192 qualified researchers apply to Turkish universities

ANKARA

A total of 192 researchers from 65 international institutions, including prominent names like Harvard University, Oxford University, Texas A&M University and Michigan State University, have applied to collaborate with Turkish universities, highlighting strong global interest in Türkiye’s academic and research opportunities.

The Qualified Researcher Workshop, organized by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), highlighted Türkiye’s recent steps to attract top researchers under the provisions of the law. The legislation allows Turkish and international PhD holders to be appointed part-time at Turkish universities, either for academic roles or research and development (R&D) projects.

According to YÖK, state universities in Türkiye now have the ability to hire foreign PhD holders as contract researchers, a move intended to strengthen the country’s R&D capabilities.

The workshop revealed that 211 post-doctoral researchers from these institutions have already been employed across 41 universities in Türkiye, working on a range of R&D and design projects.

Erol Özvar, the head of YÖK, who attended the event online, praised the initiative. He remarked, “Annex-46 is a very important milestone in terms of university-industry cooperation. With this assignment, we want to strengthen the relationship of both our students and lecturers with the sector through qualified researchers with doctoral degrees in the sector.

Özvar emphasized that this regulation serves as an important tool for furthering Türkiye’s internationalization in higher education.

The initiative is expected to boost collaboration between Turkish academia and various global sectors, including finance, defense, aviation, energy, petrochemicals, automotive, health and chemistry.

Many Turkish academics who have worked abroad in countries such as the United States, Japan, Russia and South Africa are now returning to Türkiye, where they contribute their expertise to facilitate knowledge transfer and strengthen the country’s research efforts