20th Anniversary Message from Our Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar

Happy 20th Anniversary of Burdur Mehmet Âkif Ersoy University

Today, we are all experiencing the joy and pride of a historical milestone for our university. Founded on March 17, 2006, as a result of a great ideal, strong belief, and a high sense of responsibility, Burdur Mehmet Âkif Ersoy University has reached its 20th year today.

Since its establishment, our university, acting with the mission of producing knowledge, training qualified individuals, and adding value to its geography, has become a large family exceeding 150,000 with its regular student count, graduates, academic and administrative staff. With its developing academic infrastructure, increasing scientific production, quality-focused management approach, and international visibility, it has taken its place among the respected higher education institutions of our country. This process is the result of a determined effort and a shared ideal.

The successes achieved in recent times clearly demonstrate the level our university has reached. Our inclusion in the QS Europe 2026 ranking, entering the top 400 universities in the world in two areas in the Times Higher Education 2025 Impact Rankings, our accreditations reinforcing quality assurance in education, and the establishment of our Faculty of Medicine are concrete manifestations of this accumulation. These achievements are the products of a continuous effort and a solid institutional foundation.

Our university has developed along with Burdur; it has directly contributed to the city's production, education, and social life. With our approach centered on regional development, we continue to produce tangible value in many areas from agriculture to livestock, health to education, culture to sports, science to social contribution. This bond is one of the strongest references of our university.

Carrying the name Mehmet Âkif Ersoy expresses a deep responsibility for us. The truth, diligence, and high ideal understanding represented by Âkif are among the fundamental principles that determine the direction of our university. The name Âkif keeps alive the will and excitement to do better at every step for us.

Today, visibility and reputation in higher education have also become a strategic area of responsibility. Reputation is built with quality, not discourse. Visibility becomes permanent with work, not claim. Burdur Mehmet Âkif Ersoy University has gained an identity as a reliable institution with the accumulation it has demonstrated over the past twenty years, the human resources it has trained, the academic value it has produced, and the contribution it has made to its city. 

Our goal in the upcoming period is to strengthen a university structure that is researcher, innovative, and entrepreneurial, increasing its impact on a national and international scale by taking our existing accumulation to a higher level.

Today, universities are institutions that produce ideas, develop solutions, impart skills, develop programs sensitive to employment, and support lifelong learning. A university structure that can respond to the expectations of the changing world, establish connections with sectors, and bring young people together with the competencies of new times will be the most decisive power of the future. Walking in this direction is not a choice for us, but a historical necessity and responsibility.

On this meaningful anniversary; I thank all our state elders, rectors, academic and administrative staff, students, graduates, and valuable stakeholders who have contributed to the development of our university from its establishment to the present, and I respectfully greet our fellow citizens of Burdur who are always with us.

I celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of Burdur Mehmet Âkif Ersoy University; I wish to walk together for many years that leave a mark in science, education, and social contribution.

Prof. Dr. Hüseyin DALGAR

Rector