‘We are closely following the situation at Boğaziçi’
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Kick-off meeting NeurotechEU, January 2020. The previous rector of Bogazici University is the third person from the right. Photo: NeuroTechEU
Radboud University collaborates with Boğaziçi University in Istanbul via the European University NeurotechEU. The professors and students there have been demonstrating en masse after a new rector was appointed by President Erdogan. ‘We are following the developments and we are in constant dialogue with our colleagues at Boğaziçi,’ says project leader Tansu Celikel.
NeurotechEU was launched in December 2020. At this European University (see frame 1, ed.), Radboud University collaborates in the field of brain and technology with seven other universities, such as Oxford University and the University of Bonn.
Boğaziçi University is also involved in the collaboration. Students and professors at that Turkish university have been protesting for eight weeks against their new rector, who was appointed by President Erdogan (here is a link to the other article).
European University
NeurotechEU is one of the 41 European Universities in the making and focuses on brain and technology. For the first three years of operation, NeurotechEU received a subsidy of 5 million euros from the European Commission. The idea of European Universities comes from French President Emmanuel Macron. The intention is that students can study abroad and take lessons in at least two languages. There is also extensive exchange among scholars with respect to research.
The initiator and project leader of NeurotechEU is Tansu Celikel, professor of Neurophysiology at Radboud University. Celikel graduated from Istanbul University in 1996.
As project leader and initiator of NeurotechEU, Celikel is closely following the situation at Boğaziçi University. ‘We believe in academic freedom and hope that the researchers at Bogazici can continue their work as usual,’ he said in a Zoom conversation. ‘That is still the case so far as far as we can see.’
What can you do if that changes?
‘NeurotechEU, like all other European Universities, is an alliance in which universities work together. We have no legal ground to intervene in the affairs of any particular university. We do ensure that our colleagues and students from Boğaziçi continue to have access to the entire programme and all facilities of NeurotechEU. All our partners must have academic freedom.’
Have you already had contact with the new rector of Boğaziçi University?
‘No. Within NeurotechEU we have an organizational structure that includes representation from all universities. Contact goes through the academic and administrative heads of NeurotechEU, who are both working at Boğaziçi. The previous rector of Boğaziçi did visit Nijmegen for the kick-off meeting of NeurotechEU, where the collaboration was formally signed.’
You have studied at Boğaziçi yourself. Are you concerned about what is happening?
Celikel hesitates before responding. ‘Any change is difficult. The best we can do is keep a close eye on developments so that all NeurotechEU partners have the freedom to engage in education and research. As an academic community, we need to show concern.’
‘As you know Sijbolt Noorda has sent a letter on behalf of Magna Charta signatories to the Turkish government (see frame 2, ed.). Magna Charta points out that academic freedom and institutional autonomy are the basis of good governance. I fully agree with that.’
Do students in Turkey have the same chances in life today as they did twenty or thirty years ago?
‘I don’t know if I am the right person to judge that. Since I left Turkey, I have only returned three times for short visits. In the past, about one million students took the entrance exams for universities, but today it is double that, which increases the levels of stress for students to enter the best universities.’
‘Since I left Turkey, I have only returned three times for shirt visits’
‘Boğaziçi has always been very strict in the selection of students, and provided excellent education to its students; that’s why we are delighted to partner with them at NeurotechEU.’
Radboud University shares concerns
‘Radboud University shares the concerns of the broader academic community,’ said spokesman Martijn Gerritsen in a response to Vox about the situation at Boğaziçi University. Like Tansu Celikel, he refers to the letter that Sijbolt Noorda sent to the Turkish government on behalf of the board of the Observatory Magna Charta Universitatum on 11 February, expressing his concerns about academic freedom and institutional autonomy. ‘We maintain close contact with our Turkish colleagues, so we will continue to monitor developments.’