Chairman of the Board of Trustees

A Message from Our Chairman of the Board of Trustees,
Dr. Talip Emiroğlu,
to Young People During the University Preference Period

Is It About Becoming Someone or Doing Something Meaningful?

As the university preference period begins, I look at millions of young people who are making one of the most important decisions of their lives. Almost all of them have the same question in their minds:

“What will I become in the future?”

Will I become a doctor?

Will I become an engineer?

Will I become a pharmacist?

Will I become a lawyer?

However, I would like to ask our young people a different question:

“What will I do in the future?”

This is where one of the most important shortcomings of our education system begins.

We teach our children how to acquire a profession; however, we do not explain enough how they can create value through that profession.

Today, a young person wants to become a computer engineer. They study for years, prepare for exams, enter university, and graduate.

What happens next?

They start working at a company.

Perhaps they move on to a better company.

And then?

Was that truly their life goal?

The real goal should be:

To develop software that the world will talk about.

To create technology that makes people’s lives easier.

To solve a new and meaningful problem.

An engineering degree is a tool that helps achieve this goal; it is not the goal itself.

The same applies to pharmacy.

“I will graduate from the Faculty of Pharmacy and open a pharmacy.”

This goal was valid a hundred years ago.

But in the world of the 2030s, the goal of a young pharmacist should be:

to develop new medicines,

to create new treatment methods from nature,

to bring together cosmetics and biotechnology,

to make discoveries that improve humanity’s quality of life.

You may even be able to achieve these goals without attending university.

However, a good university can help you reach these goals faster and with stronger foundations.

Today, more than one million young people are trying to decide which university and which department they should choose.

As an educator with more than forty years of experience, and as the founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of two higher education institutions, I could of course say, “Choose our university.”

But before that, I would like to say this:

First, decide what you want to do.

Then choose the university that will help you reach that goal in the best possible way.

Because simply having a profession is no longer enough.

What the world needs are not just people who hold titles, but individuals who produce solutions, create value, and contribute to humanity.

Of course, you may become a civil servant, a bureaucrat, an academic, or an entrepreneur…

However, whichever profession you choose, ask yourself this question:

“What will I contribute to this profession?”

A career begins with the answer you give to this question.

Dear young people,

My advice to you is this:

Choose your dream before choosing your profession.

Because what truly matters is leaving a lasting mark on this world.

And remember:

“The greatest success in life is not simply becoming someone; it is being able to do something that benefits humanity.”