7. International Conference on Quality in Higher Education

Cyprus International University hosted the 7th International Conference on Quality in Higher Education (ICQH 2019) in collaboration with Higher Education Quality Board (YÖKAK), Science Education and Technology Association (TASET), The Online Journal of Quality in Higher Education (TOJQIH), Educational Communication and Technologies (AECT), Sakarya University and Governors' State University.

YÖKAK President Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Elmas, President of Higher Education Planning, Supervision, Accreditation and Coordination Board (YÖDAK) Prof. Dr. Akile Büke, Rector of CIU Prof. Dr. Halil Nadiri and ICQH 2019 General Coordinator Prof. Dr. Aytekin İşman spoke at the opening of the event held at the CIU Çevik Uraz Center Conference Hall.

In his speech, Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Elmas gave information about the objectives and activities of the Higher Education Quality Board and reminded that the studies started in the 1990s to create a system that works with all the worldwide quality agencies in Turkey: "however, considering the conditions in Turkey, we want to build a flexible, simple system. This system should be easily accessible wherever the accreditation is done in the world”.

It was also stated that it is very important to establish a system and “if there is no system in an institution, there will be a problem and the focus is only on that particular problem. Thus, innovations in the world will not be followed”.

Prof. Dr. Akile Büke talked about the work of YÖDAK and said: "We are trying to establish a separate quality board for the Higher Education Strategy Action Plan studies we carry out together with the Ministry of National Education".

Along with their goal, it is aimed to provide quality in higher education effectively with technical support from YÖKAK.

Rector of CIU, Prof. Dr. Halil Nadiri underlined that the point reached when compared with the population of the island is a success: "however, the important thing is that it should be made sustainable" and added, “The demand for higher education is increasing every year in general, therefore, “at this point, quality and preferability are the most important factors”.

He added that there is a need for better and more qualified human resources today: “The most important point here is the research and science production at the university. These contribute to our country economically. Therefore, the increase in the economic contribution produced also enables society to reach higher levels”.

ICQH 2019 General Coordinator Dr. Aytekin İşman talked about the conference and explained that the main purpose of the conference is to convey the current developments in accreditation and quality issues to higher education institutions. He also added that higher education institutions should share their experiences to make “Quality and accreditation studies in higher education important. Also İt is essential to follow these developments”.