At Erzurum Technical University (ETU), the “II. External Stakeholder Workshop” was organized by the Quality Coordination Office in order to strengthen cooperation among the university, public institutions, local governments, and civil society, and to improve mechanisms of shared decision-making in many areas ranging from education to research.

The program, held in the ETU Life Center Meeting Hall, was attended by ETU Rector Prof. Dr. Bülent Çakmak and senior university administrators, as well as Erzurum Deputy Governor Güher Sinem Büyüknalçacı, Erzurum Bar Association President Attorney Mesut Öner, Yakutiye Mayor Mahmut Uçar, Atatürk University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Yılmaz, Atatürk University Research Hospital Chief Physician Prof. Dr. Atilla Eroğlu, Deputy Chief Physician Assoc. Prof. Dr. Oğuzhan Birdal, representatives of provincial directorates, members of the press, representatives of public institutions and organizations, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and academics.

Speaking at the opening of the program, Erzurum Deputy Governor Güher Sinem Büyüknalçacı stated that external stakeholder workshops make significant contributions to the development of cities and emphasized that such organizations strengthen inter-institutional cooperation and support regional development through common goals.

Delivering the opening speech of the workshop, ETU Rector Prof. Dr. Bülent Çakmak emphasized that universities are not only institutions that produce knowledge, but also strategic structures that guide the social, economic, and cultural transformation of the cities and regions in which they are located.

Çakmak stated that today’s understanding of higher education has transformed universities from inward-looking institutions into ecosystems that think together with society, produce together with industry, and develop solutions together with the public sector. He also noted that ETU regards quality assurance not merely as a management approach, but as the fundamental dynamic of institutional development.

Highlighting the importance of systematically reflecting the opinions of external stakeholders in decision-making processes, Çakmak stated that the consultations to be held within the scope of the workshop would play a major role in improving the quality of education and training activities, enhancing research capacity, contributing to regional development, and ensuring stronger alignment between graduates and sector expectations.

Çakmak also pointed out that the success of universities is no longer measured solely by the number of academic outputs. He stated that the capacity to generate social impact, the level of cooperation with industry, contributions to the innovation ecosystem, and the employment success of graduates are now among the key performance indicators. Emphasizing that ETU acts with the vision of being a “research-oriented, innovative, and socially leading university,” Çakmak said that the university considers university-industry-public cooperation as one of the fundamental elements of sustainable development and training qualified human resources. He also noted that the five areas identified as needing improvement during the previous workshop had been successfully addressed by the university.