July 22, 2025

Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education, announced that negotiations have been initiated for the establishment of Türkiye-Jordan University.

Özvar said that during the inter-delegation talks held at the Council of Higher Education with the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, they decided to establish an example of the umbrella university model in Jordan, which they started with the Türkiye-Azerbaijan University and continues to expand with many countries, and that they aim to strengthen cooperation in higher education between Türkiye and Jordan.

Following the delegation meetings held at the Council of Higher Education, Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education and Azmi Mahafzah, Jordanian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research signed the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Council of Higher Education and the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for Cooperation in the Field of Higher Education". CoHE President Özvar stated that the protocol will solve the issues related to recognition and equivalence between Türkiye and Jordan and help build a strong academic cooperation on the basis of mutual trust. He noted that exchange programs and joint scientific research projects will be initiated between the universities of the two countries.

Stating that there are adverse developments in the common geography that directly affect higher education, and that Israel continues its genocidal massacres against the Palestinian people, Özvar said that Türkiye has opened the doors of Turkish universities to Gaza university students, scientists and all academic community and students who face pressure for opposing the human tragedy in Palestine all over the world.

Özvar said that they have placed hundreds of Palestinian students in our higher education institutions by conducting interviews for Palestinian students, and that they have exempted students from Gaza from tuition fees and provided scholarship opportunities upon the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and added: “Israel, which has attacked Syria, Lebanon and Iran in addition to Palestine, is the biggest obstacle to peace and stability in our region.”

He emphasized that in line with President Erdoğan's instructions, the Council of Higher Education continues to do its part to ensure that innocent people are not harmed by the great humanitarian crises in Palestine and the Middle East.

Pointing out that especially the studies in the fields of AI, digital transformation, smart agriculture and health technologies will accelerate the existing cooperation, Özvar noted that the memorandum of understanding will be an important document at this point. He also stated that they would like to initiate discussions between the universities of both countries on dual degree programs and said, "We look positively at the development of innovative collaborations such as the twin university model between our research universities and Jordan's leading universities. We are ready to support joint research projects at the institutional level."

He stated that they will organize TR-YÖS in around 100 countries in the near future and said that they expect to attract the Jordanian youth in this exam. He stated that they would be pleased to share Türkiye's experience in vocational and technical higher education with the Jordanian higher education system.

In his speech, Azmi Mahafzah, Jordanian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stated that they believe investment in education means investment in people, which is the basis for stability, growth and innovation. He emphasized that the MoU is a strategic step towards establishing effective and sustainable partnerships at the institutional level. Minister Mahafzah said that they would like to study Türkiye's unique experience in attracting international students and develop their own systems accordingly.

The delegations were chaired by Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education, and Mahafzah, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Jordan. The meetings were attended by CoHE Executive Board Members, rectors of Bilkent University, METU, ITU, Yıldız Technical University, Marmara University, Marmara University, Ege University, Atatürk University, İnönü University and Akdeniz University, Prof. Dhafer El-Sarayrah, President of the Jordan Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority, Prof. Dhafer El-Sarayrah, President of the Jordan Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority, and the rectors of the University of Jordan, Mutah University, Hashemite University, Al al-Bayt University, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, German Jordanian University and Al-Hussein Technical University.

During the meetings, the rectors of the universities of the two countries made presentations.

The Jordanian delegation headed by Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Mahafzah will hold talks in Türkiye until July 25. The delegation will visit universities in Ankara and Istanbul, hold meetings and work for cooperation.