Graduation excitement at the Institutes of Health Sciences and Science

Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ) organized a special graduation ceremony for students who successfully completed their master's education at the Institutes of Health Sciences and Science. The ceremony, held at the Veterinary Faculty Conference Hall, was attended by Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy, as well as academicians, graduate students, and their families.

Speaking about the graduation ceremony organized for postgraduate students for the first time this year, Prof. Dr. Gürsoy stated that such a ceremony had not been held at this level before, but this year they organized such an event for the graduates of the Health and Science Institutes following the graduates of the Social Sciences Institute. Gürsoy said, “Postgraduate education is extremely valuable not only in terms of individual development but also in terms of the scientific production capacity of our university and our country. Therefore, we aim to strengthen master's and doctoral programs both quantitatively and qualitatively.”

Gürsoy stated that over 35,000 students are studying at the university, 2,500 of whom are master's students, and the number of doctoral students is 361. Emphasizing that this number needs to be increased, Gürsoy said, “The importance of publishing in postgraduate education is great. We expect our students not only to complete their theses but also to share them with the scientific community and turn them into publications.”

Touching on accreditation efforts, Gürsoy noted that there is currently accreditation in a very limited number of fields in postgraduate education. However, he stated that the Higher Education Quality Board (YÖKAK) is working on developing new criteria in this area and that postgraduate institutes will be evaluated within this framework in the near future.

Emphasizing that individuals graduating with the titles of ‘science specialist’ and ‘doctor’ should contribute more significantly to society, Gürsoy highlighted that these titles bring with them intellectual production and social responsibility. Gürsoy stated that MAKÜ will continue to support its graduates with a lifelong learning approach without severing ties with them and added that graduates can also be included in the micro-qualification studies initiated in postgraduate programs.

At the end of the ceremony, graduates received their symbolic graduation certificates from their advisor faculty members, and the ceremony concluded with the throwing of caps into the air and a group photo session.