Balkan, Turkish universities to cooperate under new association

Turkish and Balkan universities signed a protocol to establish an association in order to boost academic ties between universities across the region.

By Menekse Tokyay for SES Türkiye in Istanbul -- 30/09/14

Turkish and Balkan universities laid the ground for a Balkan Universities Association (BUA) with a meeting on September 11th at Trakya University in Edirne. Delivering a speech during the inaugural meeting, the rector of Trakya University, professor Yener Yoruk said the new association will provide a sustainable co-operation platform to talk about common concerns and ideals.

• Members of the academic team at Trakya University pose during the signing ceremony of the establishment of Balkan Universities Association in Edirne on September 11th. [Trakya University]

"The primary aim of the Balkan Universities Association is to determine a leading vision for the future through our universities, libraries, research centres in the Balkan region on the basis of common global values," Yoruk said during his speech.

BUA has 36 universities from the Balkans as its members.

Institutions from outside the region will be able hold observer positions.

Turkey will hold the permanent secretariat of the BUA, while Yoruk will serve as the first president-elect of the association for the next two years. The presidency will be on a rotating basis and be handed over to Sofia St. Kliment Ohridski University's Rector Professor Ivan Ilchev next.

BUA's honorary chairman will be the rector of Greece's University of Ioannina, professor Triantafyllos Albanis.

The association will hold annual meetings but there will be constant technical meetings between the scholars of different branches to deepen their scientific co-operation.

The idea for a university association stemmed from another initiative, the Balkan Libraries Union, which was established in 2009, with the participation of 51 institutions in nine different countries from the Balkans including Turkey.

The Union has been contributing to the rapprochement between the libraries throughout the region by publishing regular academic journals covering theories, concepts, philosophies in library science, e-publishing and documentation.

Speaking to SES Türkiye, Yoruk said the association aims to improve the intercultural dialogue through student and scholar exchange programs and it will provide a sustainable basis for solid scientific co-operation between the Balkan and Turkish universities that have reached EU's relevant standards in accreditation.

"This will also be a chance to conduct joint scientific studies, researches and innovation works, while a communication network between the academicians will also enable them to exchange knowledge and to benefit from a lasting cooperation," he added.

Nikolaos Tzifakis, assistant professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Peloponnese in Greece, said the BUA is a timely initiative to foster regional ties and in particular to establish communication channels between higher institutions that typically do not have much access to competitive EU research grants.

"It will also contribute to the transfer of best practices among partner universities and it may also assist the process of promoting reconciliation and co-operation in the region. More importantly, the creation of a network across specific fields of science would facilitate the production of tangible outcomes," Tzifakis told SES Türkiye.

According to the honorary chairman of BUA, in order to make the BUA more active and effective, there is a need to lay the ground for strong links between Balkan Universities, based on common understanding and shared ideas, values and experience.

"Basically, we have to enhance the intercultural dialogue between our countries. We have to form solid scientific co-operation between the member universities, conduct joint scientific studies and researches on a regular basis," Albanis told SES Türkiye.

Albanis added that the common history and the traditions throughout the Balkans are the most important links connecting the universities.

Burak Yalim, project manager at the Centre for Development Relations with BiH in Sarajevo and a doctoral candidate at the International University of Sarajevo, which also takes part in the association, is also excited about the possible outcomes of this project for the scientific progress and rapprochement in the region. Yalim told SES Türkiye that there has been much co-operation between Turkey and the Balkan countries on several occasions.

"Hopefully this one will provide a chance for better understanding among the academic circles in the Balkans," he said.

According to Yalim, apart from sharing the same geography and more or less the same culture, universities in the region haven't contributed much to the global academia, which results in the misunderstanding of the Balkan people, culture and politics.

"Whatever they would like to do in terms of co-operation, they should put deadlines and clarify their short and long term plans. Otherwise this initiative will end without any outcome like the past experiences," he added.