Speech of H.E. Abdullah Gül, 11th President of Republic of Türkiye at the Graduation Ceremony of AGU for the year of 2023-2024

Dear Guests,

Distinguished Faculty Members,

Dear Students and Parents,

I greet you all with respect and love on such a beautiful summer evening. I am very pleased to be with you at AGU's 7^th graduation ceremony. AGU has proven itself in a short time and has taken its place among the best universities and continues on its way with confident steps. Everyone has contributed a great deal to the university reaching this point. I would like to thank all of them, especially our founding Rector Mr. Ihsan, our Rector Mr. Cengiz and his valuable team, and the AGU Foundation.

AGU is not just a university or an educational institution, it is an institution that knows the spirit of the times, understands the direction of the world and shapes itself accordingly. Our university is not only interested in students, but also in our country and what is happening in the world. In this context, this year, it participated in the celebrations with regard to the 100^th anniversary of the founding of our Republic and very valuable meetings were held here, which was not the case at other places.  I participated in this important celebration at AGU. Many esteemed academics, experts and diplomats from Turkey and around the world delivered inspiring speeches at these meetings. They evaluated the 100 years of our Republic; they made important assessments from economy to culture, arts and foreign policy. They presented a good perspective on how the next 100 years should be with the lessons to be learned from here. I would like to thank the University for organizing this event. As our esteemed foundation president Mustafa Çıkrıkçıoğlu pointed out,  we will continue to support the university and our university’s professors, you can be sure of that.

Dear Alumni and Parents,

First of all, I would like to underline this: This University is really a unique high education institution in Kayseri, in the heart of Anatolia. It provided an excellent foreign language education in English to your children graduating here today. Only 3-4 universities in Turkey teach foreign languages this well and AGU is very ambitious in this regard. As our esteemed professors who used to teach at METU and Boğaziçi also mentioned in the meetings I just had with the faculty members, AGU is one of the best English-language teaching schools in Turkey. I was very pleased to hear this once again. At the beginning, some of the students found it very difficult. Complaining that "it is difficult to learn the language here," some of them left it at that stage. However, those who were patient enough could learn the language perfectly, completed their fields successfully and received their diplomas today.  These patient ones will now realize from now on how much value AGU has added to them. Being able to speak a foreign language perfectly will give them a great advantage in their job applications, interviews, contacts and interviews. We have insisted on this and will continue to do so in the future. This is why AGU is raising its position among Turkish universities and becoming even more valuable.

When we think of a university, we think of an academy. An academy is not just a place to teach. A university is not a high school. At high school, everything is taught and knowledge is transferred, but in a university, it is not just about teaching, it is about research, it is about creativity, which we call innovation. All this means that universities need to create an environment of very free and free ideas. Everyone should be able to speak their minds without fear, discussions should take place, ideas should be put forward. Only through this way can competition, innovation and innovation emerge. The issue of education and universities in Turkey is the most important agenda for all of us. Secondary education is a separate issue. We have among us Prof. Dr. Ömer Dinçer, one of our former Ministers of Education, who worked very hard for radical reforms in the secondary education section of the national education system.

There are nearly 7 million university students and nearly 200 thousand lecturers in Turkey. This is a great number and we are proud of it. But we need to be more careful in terms of quality. In Turkey, there are 95 university students for every 1,000 people, while in Europe there are 35 university students for every 1,000 people. Looking at the difference, we should be much richer, prosperous and advanced. However, the skill is not only in numbers and quantity, but also in quality. Increasing the quality of our universities and education is of utmost importance. Otherwise, we will spend 4 years at universities and after graduation, we will start looking for a job and face bitter realities when the doors get closed to our face.

Dear Guests and Dear Students

When we talk about the university, I would like to underline something else. The university is actually the conscience of the public. The discomforts and important issues of society are always voiced in universities. The massacres in Palestine are one of the most important events in the world these days that we follow on the screens sometimes with tears, sometimes with great sadness. I was happy that our first-place student mentioned this in his speech, because university means conscience. Today, at Columbia, Harvard, MIT, Oxford and Sorbonne, which are among the biggest universities in the world, students have raised their voices on this issue. While the rulers, administrators and statesmen close their eyes to the massacre in Palestine and try to hide it from the public through various diplomatic games, the university youth, being clean, pure and well-intentioned, become the conscience of the world. Students organize demonstrations at universities to express their reaction against the massacre that has been committed in Gaza and Palestine as a crime against humanity. Universities are not only institutions that provide education, but also they are home to the communities of free thought and debate, communities that are concerned with human rights issues, communities that are sensitive to wrongdoing and injustice. In this respect, we must distinguish universities from other institutions.

Dear Students,

Universities are also institutions that teach learning. Here you have not only been injected with knowledge, you have been taught how to access it. Therefore, the path for all of you is very clear. You are graduating from here with a very good formation. Your professors did not only teach you knowledge, they also taught you how to learn. Therefore, you are graduating from here as students with high self-confidence and I believe that you will have a very bright future ahead of you.

Good advice has been given here in the speeches of the previous speakers. Listen to these advices and recommendations. I have a few words to add in this context: First of all, be a good person, value your families, have strong family ties. Be loyal to your country, whether you work in Turkey or abroad, be loyal to your homeland and be hardworking as a righteous person. Be hardworking but not ambitious, disciplined but not ruthless, transparent but not cunning. Be smart and when you adopt these principles, you will reach the right places. Do not think that everything is over when you finish university. There is a good saying: "Education from cradle to grave." Keep educating yourself.

The world is changing so fast that technology is constantly evolving, and if you do not keep up with it, you will quickly become obsolete. Artificial intelligence has come a long way in a short time and has become an important part of our lives. 3-4 years ago, big magazines were the harbingers of artificial intelligence. Now, the development of artificial intelligence has reached an unimaginable level. We should benefit from this development very well within the framework of the rules. Keep yourself open to these innovations and constantly improve yourself. As you have a good foreign language basis, follow a few magazines of the world, read serious newspapers. Remember that if you do not keep yourself fresh, you will get outdated very quickly.

You have been raised with great care, like saplings that are not easy to grow. You have been supported by your family, your teachers, your elders and your environment. Never forget these and I wish you all success in your future life.

Dear Alumni,

Finally, I have one more request from you: Do not cut your ties with the university, with AGU, after graduation. Alumni that is a community providing contact between the graduates was created by you and for you. Do not wear out and neglect this connection. One of the things that the world's best universities are most proud of is alumni meetings. In these meetings, alumni come together every 5-10 years and take care of their schools. Take care of your school even after graduation.

With these thoughts in mind, I wish you all success and may God bless you all. May you encounter good things, have a life full of goodness and be successful. May your families and us be proud of you. I wish you all a good evening and a bright future.