Southern University Delegation was the Guest of Our Extended Senate Meeting

Prof. Dr. Patrick Mensah, Vice Chancellor of Southern University, Prof. Dr. Oswald D’Auvergne, President of the Faculty Senate, Prof. Dr. Damien Ejigiri, Dean of the Nelson Mandela Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Prof. Dr. Osman Kandara, Liaison for Türkiye and Faculty Member of the Department of Computer Science, Dr. Mehtap Kandara, Program Manager for Study Abroad in Türkiye were attended Extended Senate Meeting in order to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Our Rector Prof. Dr. Ersan Aslan, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Başalan, Prof. Dr. Erol Yılmaz ve Prof. Dr. Sedat Aktan, Vice Rectors, Assist Prof. Dr. Şevket Evci, Secretary General, Assist. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Başer, Head of International Office, senate members, academic and administrative staff and students attended the meeting.

The opening speech of the meeting was delivered by Assist. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Başer, Head of International Office. Assist. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Başer said “Welcome to the meeting, which we held within the scope of bilateral cooperation. We have had a long-term cooperation with Southern University since 2012. We hope that this meeting will strengthen our bilateral cooperation and lead to new studies and projects.”

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Başalan, Vice Rector said “Southern University is a university where many of our students and staff participate in exchange and research programs. We developed our cooperation with Prof. Dr. Osman Kandara’s personal efforts. I would like to thank to professors who came to here and gave us the opportunity to work together."

Our Rector Prof. Dr. Ersan Aslan said “Today we will have a meeting to discuss how we can improve our long-term cooperation with our guests coming from Lousiana. This meeting is very valuable for both faculty members, our students and our research assistants. Southern University has 22 academic units, which we have at Kırıkkale University. We will try to develop our cooperation on joint projects.”

The program continued with the presentation of the studies carried out at our university on the academic fields of study of our guests.

Prof. Dr. Ali Payıdar Akgüngör, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ruhi Kabakçı, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Res. Assist. Aysema Pelin Şaşmaz, Res. Assist. from Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences gave information to the audience about the departments in their faculties.

Prof. Dr. Patrick Mensah, Vice Chancellor of Southern University said “I would like to thank all of you especially for your warm welcome. I am very pleased with the faculty members' research and studies on our fields. I am responsible for research and studies and bilateral cooperations. We would like to discuss the fund opportunities in Türkiye and in the USA for exchanging students.”

Prof. Dr. Oswald D’Auvergne, President of the Faculty Senate said “Thank you again for warm welcome. This is my second visit and our cooperation continues for more than 10 years. I am studying on two different diseases. We know that natural products are common in Türkiye and we would be very pleased if anyone wants to study on natural products, especially in cancer treatment.”

Prof. Dr. Damien Ejigiri, Dean of the Nelson Mandela Faculty of Management and Social Sciences said “Thank you for warm welcome. As the Faculty of Public Administration, I and my colleagues have responsibilities, which requires policies for people to live better. I think it is always possible to do better in public policies. It is necessary to evaluate whether public policies are working or not. I think we should focus on the good administration, and we should evaluate whether good administration is possible and in which steps we are.”

Prof. Dr. Osman Kandara said “In order to have a master's degree and doctorate in the United States, the average grade must be at least 2.7. The people who would like to have postgraduate degree in the USA can contact me directly. Low average grade is one of the issues that challenge us in the process of accepting students from Türkiye. As a student, please keep your grade average high. English can be learned later, but the grade average cannot be increased later.”

Dr. Mehtap Kandara, Program Manager for Study Abroad in Türkiye said “You may wonder why Turkish lessons are given in the United States. Because Turkish is a language that is among 16 important languages determined by the United States. We not only give Turkish lessons, we also carried out activities introducing Türkiye and our culture.”

Our Rector Prof. Dr. Ersan Aslan thanked our guests for the information they provided. Then, the audience's questions were answered and gifts were given to the guests by our Rector Prof. Dr. Ersan Aslan. The program ended with a group photo.

After the Senate meeting, our guests went to Technopark at the University. Prof. Dr. Ömer Varışlı, Technopark General Manager, gave information to the delegation from Southern University about the works conducted in Technopark.

After Technopark, delegation from Southern University visited our Rector in his office. Our Rector Prof. Dr. Ersan Aslan thanked Southern University and Prof. Dr. Patrick Mensah, Vice Chancellor for their visit. Prof. Dr. Patrick Mensah thanked them for the hospitality shown to them in Kırıkkale and at Kırıkkale University and he said that he believed that the ties between the two universities would become even stronger.