Turkey's İbn Haldun and Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) have reached deals with Qatari and Djiboutian universities, respectively, for educational cooperation. Istanbul's İbn Haldun signed a cooperation protocol with Qatar's Hamad Bin Khalifa University and İTÜ announced that it will help found engineering schools at Djibouti University.
Speaking after a signing ceremony with Hamad Bin Khalifa University President Dr. Ahmad M. Hasnah, İbn Haldun President Recep Şentürk said Qatar has been "a visionary country" in the Islamic world and had strong similarities in terms of its well-preserved Islamic culture. "This deal covers the exchange of academics and students and conducting joint education programs, workshops, symposiums and panels. We will have a joint diploma program, too, and cooperate in other areas our respective universities have expertise in," he said. İbn Haldun, which offers education in Arabic in addition to Turkish and English, hopes to benefit from the deal, Şentürk said. "It will be a bridge between Turkey and the Middle East and enable us to jointly conduct studies on the Gulf and Middle East," he said. Şentürk cited huge interest in Turkish language in Qatar and said Qataris would certainly benefit from the cooperation protocol. Hasnah said students were already excited to be in Turkey and study with their Turkish counterparts. "Together, we will develop new ideas," he said.
In Djibouti, İTÜ inaugurated electrical engineering and construction engineering departments at Djibouti University at a ceremony attended by Turkish and Djiboutian officials. İTÜ helped creating curriculum and shared experience in teaching foreign languages.
