Turkic nations follow Türkiye’s higher educational model.

Under Council of Higher Education (YÖK), Türkiye intends to expand the number of cooperative university models overseas, especially in Turkic republics like Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, President Erol Özvar said.

At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2025, hosted by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the NEST Congress Center in the Belek tourism region, Özvar stated that one of YÖK’s main goals is to share Turkey’s higher education expertise with neighboring and international communities.

He claimed that a collaborative university containing programs from three of Türkiye’s leading institutions was established last year in Baku, Azerbaijan, now serving Azerbaijani students. Recently under the name International Turkic States University, a similar institution was opened in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Following orders from President Erdoğan, Özvar claimed YÖK is trying to spread this idea to other Turkic and Islamic nations. Talks are in continuous progress to create other collaborative universities in other areas.

“Türkiye has reached a strong position in higher education,” he stated, adding that the nation is ready to share its expertise with others by means of institutional alliances. “We are striving to send more of our institutions overseas; our aim is not limited to a few universities.”

Özvar further underlined the value of academic interaction as these programs help Turkish professors to be more mobile. “Our academics and lecturers are already working internationally using these models,” he added.

Özvar said that not only via collaborative institutions but also by bilateral partnerships and research initiatives, Turkish universities are becoming prominent abroad.

“Today, Turkish universities are more visible than ever on the worldwide academic scene,” he remarked. He also emphasized the role Turkish colleges play in preparing young professionals influencing the future of the nation.

“Our graduates, engineers, doctors, and experts in many fields, are assuming major responsibilities,” he remarked. For instance, around 98% of the military industry engineers in Turkey are graduates of Turkish colleges. We taught these engineers locally; we did not import them. These days, they are also driving advancement in many other fields like military, health care, and many more.