembly Meeting of the Turkic University Union

Turkestan, the cradle of the Turkic world. The IV Turkic Council General Assembly Meeting of the Turkic University Union in Turkestan city, hosted by Khodja Akmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish  University.

April 23-24, 2019, Turkestan city, Kazakhstan. Khodja Akmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish  University (hereinafter IKTU) hosted  the IV Turkic Council General Assembly Meeting of the Turkic University Union. The grand-scale event was attended by rectors, diplomats, experts, scientists,   representatives of international organizations, student associations, prominent  culture and society figures from more than 15 countries such as, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Hungary and others. IKTU and the secretariat of Turkic Council jointly put their efforts in arranging the Assembly Meeting with the support of The Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Akimat of the Turkestan Region.

The Secretary General of the Turkic Council, Mr. Bagdad Amreyev; Chairman of the IKTU Board of Trustees, Mr. Musa Yildiz and the Rector of IKTU, Mr. Bolatbek Abdrassilov delivered the opening remarks at the meeting of the IV Turkic University Union General Assembly.

During the sitting, the participants discussed the possibilities for development of a unified network within the All-Turkic educational and scientific space, the joint promotion of Turkic World universities in international rankings, also the issues of harmonization of educational programs based on basic common Turkic spiritual values, reflected in the program “Ruhani Zhangyru” (Spiritual modernization), “Uly Dalanyn Zhety Kyry” (Seven facets of the Great Steppe) were raised. In the framework of the new proposed innovative project “Turkestan Process”, the mechanisms for simplified mutual recognition of diplomas were introduced. Additionally, attendees reviewed new proposals for the further advancement of the “Orkhun” student exchange programme and its transition from a pilot project to a full-scale exchange program.  

The delegates supported the initiative to create an All-Turkic quality assurance system for higher education and an independent accreditation agency in the format: “quality control without national borders”. “I find it necessary to establish an independent accreditation agency for the All-Turkic educational space in order to perfect the quality system for educational services provision, which in future will serve as a guarantee of standardization of educational processes in accordance with world trends, as well as strengthening the reputation of our universities” - Rector of the IKTU Mr. Abdrasilov.

A position analysis of universities in the Turkic world on international rankings revealed that, both at the country level and the university level of the Turkic Council, all are having different starting points and unequal opportunities for successful competition in the global educational space. In this regard, it is crucial to search for ways to develop cooperation and provide mutual assistance in improving the activities of universities complying with international standards of global ranking agencies.

In the course of the IV General Assembly, regional leaders of the well-known international company “Elsevier”, Ms. Ospanova (rep. to Central Asia and Azerbaijan), Aykhan Zarazhogly (in Turkey) stressed the company's willingness to participate and provide consulting in designing collaborations to improve the ratings of universities in the Turkic world.

It should be reminded that from this year onwards the IKTU chairs at the Turkic University Union. Upon the Assembly, on the IKTU platform, the Turkic Council Second Young Leaders Forum and the Culture and Art Turkic Youth Festival were being held under the aegis of the Kazakhstan Youth Year.

Towards the end of the IV General Assembly, after considering the application requests for the Turkic University Union membership, there were officially accepted five universities of Turkic-speaking nations, including Hungary: Cappadocia University (Turkey), Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University (Turkey), Gazi University (Turkey), Azerbaijan State University of Economics and the University of Szeged (Hungary).

Notably, this event has taken place in a historic place, the cradle of the Turkic world, the city of Turkestan, which is rapidly moving forward day by day as innovative, technological, scientific and educational hub that unites international, cultural and spiritual nets.

 

For reference: the Turkic University Union was established in 2013 within the framework of Turkic Council. Currently, 19 universities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey are members of this Union. In 2014, the Atatürk University welcomed the very first sitting of the General Assembly of the Union. At present stage, the mandate of the Union includes the following areas: the “Orkhun” Exchange Program, the Sports Games of the Turkic University Union and the Student Council of the Turkic Universities. Recently, the Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University has been appointed as the Chair-in-Office of the Union for 2019-2020.  

Turkic Council, official web-site: https://www.turkkon.org/en  

Turkic University Union: https://www.turkkon.org/en/isbirligi-alanlari/education-science_4/turkic-university-union_14

IKTU: http://ayu.edu.kz/