Sinan Akdoğan & Berk Can Dereci
The supreme board meeting of The Eastern Black Sea Project Regional Development Administration Universities Union (UNI-DOKAP), which emerged from the collaboration of 15 universities, was hosted by Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar, the President of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK).
OMU Rector Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal, Hitit University Rector and 2022 UNI-DOKAP Supreme Board President Prof. Dr. Ali Osman Öztürk, Samsun University Rector Prof. Dr. Mahmut Aydın, Amasya University Rector Prof. Dr. Süleyman Elmacı, Artvin Çoruh University Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sıtkı Bilgin, Bayburt University Rector Prof. Dr. Mutlu Türkmen, Giresun University Rector Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Can, Gümüşhane University Rector Prof. Dr. Halil İbrahim Zeybek, Karadeniz Technical University Rector Prof. Dr. Hamdullah Çuvalcı, Ordu University Rector Prof. Dr. Ali Akdoğan, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Rector Prof. Dr. Yusuf Yılmaz, Sinop University Rector Prof. Dr. Nihat Dalgın, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Rector Prof. Dr. Fatih Yılmaz, Trabzon University Rector Prof. Dr. Emin Askutlu, OMU Vice-Rectors Prof. Dr. Selim Eren, Prof. Dr. Cengiz Batuk, Prof. Dr. Sevim Alisir, and Prof. Dr. Mahmut Başoğlu, Eurasia University Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Aytap Sezer, UNI-DOKAP General Secretary for 2022 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Koç and Union officials attended the Supreme Board Meeting held at OMU Guesthouse.
The Supreme Board Meeting of UNI-DOKAP, which has been operating for seven years and aims to collaborate in education, research and development (R&D), technology, entrepreneurship, and social service processes, to use resources together and to achieve synergy in this direction, started with the presentation of the Hitit University Rector and 2022 UNI-DOKAP Supreme Board President Prof. Dr. Ali Osman Öztürk.
In his presentation, Prof. Dr. Öztürk shared the summary of the activities, meetings, and consultations carried out by Hitit University within the scope of UNİ-DOKAP and said that as a result of the meetings with the senior management of the member universities, some ideas and suggestions for the restructuring of the Union emerged.
Will the member universities of the Union perform sustainable activities with a cooperation aspect or with a model centered on the DOKAP?" Öztürk, the Chairman of the term, said and continued:
"Of course, the most important dimensions of sustainability here are space, organization, and finance. We consult these issues with our member universities. Here we have to overhaul the structural and financial processes of our Union, that is, can there be a restructuring, and if it does, can we make the name of the Union more inclusive, like the 'Association of Central and Eastern Black Sea Universities'? In addition, is it possible to restructure not only DOKAP but also other development agencies and funds in the region along with our resources, combine infrastructures and ensure infrastructure fluidity, create catalogs, and open academic and expert infrastructure to each other? We tried to shape our opinions and thoughts around these questions. In addition, increasing the term of the presidency to 2 years and establishing a joint research center specific to the Union, rather than a formal one, were also on the agenda."
Pointing out that the Union should develop action-oriented collaborations, the President of the Board Öztürk added that they will create a joint decision text in the context of existing ideas, recommendations, and experiences.
After sharing his evaluations, YÖK President Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar stated that the cooperation to be developed is easier said than done. He continued: "Collaboration is as difficult as cutting the stars we see in the sky with scissors and bringing them side by side. Collaboration is a good process at its core but a grueling process in practice. For the cooperation to come into effect, the parties must first clearly demonstrate the gains and benefits gained from it and then be convinced that they will achieve these gains. If there is no benefit and belief, implementing cooperation is impossible. At this point, we can implement cooperation by encouraging people. In other words, developing cooperation without building an incentive mechanism or incentive set is challenging. Therefore, it seems reasonable to combine the decisions you will make under the umbrella of UNI-DOKAP with more incentive mechanisms."
Pointing out that the Union should reach more funds, President Özvar expressed the following regarding this process:
"The Union should try to access some external funds more easily for incentives. On the other hand, perhaps the point that is at least as important as this is to strengthen the capacity and human capital opportunities with mechanisms that can be mobilized to the extent possible within the Union. As I said, in the cooperation process, the parties must see a benefit, gain, and come to an agreement. For example, an academician at Karadeniz Technical University will work with an academician at Gümüşhane University. Why would you do this? In terms of volunteering, a small number of academics will participate in this cooperation process, but it is not easy to move people."
Emphasizing that concrete steps should be taken for the projects to be produced within the Union to mature and create value, the President of YÖK said, "While discussing and negotiating cooperation opportunities, you need to present to the academicians the opportunities that will support whatever project you think and desire within the framework of this Union. The Union can also work by focusing on sports and cultural activities, which is a legitimate demand. Students, especially athletes, will be grateful to you for this. In other words, by providing a tempo for student mobility, you can set a goal for the Union to increase student mobility between universities well above the average in Turkey. This initiative makes UNI-DOKAP stand out from the other units. Therefore, cooperation opportunities can be used not in R&D but in student mobility and social responsibility projects. Apart from these, UNI-DOKAP can even prepare a core program on undergraduate programs."
President Özvar wished that the decisions to be taken by UNİ-DOKAP would be beneficial and finished his speech, "We expect the Union to focus on areas where it can take realistic and concrete steps and produce activities."
OMU Rector Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal, who took the floor at the meeting, underlined the importance of R&D culture and said, "Actually, one of the issues where we have deficiencies is R&D, and we need to go beyond it. Another is that the cooperation between universities has a counterpart in the YÖK Monitoring and Evaluation Criteria. Therefore, if cooperation is made through BAPs (Scientific Research Projects Support Program), support can be provided to universities with weak BAPs. I think this union can make a strong voice quickly and create value for the region."
OMU Rector Ünal, who gave examples from the sources provided at OMU, continued, "As a result, the number of projects that was 140 in the last two years has reached around 420. But the important point was that we started a brainstorming process to activate the sleeping cells. For example, we brought together the parties likely to work on animal production, hemp, the environment, or climate and then went on a special call. Moreover, the budget for projects was not very large, such as 30, 40, or 50 thousand. The concrete output was as follows: The number of patents, which was zero in 2020, increased to 10 in 2021, and 8 were awarded. This year, we reached 20 in the number of patents, and seven were awarded. More importantly, 5 of them have been commercialized. These works have a meaning in life. So much so that it inspired a serious interest in the industry."
After the meeting, YÖK President Özvar and ÜNİ-DOKAP Rectors participated in the tour organized with the ship "Samsunum 1". During the cruise, Hitit University passed the presidency to Ordu University at a small ceremony organized on board.
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