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Valued Members of the University and Dear Students,
As I greet you as the rector of Istanbul Medeniyet University, a human- and civilization-oriented, new-generation public university, I would like to share the fundamental aspects of how we perceive university, service, and administration.
Representing the unity of knowledge generated by humanity in all fields in our time, “University” as a concept and institution fulfills the function of training and teaching sciences and arts, which deal with the good, the true, and the beautiful. Based on the principle that knowledge and behavior complements one another, a university also takes account of the links between education and spiritual and moral values for a society consisting of healthy individuals. On the other hand, it does not simply transfer knowledge as merely information; but it reinterprets and reproduces knowledge and aims to train creative individuals by establishing a balance between theory and practice; and to instil giving its members a sound and correct perspective on the composition of local and universal.
We believe that there are two elements that makes the existence of a university possible: Students and academic staff. All levels of administration, chiefly the rector, and all administrative staff serve these two main elements, facilitating their activities and give them impetus in their quest for “learning, teaching, production, and application”. Thus, under our guidance, our university administration will consciously work toward this ultimate goal, being the principal supporters for the competence of students and prolificacy of the academic staff.
Our greatest aim is to provide our students with a university environment where they can freely discuss all kinds of ideas. As we believe that truth can only be attained through a never-ending quest and intellectual debates, for us, university is where young minds are ripened by the yeast of science. Among our duties is to infuse our students with the idea that freedom is both liberty and responsibility and to ensure that they continue their academic studies accordingly.
The primary goal of Istanbul Medeniyet University is to train professionals that Turkey needs and specialists that will be considered experts in scientific world. And this could only be possible by clearly identifying and implementing short- and long-term goals in an organized manner. To be implemented uncompromisingly, such a plan will show us that certain problems that we currently complain about will be overcome in time.
We will be reshaping Istanbul Medeniyet University in order to unite our University with its civilizational mission and its members with a scientific environment of trust; to provide sufficient and strong infrastructure, eminent and reputable academic staff, a free work environment, productive communication and effective collaboration; to create an institution where each and every individual will feel valued and proud to be a member and will realize their academic ideals and science and research aspirations; and to build a bridge that will integrate tradition with the future in these lands pulsating with ideas and history, where east meets west and north meets south.
By joining our forces and our hearts, soon we aim to create “a university that is free in intellectual debates to be held on a platform of liberty and responsibility; original in its generation of values, knowledge, and technology; respectful with equal and fair treatment toward different beliefs and ideas; universal with its interest in and awareness to add value to its region and the globe; innovative and accessible by targeting individual peace and social welfare; and social with its human- and student-oriented campus and understanding.”
A university built toward these goals from its architecture and academic staff to its library, research centers, social spaces and facilities, and artistic works will undoubtedly pave the way for the formation of “civilization”, a vision persistently expressed for centuries.
With these beliefs and ideas in mind, I hereby extend you my warmest regards.
Prof. Dr. Gülfettin Çelik
Rector