The 8th Graduation Ceremony of Ibn Haldun University was held with intense participation on June 27, 2026, at the Başakşehir Complex of our University. At the 2025–2026 Academic Year Graduation Ceremony, where the Head of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye, Prof. Burhanettin Duran, gave a speech as the guest of honor, our undergraduate and graduate students who graduated or are candidates for graduation of this academic year received their diplomas from the hands of their professors. At the ceremony held at the Amphitheater, a wide group of guests from the worlds of business, academia, and politics also witnessed the excitement and happiness of our graduating students.
The ceremony began with the presentation of the greeting and congratulatory message of the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to the graduates of Ibn Haldun University. In his message, President Erdoğan congratulated our graduates by emphasizing that the most important actors who will accelerate the Türkiye Century are the young people who have received a good and high-quality education.
Beginning his words during the greeting speeches of the 8th Graduation Ceremony of Ibn Haldun University, the Guest of Honor, Head of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye, Prof. Burhanettin Duran, expressed his belief that while Ibn Haldun University embraces a strong heritage with its deep roots, it is equipped with the science of the modern world, and that the graduates of this institution, which has gained a respected place in our horizon of knowledge, will strive for a more prosperous and stronger Türkiye, as well as for a brighter world.
Proudly stating that today, compared to the recent past, we can speak of a Türkiye that speaks its own word on behalf of humanity, speaks on behalf of the common interests of all humanity, and ensures security and stability for itself and its surroundings, Prof. Duran emphasized the importance and value of voices that will defend the common interests of humanity in the face of multi-layered risks, multi-polarity, and the changing competitive environment ahead. He stated that he sees this light in the graduates of our University and is hopeful about our youth.
Saying, "Today, when you leave, you will not only have your diplomas with you," Prof. Duran entrusted five principles to the youth: loyalty to truth, compassion for humanity, perseverance and a sense of responsibility in work, aesthetic and cultural awareness, and loyalty to the past with faith in the future.
Addressing international students additionally in English, the Head of Communications advised the students coming to our University from more than seventy countries to represent the same principles of justice, putting humanity at the center, and representing the right and the truth wherever they go.
The Director of Communications concluded his speech by congratulating all our graduates and those who contributed to this journey.
Honoring the 8th Graduation Ceremony of our University with his presence, the Minister of National Education of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Nazım Çavuşoğlu, emphasized our shared heritage and history. He underlined that our commitment has continued strongly since the days when our long history began to be written together.
Minister Çavuşoğlu expressed with strong words that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus did not give up its language, religion, identity, unity, and commitment to the Turkish mainland even under British oppression.
In his speech, the Minister included the statement, "We stand together with those who rest on this deep-rooted past and glorious history, and who set their goal toward brighter tomorrows".
Speaking at the opening of the Graduation Ceremony, the President of the Board of Trustees of our University, Prof. İrfan Gündüz, emphasized that truly beautiful results will be achieved when working as one with morality, right, and truth. Saying, "Writing is the prostration of the pen," he expressed that our graduates are the beautiful works of our valuable faculty members.
The Vice President of the Board of Trustees of our University, Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, congratulated all our graduates and our administrative and academic staff who brought our University to these days in his greeting speech.
Stating that as Ibn Haldun University, we have ambitious goals, Erdoğan emphasized that we will continue to move forward on the path to these goals with patience, diligence, and determination. He expressed that he has great expectations and hope from the graduates of our University.
In his greeting speech, our President, Prof. Atilla Arkan, expressed his gratitude to our graduates, their families, and our faculty members for their efforts. He stated that our graduates and students, who learned not only knowledge but also thinking, questioning patterns, producing their own ideas, and looking at the world with a broader horizon, assume the most important role in the vision of the Türkiye Century.
Underlining the opportunities provided by our University to Turkish and international students in line with this vision, Prof. Arkan also emphasized digital transformation. He expressed that artificial intelligence technology, which causes a transformation on an ethical, legal, social, and economic civilization scale, should be given importance in educational institutions, particularly at Ibn Haldun University.
Speaking during the greeting speeches of our Graduation Ceremony, the President of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Youth and Education Service Foundation (TÜRGEV), Hatice Akıncı Yılmaz wished that our University would continue to provide education for centuries like a great plane tree whose branches extend to seven continents. She stated that hope is always present and underlined that with every hardship comes ease. She expressed that our graduates are young people who move forward in life with principles, justice, and enthusiasm, and who do not remain silent to the oppressed.
At the Diploma Ceremony, our Sociology PhD Program graduate Nesibe Demir made a speech on behalf of the Master’s and PhD graduates, and our Law Undergraduate Program graduate Zehra Nur Arık made a speech on behalf of the Bachelor graduates.
At the ceremony, the PhD Dissertation of the Year Award and the Pioneer Researcher Award, given to support the research culture at our University and to encourage our students, also found their owners.
Our Alliance of Civilizations Institute, Civilization Studies PhD Program graduate Dr. Sena Taha was deemed worthy of the Best PhD Dissertation Award with her dissertation titled "Writing Refugee Lives", which was accepted as the best doctoral thesis work written at Ibn Haldun University in the 2025-2026 academic year. This year's Pioneer Researcher Award was presented to Ayşe Özçiçek Nazir, a student at our University's Guidance and Psychological Counseling Master's Program. The awards were presented by the Head of Communications, Prof. Burhanettin Duran.
The ceremony ended with the presentation of bachelor, master's, and doctoral diplomas and the cap-tossing ritual.
