Scholarships making Turkey hub for education: Official

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) – The scholarship program offered by Turkey’s Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) is making the country a global hub for higher education, the head of the presidency said Wednesday.

Speaking during an event at UN headquarters in New York, Abdullah Eren said the state-funded Turkiye Scholarships Program will turn Turkey into a second home for students from all around the world.

The program offers financial support and a university education for students in their intended fields, said Eren.

“Apart from a university education, it is aimed at providing students with the benefits of social, cultural and academic extracurricular programs and activities while they are in Turkey,” he said.

Turkiye Scholarships offers a range of programs designed for each level of study, including full-time and short-term undergraduate, graduate, research and language education opportunities in the most prestigious universities in Turkey for international students and researchers.

Eren said students who have completed their higher education in Turkey become voluntary country ambassadors who build bridges of friendship between Turkey and their countries.

“For sustaining these ties, the Turkey Alumni network has been established with a member body of more than 150,000 graduates with around 30 registered Turkey Alumni Associations in more than 20 countries,” he added.

He also said Turkey hosts approximately 150,000 international students, and more than 17,000 of them are scholarship students.

“Our country aims to host 200,000 international students by 2023,” he added.

*Betul Yuruk at the United Nations contributed to this story