CIU–Atatürk University Strategic Collaboration

Strategic cooperation protocols have been signed between Cyprus International University (CIU) and Atatürk University, Türkiye. The protocols were signed by the Rectors, Prof. Dr. Erbuğ Çelebi and Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hacımüftüoğlu, and cover the implementation of open and distance education activities in Cyprus as well as cooperation on clinical practices for medical faculty students. The parties emphasized during the ceremony that this collaboration would make significant contributions to higher education and students.

The first protocol aims to establish the Cyprus Coordination Office of Atatürk University’s Faculty of Open and Distance Education within CIU. The protocol, valid for five years, also envisions the collaboration of many processes between the two universities. The second protocol involves clinical practices for CIU’s Faculty of Medicine English Medicine Program students.

Prof. Dr. Erbuğ Çelebi, Rector of CIU, commented on the protocols: “We have signed two important protocols. The first protocol was signed for CIU’s Faculty of Medicine. Due to the limited number of patients and cases in Cyprus, it was important to sign an agreement with a university from a more densely populated region where our medical students can encounter a broader variety of cases, thereby enriching their fields. Atatürk University’s Faculty of Medicine in Erzurum, with its large hospital that includes 1,418 beds, 200 of which are intensive care, will provide significant support for our students’ internships.” Çelebi also pointed out that Atatürk University has 70,000 students, underlining the significant potential it has in Erzurum and the region.

Referring to the second signed protocol, Çelebi said: "There are four universities in Turkey that offer distance learning. With the signed protocol, we will not only become the Cyprus exam center for Atatürk University, which has approximately 600,000 distance learning students, but also provide our own students with the opportunity to study a second program remotely," he said.