The External Stakeholder Meeting organised by our Coordinatorship was held on Friday, 2 October 2026 at 2:00 p.m. in the Rectorate Senate Meeting Hall. Conducted at institutional level, the meeting was planned as a stakeholder evaluation meeting under the Directive on Stakeholder Participation and Feedback Management (KYS-YNR.096).

Our Rector Prof. Dr. Yilmaz CAN, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Guven OZDEM and Advisor to the Rector Prof. Dr. Eren BAS attended the meeting. Our external stakeholders comprised representatives of the regional development administration, public institutions, local government, trade unions and civil society organisations.

In his opening address, our Rector Prof. Dr. Yilmaz CAN reviewed the work carried out by our University to date, the integration between the city and the University, the contribution made to regional development and the goal of specialisation in hazelnut. He also addressed the significance of the institutional accreditation process conducted by the Higher Education Quality Council for our University.

Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Guven OZDEM outlined the external evaluation processes of the Higher Education Quality Council and the general framework of the forthcoming visit. Advisor to the Rector Prof. Dr. Eren BAS assessed our University's research and development performance through its position in national and international rankings.

In the presentation delivered by our Deputy Coordinator Dr. Hakan SIPAHI, the operation of the Institutional Accreditation Programme was explained. The first part covered our University's stakeholder participation and feedback management: the channels through which stakeholder views are collected, how those views are carried into decision-making and improvement processes, and how this transfer is monitored on an evidence basis.

The second part set out the visit plan and the visit framework in detail. It was noted that a session with external stakeholders takes place during the online preliminary visit held two to three weeks before the site visit, and that on the first day of the site visit the evaluation team, institutional representatives and stakeholders come together over lunch. The duration, participant structure and conduct of both sessions were explained with examples; it was emphasised that the evaluation team seeks evidence for every practice described, and that stakeholders are therefore expected to provide concrete examples.

The presentation also demonstrated, through a collaboration recorded in our University's 2025 Institutional Internal Evaluation Report, how stakeholder contribution is reflected in institutional records.

The closing part of the meeting was devoted to questions and answers with our external stakeholders; views, suggestions and contributions were received. The meeting was recorded using the Stakeholder Evaluation Meeting Minutes and Decision Record Form (KYS-FR.299). The views shared will be evaluated and carried into improvement processes.

For detailed information on our external stakeholder participation channels, signed collaborations and how feedback becomes improvement, please visit our External Stakeholder Corner page. CLICK HERE