Scholarships making Turkey hub for education: Official

By Servet Gunerigok</p> <p>WASHINGTON (AA) – The scholarship program offered by Turkey’s Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) is making the country a global hub for higher education, the head of the presidency said Wednesday. </p> <p>Speaking during an event at UN headquarters in New York, Abdullah Eren said the state-funded Turkiye Scholarships Program will turn Turkey into a second home for students from all around the world. </p> <p>The program offers financial support and a university education for students in their intended fields, said Eren. </p> <p>“Apart from a university education, it is aimed at providing students with the benefits of social, cultural and academic extracurricular programs and activities while they are in Turkey,” he said. </p> <p>Turkiye Scholarships offers a range of programs designed for each level of study, including full-time and short-term undergraduate, graduate, research and language education opportunities in the most prestigious universities in Turkey for international students and researchers. </p> <p>Eren said students who have completed their higher education in Turkey become voluntary country ambassadors who build bridges of friendship between Turkey and their countries. </p> <p>“For sustaining these ties, the Turkey Alumni network has been established with a member body of more than 150,000 graduates with around 30 registered Turkey Alumni Associations in more than 20 countries,” he added. </p> <p>He also said Turkey hosts approximately 150,000 international students, and more than 17,000 of them are scholarship students.</p> <p>“Our country aims to host 200,000 international students by 2023,” he added.</p> <p>*Betul Yuruk at the United Nations contributed to this story