Rector Speech 1

I am Erhan Tabakoğlu, Rector of Trakya University. I am honored to welcome you. I greet you all with respect and love. Let me tell you about myself. I am a Thracian, I am from Tekirdağ. I was born in Kırklareli. I graduated from Edirne High School. I live in Edirne. After graduating from Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, I started as a research assistant in the department of chest diseases at Trakya University in Edirne in 1992. Since then, I have been a chest diseases specialist and later I became an intensive care specialist. I completed my academic career at Trakya University. I was appointed as the Rector of Trakya University in 2016 and then reappointed for a second term. Trakya University is the most established educational institution in the region. As a Thracian and a child of a Balkan immigrant family, I would like to say that I am happy to serve in the institution where I was professionally brought up where I currently live. We must begin with the history of Edirne, as the Trakya University begins with the conquest of Edirne. Our ancestors had large goals and so upon their arrival to the region in 1361, Edirne was declared capital city. A very rapid construction process begins for many educational institutions, many mosques and madrasas. Edirne was the capital city for 92 years. During this period, Fatih (Fatih Sultan Mehmet) was born here. The Saatli Madrasa where Fatih received his education and the Peykler Madrasa built by Fatih are also located in here. We can say that these were the first institutions of the Trakya University.
There are 56 madrasahs known to have undergone this tremendous development in Edirne. A medical madrasah, or a hospital, was built in 1488 in Edirne.
Edirne, as a capital city that is home to education and medicine, has also become a place where all roads of the region meet. We say that the first students of Trakya University are the conquerors the Balkans and Istanbul. We always attribute the roots of Trakya University to this sacred and great past.
Looking at present times, we see the existence of a university in the 1970s, a university in the modern sense. It was renamed Trakya University in 1982.
Afterwards, Trakya University integrated the universities of Çanakkale, Tekirdağ and Kırklareli, therefore we can say that Trakya University was born through a merge of four universities. Students, Trakya University is the region’s strongest institution providing education and health services.
It can be said that Trakya University is the region’s largest state institution. The population of Edirne with all its districts is 400 thousand,while the central population is approximately 180 thousand. Almost 38 or 39 thousand students live in the center of Edirne. In other words, Edirne is a university city with 39 thousand students living among 180 thousand people. Edirne is a beautiful city full of university students and youthful energy on its streets. Trakya University and its surroundings constitute an ideal university city thanks to its natural beauties with three rivers meeting in the city,
its peaceful and bright inhabitants, and of course its well-established educational institution and its great achievements. It is an ideal university. We have 14 faculties including many major branches. We can say that we are a very strong educational institution with our 4 high schools, 11 vocational schools and 5 institutes. Trakya University has a well-established and institutionalized structure. We have approximately two thousand academic staff, more than 700 of whom are physicians, professors and associate professors.
Together with research assistants and specialists, this number approaches two thousand. Administrative staff is also around 2500 people. In other words, we are a university with five thousand active employees. There are 42000 students in our university with the number of international students having reached 5000. It is now a strong university with its own high standards in many fields such as medicine.
The Faculty of Medicine, with its 1100-bed hospital, is the largest educational institution both the Thrace and the Balkan regions. We have two faculties of health sciences. Departments such as nursing, dietetics, and physical therapy are spread throughout Keşan and Edirne. The departments that we call 2-year vocational high schools continue their education with 19 health units. Health is very important for Trakya University as a whole. Apart from these, our Faculty of Arts and Sciences has very strong, established and important graduates. Our Engineering Faculty is very strong with mechanical engineering, computer engineering, food engineering, genetic engineering. Faculty of Architecture is quite established as well, it is an important department that has been there since the 1970s. The Faculty of Fine Arts has perhaps the most beautiful campus in Turkey and is doing very important work. We have faculties of applied sciences, we have a faculty of theology, we have a faculty of literature, we have a faculty of education. In other words, we can say that it is a university that has almost no missing departments. We have almost all departments except for a few faculties. With 12 thousand students receiving education in our two-year departments and with 2-year vocational high schools we provide education in 11 different campuses. These departments gained popularity as a result of the implementation of the 3+1 system in our university. At present, students complete their education by dedicating a part of it to studying at relevant industrial establishments. Thus, they receive education while also gaining work experience.
In fact, many of our students already have job offers before their graduation. University of Trakya is a beautiful university with effective, lively and dynamic staff . As I have already mentioned, the university was established in the 1970s, and in 1982 it was renamed Trakya University. Our university is almost 40 years old now. Trakya University is a university that is at the peak of its maturity, anticipating great future success that will be synonymous with its name.