We have very significant and great projects

GAU Founding Rector and Chancellor of the Board Serhat Akpınar, who has been elected as the Rector of the Association of Universities, emphasized that they are very happy about the implementation of “Association of Universities" project, which is planned in a year and stated that they have been concentrating on this project for about 4 months.

About the issue, Akpınar stated in a TV program, that their next target is the Hospital of Girne American University. In the program, Akpınar, while giving information regarding the Association of Universities and emphasizing that they are very happy about the implementation of the project which is planned in a year, stated the followings:

 “This was a thought which matured over a year ago. About four months ago, it started to take more shape. After the interviews we made especially with certain sections, we saw that the approach is quite nice and it will be accepted seriously in both across the island and abroad in case of using initiative so a desire to develop some more contacts arise in us. During the interview with the embassy, i saw that one of us should take the initiatives. I took that initiative and made a call personally, by contacting them and negotiating with all the universities one by one.”

Global Competition

Akpinar emphasized that, until today universities tried to find a place in the international arena with their own power and stated that the association will be in a serious convergence together with YODAK, the Ministry of Education and Government, in the development process of higher education on the island.

Akpınar in his statement; “The approach we put together with YÖDAK, Ministry of Education and our government especially in the development process of internationalization of higher education programon the island, will have a serious reapprochement in all these areas and the places that our universities has taken in the global competition process across the world. All the universities which provided support so far, has tried to get through the processes of overcoming the obstacles that ariso both in the international arena and in the island completely with their own power.”

publicity of the country 

Üniversitelerin ülkenin tanıtımı konusunda büyük çalışmaları olduğunu belirten Akpınar, özellikle öğrenci ve turistlerin adaya geldikten sonra ulaşım, çevre temizliği, yolların durumu ile ilgili sorunlar yaşamaması açısından yerel yönetimlere ciddi görevler düştüğünü söyledi.

In the statement, Akpınar stressed that the universities have major studies about the publicity of the country and stated that in order to prevent the students and tourists, who came to island, have problems about the transportation, environmental cleaning and the conditions of the roads, the local government has serious tasks to do.

Serhat Akpınar stated that “We are working incredibly. Students are coming from abroad. Universities represent and introduce themselves very well. We are introducing our country well. We are continuing this work quite professionally.”

Akpınar underlining that a lot of work falls to our local government, emphasized that incoming students are affected negatively by difficulty in substructure and transportation, roads, sidewalks and many environmental factors and stated that "In this context, the association of universities will bring all these problems to whom it may concern."

construction of the hospital

Akpınar gave information about the current situation of the Hospital of Girne American University;

“At the moment all the preparations related to the hospital`s construction are about to end. Bidding is over, everything will start. So, what will we give to our country by making this hospital? Or, what will happen if we don`t build it? All risks are on university itself in the subject of making such an investment. Again we are the ones who will support this project with specific faculties. We came to this point in the step of implementing the project; a roundabout is wanted to be constructed to the road which passes in front of the land which will be used for the construction of the hospital. A permission will not be given to the construction of the hospital, if we do not construct and solve the cost of the roundabout ourselves.”

The initial cost is 50 million Euro

Akpınar stressed that this investment will maximize Girne and stated the followings:

“Just the initial cost of the hospital construction is 50 million euro. An investment brought and implemented on Kyrenia, a project that will remove all the development process such as the needs of our own people in health tourism, higher education and many fields to the highest levels possible. I say this as a person who knows the outcomes this important project could give beyond the substantive asset of the GAU. Local government officials said about the road that passes in front of the field which the hospital will be constructed that ‘we do not give permission if you do not construct the roundabout.’ Now, if we as to our Rector at the head of the local government municipality he would say that he has no knowledge of the issue, because a number of people working under him think that the roundabout is under our responsibility and they impose these kind of thoughts.”