With the Official Gazette dated 14 September 2024, Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydın was appointed as the President of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK), Prof. Dr. Mesut Güner was appointed as Vice President, and Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yozgatlıgil was appointed as a Board Member in accordance with Articles 2, 3 and 7 of the Presidential Decree No. 3 and Articles 586 and 588 of the Presidential Decree No. 4.
A handover ceremony was held at TÜBİTAK's Gebze Campus. İsmail Doğan, who was acting as the President of TÜBİTAK, handed over the duty to Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydın.
İsmail Doğan made a short speech and welcomed Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydın to TÜBİTAK. Doğan conveyed his wishes for success with the wish that ‘we would be blessed to do very good works together’ and presented flowers to Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydın.
‘TÜBİTAK is the most important institution in terms of the competence of our country's research ecosystem’
Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydın, President of TÜBİTAK, made a speech after the presentation of flowers. Aydın said, ‘First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for my appointment to this honourable position. I would like to thank our Minister of Industry and Technology Mr Mehmet Fatih Kacır for his trust and support during the appointment process.’
Stating that he has been the rector of Tarsus University for about 6 years, Prof. Dr. Aydın said, ‘TÜBİTAK is a very distinguished institution. It is the most important institution, the most pioneering institution in terms of the competence of our country's research ecosystem.’
Noting that good work has been done at TÜBİTAK in recent years, Aydın said, ‘TÜBİTAK's scope is very wide. From primary and secondary education to university level, researchers, industrialists, civil society, it is an organisation that seriously supports Turkey's development both in terms of policy and mechanism. I know it closely with the project supports we have received and the duties I have taken. It is a very honourable duty.’
‘We will do good things by combining our horizons and energy in the common climate of our mind and heart’
Reminding that the previous President of TÜBİTAK, Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, also served for more than 6 years, Aydın said, ‘He did very good things here together with you. I hope that we will be able to carry the flag we received from him further from where he left off. It is important to be remembered well in these duties, and to leave a pleasant legacy behind when the duty is completed. In that sense, we have tried to put forward the best and the right thing we can in good faith to the extent of our knowledge and competence in the duties we have taken so far. I sincerely believe that we will achieve good things by benefiting from the memory and experience here and learning together. In the common climate of our mind and heart, we will hopefully achieve good things by combining our horizons and energy.’
Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydın stated that he was pleased to work with an experienced team and that he felt lucky to work with two of his deputies, including Prof. Dr. Mesut Güner and İsmail Doğan, who were appointed as Vice President of TÜBİTAK.
Prof. Dr. Aydın said, ‘I hope that after many years, we will be granted the opportunity to complete our duty in this chair, to complete our duty properly and to complete a task as a manager with a clear conscience.’ and concluded his words with his wish.
According to the decision published on 16 August in the Official Gazette, İsmail Doğan had been acting as the President of TÜBİTAK since Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal was appointed as the rector of Istanbul Technical University.
