The Regional Development Focused Livestock Projects Sector Assembly and University Advisory Board Meeting was held at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ).
The meeting held at the MAKÜ Conference and Exhibition Hall started with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem.
The program was attended by Governor Ali Arslantaş, Member of Parliament Bayram Özçelik, Rector Prof. Dr. Adem Korkmaz, Deputy Mayor Hasan Duygulu, Provincial Special Administration Secretary General Asım Ertilav, Bar Association President Av. Ramazan Gedik, Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Durmuş Acar, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Karaca and Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar, Chamber Presidents, Civil Society Organization and Sector Representatives, academicians and veterinarians.
The program continued with the viewing of the MAKÜ Livestock Project Introduction Film. Then, the presentation sessions of the Regional Development Focused Livestock Projects Sector Assembly were held. The session was chaired by Burdur Governor Ali Arslantaş and Rector Prof. Dr. Adem Korkmaz.
In the sessions, Project Coordinator and Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Prof. Dr. Hakan Öner, Director of Agricultural Livestock and Food Research UAM Prof. Dr. Şenol Güzel, Director of Genetics and Embryo Technologies UAM Prof. Dr. Yunus Çetin, Director of Livestock Innovative Projects UAM Assoc. Dr. Ramazan Yıldız, Director of Dairy Products and Technologies UAM Dr. Lecturer İlhan Gün, Director of Burdur Development Center Dr. Lecturer Seher Yastıoğlu, Director of Standardization and Certification in Agriculture and Livestock UAM Lecturer Dr. Habibe Yaman, Director of Digital Technologies in the Livestock Sector Joint UAM Assoc. Dr. İsmail Kırbaş made presentations about the studies and ongoing projects.
After the presentations, Governor Ali Arslantaş stated in his speech that they are sensitive to the problems of the sector and said that they can see more clearly how Burdur can be more productive in the field of livestock with the results of this meeting.
Rector Prof. Dr. Adem Korkmaz emphasized that they have taken on a mission in the field of livestock as MAKÜ and said; “What do universities do? What is the mission of universities? When we ask, universities have 2 types of missions. One of them is classical missions. These are narrowly defined education, teaching, and research and development studies conducted by academicians through research centers and individual studies. However, universities around the world now have an approach to be more closely related to the society and economic system in their immediate surroundings. We can generally express this as social responsibility and local development mission. When we talk about social responsibility and local development, we touch on the concept of development and growth. Theoretically, the concept of development and growth is really complex, multidimensional, and includes short, medium, and long-term studies. The basic human element, the culture of entrepreneurship, and the ecosystem need to be built, and you also need to produce local intelligence. There is a need for a social city mind. When we examine really well-developed cities and towns, we see that they produce this local intelligence well. Now, in this context, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University has also focused on regional development. In this sense, with the social projects it has carried out, we received the YÖK Outstanding Achievement Award from our President for the hand-stitched football project in local development.”
Giving information about the studies carried out at the university, Rector Korkmaz said; “It is very difficult to ensure the accreditation process in animal enterprises and livestock enterprises. We worked on this issue with the Turkish Accreditation Agency for about 2 years. They gave the revisions, we worked, we held workshops. If you remember, a large part of the sector representatives here also participated in these workshops. One of the concrete outputs of this project is that we are one of the very few universities in Turkey with a Technology Transfer Office Joint Stock Company. We have a Technology Transfer Office within the Technopark established with the support of our Ministry of Industry. This is not enough within the university. The Technology Transfer Office Joint Stock Company carries out studies by investing capital in some projects. Here, we are also running a mobile microscope project in the form of joint venture groups. 51% of the company belongs to the university, 49% to a business from the sector. Professional employment is also provided within the jointly conducted company. There is a practical microscope that can produce a solution not only for animal health but also for human health in remote areas, villages, rural areas where health services and laboratory infrastructure cannot reach. In 2016, Burdur Development Center is the first center we established after taking office. We are conducting studies related to Burdur under the roof of Burdur Development Center. Burdur is a city above the Turkish average in terms of development, economic and social level, we all know this. So why not be among the top 10 provinces? I have been serving as rector for about 8 years. Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, with 12 faculties, 1 conservatory, 13 vocational schools, 5 schools, 4 institutes, a total of 35 academic units, 34 thousand students, and 2 thousand staff, is no longer a founding university, but a university that has completed its establishment and has taken on meaningful missions for its country and region. On the 86th anniversary of his death, we feel that Akif's spirit is also pleased with the developments at this university. I express that the recommendations, decisions, and opinions we received in our sector assembly will shed light on our studies in 2023, and I offer my respects to all of you.”
After the speeches, the opinions of the participants were taken. Then, a video explaining the working principle of Mobile Microscopes was watched. Afterwards, the distribution of mobile microscopes to veterinarians determined by the Burdur Chamber of Veterinarians was carried out by Governor Ali Arslantaş, Member of Parliament Bayram Özçelik, Rector Prof. Dr. Adem Korkmaz and protocol members.
The program ended with a family photo.
