The roadmap is becoming clear at MAKÜ Faculty of Medicine: The goal is to admit students in 2026–2027

At the 'Medical Education Workshop' organized for the newly to be opened Faculty of Medicine within Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ), the faculty's education model, academic structure, and roadmap were discussed.

While academic, administrative, and technical preparations for the Faculty of Medicine, established with the approval of the Presidency on June 30, 2025, are being carried out in a planned manner, the workshop was held in the university's Senate Hall. Important evaluations regarding the future of the faculty were made at the meeting attended by the university administration, academicians, Deans and Vice Deans of Medical Faculties from surrounding provinces, and health managers.

“This Workshop will shape our education policies”

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Prof. Dr. Cem Çetin emphasized the importance of the workshop with the following statements:

“This workshop is an important consultation meeting we held with our stakeholders to shape our university's future education and research policies. A comprehensive evaluation will be made with the participation of faculty members and vice deans, especially those working in the field of medical education from medical faculties in surrounding provinces, as well as our provincial health director and chief physician.”

“Our goal is to start education this year”

Prof. Dr. Cem Çetin also clarified the issue of student admission by saying:

“The topic our students are most curious about is whether we will admit students this year. Our goal is to start education this year and train our first students. We are continuing our efforts in this direction and we believe we have made significant progress so far. Although the initial program is planned as 60 in terms of quota, we foresee an intake of between 30 and 60 students initially. Hopefully, all processes will be clarified by the end of the year.”

“Burdur should break its shell in health”

Provincial Health Director Dr. Musa Murat Erk emphasized the importance of the Faculty of Medicine for the city. He stated that Burdur needs to break its shell in the field of health, which is only possible with a Faculty of Medicine, and therefore the Faculty of Medicine is of great importance to them, and he hopes that the organized education workshop will contribute to a healthy and correct planning process. 

Important statements from Rector Dalgar about the Faculty of Medicine

MAKÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar emphasized that the faculty is built on solid foundations with the following statements:

“In order for our Faculty of Medicine to admit students, we needed to ensure the adequacy of faculty members in 18 basic branches determined by the Council of Higher Education. These branches mainly cover basic sciences. We prioritized this and completed the necessary academic staff structuring.

In this process, we benefited from both the specialist physicians working in our state hospital and our professors working within our university, especially in the field of Medical Education, who meet the appointment criteria of the Council of Higher Education. We formed our staff in 18 basic branches with our academicians who meet our university's own appointment conditions and YÖK criteria. At the beginning of 2026, we plan to make a rapid staff reinforcement in the field of clinical sciences.”

“We are building an education building, not a new hospital”

Rector Dalgar clarified a point that is sometimes misunderstood by the public:

“I would like to specifically correct a point that is sometimes misunderstood by the public: We are not building a new hospital. The structure to be built for our Faculty of Medicine is an education building. Initially, we will apply the affiliation model based on the transformation of our existing state hospital into an Education and Research Hospital. We already have a new and well-equipped state hospital in our city. Clinical applications will be carried out here.

The building to be constructed is the morphology building of the Faculty of Medicine; that is, the education building where basic education will be conducted. Since the establishment of our faculty took place after the 2026 budget proposals, this building is not included in the 2026 investment program. We will propose it for the 2027 investment program.

However, we do not want to waste time waiting for this process. We are in a position to start basic education with our existing facilities. In other words, we aim to start the education of our students by using our infrastructure without waiting for the completion of a building. After entering the investment program, we will come together with the important actors of our city and our stakeholders to evaluate the most appropriate location together.”

Emphasis on integration in the city center

“Our opinion is that the education building should be in the city center, at a point easily accessible to the Education and Research Hospital. We aim for a positioning that will strengthen the integration of our students and professors, intertwining practice with theory.”

“The final decision belongs to YÖK”

Rector Dalgar also made the following assessment regarding the official aspect of the process:

“Our goal is to be ready for student admission for the 2026–2027 academic year. For this, we are continuing our efforts to meet all the criteria set by YÖK. When we complete the process, we will inform the Council of Higher Education of the situation. If deemed appropriate, we want to admit students to the Faculty of Medicine of Burdur Mehmet Akif University in this year's Higher Education Programs and Quotas Guide. The final decision, of course, belongs to YÖK; however, we are striving to fulfill our part completely.”

“This is not just a faculty, but a vision, a future”

Rector Dalgar gave a vision message at the end of his speech:

“Let no one have any doubts: We are not establishing an ordinary faculty. We are building a qualified Faculty of Medicine on solid foundations with a strong academic staff. We want to establish a structure that is ambitious in education, research, and service to society. This faculty is a gift from our state and our elders to our city and university. Our duty is to prepare this trust in the best way and carry it into the future.”

The incident showed once again the importance of the Faculty of Medicine

Rector Dalgar shared an incident that occurred last week, explaining why the Faculty of Medicine is vital for the city with the following words:

“Last week, a senior student from our Faculty of Dentistry, a young girl, had an unfortunate traffic accident. A situation requiring sensitive surgical intervention in the face and brain area occurred. During this process, I spoke with the Rector of Akdeniz University and the Rector of Süleyman Demirel University. The referral was made to Akdeniz University in line with expertise and infrastructure possibilities.

That day, I felt once again: This city should also have this competence. We should have an infrastructure that can provide healing to our own people in our own city without the need for referrals to other provinces in sensitive cases. At that moment, we once again realized how vital an investment the Faculty of Medicine is.

Hopefully, in the shortest time possible, we will build a strong structure together where the children of this city will not need to knock on other doors for health services.

This is not just a faculty; it is a vision, a future, and a claim for a city.”