Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

TOBB President and TOBB ETU Board of Trustees Chairman M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said in his address that TOBB ETU provides the best quality in education and strives to educate its students in the best possible way, saying, “We make it possible for you to compete not only in our country but also in every part of the world. You are alumni of a school which brings together theory and practice in the same curriculum. Thanks to our joint training model, you have learned both the theory and practice of business, and you know the field. That is what sets us apart. My young brothers and sisters who are graduating from this school already have a year of business experience. You are a step ahead of the graduates of other universities.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized the fact that they are conducting education in Turkish, and went on, “We could have made the whole curriculum in a foreign language but we chose not to. Firstly, you must utilize your native language well and stand out in society. While we taught in Turkish, we also helped you learn at least 2 foreign languages ​​in the best possible way. We are the only university that requires TOEFL certification. We also require that a second foreign language other than English be learned. So that only you, our graduates, will properly command your own language as well as being able to easily communicate with everyone around the world.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that they also provide lessons in leadership and social behavior and so that they would take more initiative; so that they would impress others with their words and stance to make them leaders of the future.

- “Real life starts now”

Giving advice to the graduates, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “School life is over for you; now the school of life begins. Real life is starts now. Too this end, I have some advice for you and all your young friends. First, you have to constantly keep yourself up to date as the validity of the information has never been so short.

Secondly, think different and break the mold. In order to succeed in this age, you will need to destroy the walls of mind that confine you. A hundred years ago, Henry Ford was underestimated while trying to produce his first car. ‘Horses will always be used, the car is only a temporary fad,’ they said. If he were to follow the mold of the day, he would only produce a faster horse. But he broke the mold.

Do I not I always tell you to bring new traditions to the old town? Yes, your work will be difficult because there is more competition. But your advantage is that capital of the greatest value in the 21st century is the idea. Look at Tesla, leading with the idea of ​​ electric cars. They aren’t selling in comparable mass but their value has already passed the Mercedes. Because the idea caught on.

TOBB ETU was also a good idea. We've turned it into a success story with you. We have become one of the most innovative and entrepreneurial universities in Turkey. We are the “Youngest Turkish University” to be ranked among the best universities in the world. Our students in the Department of Industrial Engineering won the first prize in the TÜBİTAK Project Competition. Our Medical Faculty took 2nd place in LYS in Turkey this year; we received 10 students from the first 100 in LYS.

Be proud of these achievements. Do not break ties after graduation; take ownership of your school. TOBB ETU was founded to attract entrepreneurs who produce good ideas. TOBB ETU was founded to support entrepreneurs. Here, we have an incubation center for entrepreneurs. We created the TOBB ETU technology center. In the garage is an expert, an investor, an idea holder. Free office, consultancy, meeting facilities for investors. That’s the golden rule of entrepreneurship: Use whatever is free.

Here, you can find good business opportunities - I'll give you 2 examples: Menuburada.com: You see the menus of 100,000 restaurants. You compare the contents - prices, you read customer recommendations. So you're becoming a gourmet free.

Another friend of ours put a detector on the garbage containers in the cities, connected to the computer network. When it looks to be full, the garbage truck is directed there. This gives speed and efficiency to garbage collection. Increases municipal service capacity, reduces costs.

And work hard. Please do not forget: Perhaps talent will carry you to the summit. But only your character keeps you there. Keep your ideas and opinions unchanged. Renew yourself. Only the dead and the insane do not change. Whether you are right-wing or left-wing, whatever your opinion is, become a person of quality first. When you are a person of quality, you add value to the quality of your beliefs. You will earn trust and respect; become more effective in your job. Do not confine your mind to ideological slogans, do not poison them with conspiracy theories. Stay away from facile memorization, showing everyone else, excuses and conspiracies behind every problem, every negativity. These will bring lethargy to our minds and blunt social reflexes. Being stuck on these things separates us from the real world; it will provide no solutions and instead bog us down.

The main factor keeping a society alive is the ‘social contract’. Unfortunately, our generation, especially in recent years, have stopped trusting each other. We have been stuck in discourses and politics that polarize, alienate and deepen the fault lines of society. So, love each other. Even if you hold different ideas, do not underestimate others.”

- July 15 coup attempt

Hisarcıklıoğlu also touched on the events of the coup attempt on July 15^th, “It was TOBB which took first initiative against the coup that night. As soon as the coup declaration was read at 00:22, we declared that ‘We recognize no will but that of the nation and democracy. This day is a day for democracy.’ I saw that my student brothers at TOBB ETU also reacted in the same way and once again I was immensely proud of you. The young people here are also proud of their patriotism. I want to introduce to you to our students who are a martyr and 4 veterans. Ömer Can Açıkgöz, student from the Faculty of Law. He was martyred in Ankara during the national resistance on the night of July 15^th against the treacherous coup attempt. In order to keep his memory alive, we gave his name to a lecture hall at our university. Hanifi Can Türkoğlu, another student from the Faculty of Law. On July 15^th, he fell off a tank. Taha Bilgin, Engineering Faculty student, was hit by a piece of shrapnel in the head. Yusuf Balıkçı, Business Department student, was among those injured that night as well.”

- Finance Minister Ağbal

Finance Minister Naci Ağbal congratulated the graduating students and provided information regarding the government's work, especially in the field of education.

Minister Ağbal pointed out that the prerequisite for sustainable growth is increasing the productivity, while that is dependent on education and innovation.

Ağbal, saying that the greatest power of a country is qualified human resources, emphasized that qualified human resources can be increased with education.

- National Education Minister Yılmaz

National Education Minister İsmet Yılmaz also stated that Turkey is faring better in all fields and that the reason for this is the massive progress in education.

He pointed out that TOBB ETU has reached a distinguished place among the other universities within a very short period of time and has achieved this level of success in education. He stressed that Turkey is heading towards a very good place in education and thanked everyone who contributed to the establishment and development of the university.

Stating that a brand new life has opened in front of the graduates, Yılmaz also thanked the members of the faculty who put forth their efforts in the training.

TOBB ETU Rector Prof. Dr. Adem Şahin reported that TOBB ETÜ was founded in 2004 with 270 students and stated that there are now 6 faculties and 22 departments in the university and that the number of students has exceeded 6000.