Our Rector Prof. Dr. Esra Gençtürk Invited as a Speaker to the Opening Panel at the Europe Universities Summit in Poland

Our Rector Prof. Dr. Esra Gençtürk was invited to the opening panel of the Europe Universities Summit held by Times Higher Education, an international higher education ranking institution, in Warsaw, Poland from July 3 through July 5, 2023 this year.

Organized under the theme of “Beyond resilience: How European higher education is preparing for the future” this year, the summit put the spotlight on “the role of higher education institutions in the recovery, unification, and progression of societies”, “partnerships for security and growth” and “excellence in research- the return on investment”. The summit particularly focused on higher education institutions’ unifying structure that brings together education, research, and innovation as it sought answers to how higher education institutions can contribute to sustainable economy through the solutions they develop for several major challenges that affected the whole world in the last century (i.e. climate crisis, economic instability, the global health crisis re-emerged with the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing wars in Europe and around the world).

Our Rector Prof. Dr. Esra Gençtürk attended the panel discussion “The 21st-century institution: How young universities are leading the way in Europe”, which was held within the scope of the summit on July 3, as an invited speaker. The session focused on the experience of universities under 25 years old to consider how they build their unique identities, investigate how young universities are redefining inclusivity and accessibility, and establish groundbreaking standards for the future of higher education in the digital age. During the session, our Rector Prof. Dr. Esra Gençtürk shared Özyeğin University’s unique transformational learner programs, university-private sector-public sector-NGO collaborations, and data-driven evidence-based, accountable governance model with the attendees.