The roadmap is becoming clear at MAKÜ Faculty of Medicine: The goal is to enroll students in 2026–2027

The ‘Medical Education Workshop’ organized for the new Faculty of Medicine to be opened under Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ) discussed the faculty's educational model, academic structure, and roadmap.

The Faculty of Medicine, established with the approval of the Presidency on June 30, 2025, is undergoing academic, administrative, and technical preparations in a planned manner, while the workshop was held in the university's Senate Hall. Important evaluations regarding the future of the faculty were made at the meeting attended by university management, academics, deans and deputy deans of medical faculties from neighboring provinces, and health managers.

This Workshop will shape our educational policies

Prof. Dr. Cem Çetin, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, emphasized the importance of the workshop and stated:

This workshop is an important consultation meeting we held with our stakeholders to shape our university's future educational and research policies. A comprehensive evaluation will be made with the participation of faculty members and deputy deans working in medical education from medical faculties in neighboring provinces, as well as our provincial health director and chief physician.

Our goal is to start education this year

Prof. Dr. Cem Çetin clarified the issue of student enrollment:

The topic our students are most curious about is whether we will enroll students this year. Our goal is to start education this year and train our first students. We are continuing our efforts in this direction and believe we have made significant progress so far. Regarding the quota, although the initial program is planned for 60, we anticipate enrolling between 30 and 60 students in the first phase. Hopefully, by the end of the year, all processes will be clarified.

Burdur must break its shell in health

Provincial Health Director Dr. Musa Murat Erk pointed out the importance of the Faculty of Medicine for the city. He stated that Burdur needs to break its shell in the health field, which can only be achieved with a Faculty of Medicine, and that the Faculty of Medicine is of great importance for them, hoping that the organized educational workshop will contribute to a healthy and accurate planning process.

Important statements from Rector Dalgar about the Faculty of Medicine

MAKÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar emphasized that the faculty is built on solid foundations and made the following statements:

In order for our Faculty of Medicine to enroll students, we needed to meet the faculty member qualifications in 18 core branches determined by the Higher Education Council. These branches primarily cover basic sciences. We prioritized this and completed the necessary academic staff structure.

During this process, we benefited from both our specialist physicians working in our state hospital and our faculty members, especially those working in Medical Education, who meet the appointment criteria of the Higher Education Council. We formed our staff in 18 core branches with our academics who meet the appointment conditions of our university and YÖK criteria. At the beginning of 2026, we plan to make a rapid staff reinforcement in the field of clinical sciences.

We are building an education building, not a new hospital

Rector Dalgar clarified a point that is often misunderstood by the public:

I would like to correct a matter that is sometimes misunderstood by the public: We are not building a new hospital. The structure to be built for our Faculty of Medicine is an education building. Initially, we will implement the affiliation model based on the transformation of our existing state hospital into an Education and Research Hospital. We already have a new and equipped state hospital in our city. Clinical practices will be carried out here.

The building to be constructed is the morphology building of the Faculty of Medicine; that is, it is the education building where basic trainings will be conducted. Since the establishment of our faculty took place after the 2026 budget proposals, this building is not included in the 2026 investment program. We will propose it for the 2027 investment program.

However, we do not want to waste time waiting for this process. We are in a position to start basic education with our existing resources. In other words, we aim to start the education of our students using our infrastructure without waiting for the completion of a building. After it enters the investment program, we will come together with the important actors of our city and our stakeholders to evaluate the most appropriate location together.

Emphasis on integration in the city center

Our opinion is that the education building should be located in the city center, at a point that is easily accessible to the Education and Research Hospital. We aim for a positioning that will strengthen the integration of our students and faculty members, intertwining practice with theory.

The final decision is YÖK's

Rector Dalgar also made the following evaluation regarding the official aspect of the process:

Our goal is to be ready to enroll students for the 2026–2027 academic year. For this, we are continuing our efforts to meet all the criteria set by YÖK. When we complete the process, we will inform the Higher Education Council of the situation. If deemed appropriate, we want to enroll students in Burdur Mehmet Akif University Faculty of Medicine in this year's Higher Education Programs and Quotas Guide. The final decision is certainly YÖK's; however, we are striving to fulfill our responsibilities completely.

This is not just a faculty, but a vision, a future

At the end of his speech, Rector Dalgar gave a vision message:

No one should have any concerns about this: We are not establishing an ordinary faculty. We are building a qualified Faculty of Medicine on solid foundations, with a strong academic staff. We want to establish an ambitious structure in education, research, and community service. This faculty is a gift from our state and our elders to our city and our university. Our duty is to prepare this trust in the best way and carry it into the future.

The recent event once again demonstrated the importance of the Faculty of Medicine

Rector Dalgar shared an incident that occurred last week, explaining why the Faculty of Medicine is vital for the city:

Last week, a young girl, a final year student of the Faculty of Dentistry, had an unfortunate traffic accident. A situation arose that required delicate surgical intervention in the face and brain area. During this process, I spoke with the Rector of Akdeniz University and the Rector of Süleyman Demirel University. The transfer was made to Akdeniz University based on expertise and infrastructure capabilities.

That day, I felt once again: This city must have this competence. We must have an infrastructure that can provide healing to our own people in our own city without the need to transfer delicate cases to other provinces. At that moment, we once again realized how vital an investment the Faculty of Medicine is.

Hopefully, as soon as possible, we will build a strong structure together that will eliminate the need for the children of this city to knock on other doors for health services.

This is not just a faculty; it is a vision, a future, and a city claim.