Cooperation in Education with Oman from YÖK

The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) took a new step towards internationalization. A “Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Higher Education” was signed between YÖK and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation of Oman.

Oman’s Minister of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation, Rahma bint Ibrahim Al Mahrooqi, and her accompanying delegation visited the Council of Higher Education (YÖK). After bilateral and inter-delegation meetings, the “Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Higher Education” was signed between YÖK and Oman’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation. In a speech following the signing ceremony, YÖK President Erol Özvar stated, “After our significant collaborations in the Turkish world, we will take steps towards the internationalization of our higher education in Oman as well. We want one of our state universities to open a branch in Oman. A Turkish language department will be opened at a university in Oman, and we will teach Turkish there with our instructors sent from Turkey. Turkish and Omani universities will create joint diploma programs. Omani students and faculty members will come to our universities to conduct scientific research,” he said.

Giving information about the signed memorandum, Özvar stated, “Turkish and Omani universities will create joint diploma programs. Omani students and faculty members will come to our universities to conduct scientific research. In priority areas, Turkish and Omani universities will develop joint scientific projects. Additionally, to increase our cooperation, university rectors from both countries will come together.”

“We expect more students from Oman”

Referring to the success of universities in Turkey, Özvar also indicated that they expect students from Oman, saying, “As of 2024, Turkey is one of the most successful countries according to the Bologna scorecard in the European Higher Education Area. It provides highly qualified higher education opportunities in many fields, especially in health and engineering, and is among the top 10 countries in the world with over 350,000 international students. Students from 198 countries receive education in our country. We expect more students from Oman. In particular, the education of Omani government scholarship students in our universities will significantly contribute to the development of the human resources we need in the relations between the two countries. Omani public officials will also be able to complete their graduate education in our country as Omani government scholarship students.”

“We are opening our higher education system to the whole world”

Özvar emphasized that Turkey serves as a bridge not only geographically but also culturally, politically, and socially between Asia and Europe, stating, “Turkey is a unique country where tradition and modernity, the old and the new, the East and the West are blended together. Our country’s multicultural structure has allowed students from various parts of the world to find traces of their civilizations and has turned our country into a center of attraction with the advancements recorded in Turkish higher education.”

Özvar pointed out that the events in recent years worldwide have posed a significant challenge to the field of higher education, stating, “The wars occurring in our close geography, irregular migrations, natural disasters, and the financial risks arising from these challenges have led the whole world into a process of change and transformation. Like everywhere else in the world, our countries’ higher education systems are facing these significant challenges. As the Turkish Council of Higher Education, we are opening our higher education system to the whole world with innovation-based solutions against these tests.”

Oman’s Minister of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation, Al Mahrooqi, stated that they aim to develop cooperation with Turkey in the field of higher education and expressed their desire to expand existing partnerships at Sultan Qaboos University to encompass all universities.

Memorandum of Understanding

The memorandum aims to facilitate cooperation in higher education and scientific research, organize academic and scientific exchanges between higher education institutions, promote student, academic staff, and researcher mobility for training and internships, and ensure information exchange regarding the laws, regulations, structures, and systems of higher education, scientific research, and innovation in both countries. Participation in short-term research programs will be encouraged. Mutual training courses, seminars, symposiums, workshops, conferences, and forums will be organized. Joint diploma programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels will be established between higher education institutions.