IHEC2025 Guest Speakers

Prof. Dr. Susanne Maria Weber

Marburg University – Germany

Bio: https://aeced.org/meet-the-team/profiles/susanne-maria-weber/

“Not to be governed like this and in such a way” Defending Truth, Contesting Power, Imagining the Commoning University

Nowadays, global politics towards Higher Education and Universities shows massively alarming trends of threatened academics, delegitimized universities, withdrawn material basis for academic work. In times of authoritarian rule, which even turns into a tyrannic quality of power, “speaking truth to power” becomes more and more important. Inmidst these struggles against an economized, marginalized and subjected university, the question is, “can the subaltern speak”? Can academia defend truth and contest power? For many academics and universities, fear has started to rule their lives.

Can imagining a different tomorrow support to find strength against these massive threats? Can envisioning the commoning university support cocreational forces and support to shape university as a heterotopic space? Might relating to alternatives and speaking from the desired future open up liberating energies to the threatened minds? “Radical imagination” (Castoriadis, 1990) can support to overcome this “culture of fear” (Han 2023).

Abstract (full version)

Presentation

Dr. Krystian Szadkowski

Adam Mickiewicz University – Poland

Bio: https://krystianszadkowski.pl/

How can Marxist higher education research help us regain the future in the age of uncertainty?

This keynote begins with a question: How can Marxist higher education research help us regain the future in the age of uncertainty? The very formulation presupposes, first, that we indeed inhabit such an “age.” Yet this uncertainty is unevenly distributed. In the global South and East, in countries like Turkey and Poland alike, it manifests not only as ecological collapse, wars distant and close, all-pervasiveness of precarious employment, or the destabilisation of university knowledge production under artificial intelligence, but also as intensified dependency on the global core, academic and economic alike. Our regions have long been experiencing uncertainty through volatile currencies, structural adjustments, the dictates of international organisations, and the persistent reproduction of peripheral positions within global academic capitalism.

Abstract (full version)

Presentation

Prof. Dr. Yüksel Kavak

TED University – Türkiye

Bio: https://www.tedu.edu.tr/yuksel-kavak 

Yükseköğretimde Kalite Güvencesi ve Akreditasyon: Bologna Süreci Bağlamındaki Eğilimler

Dünyada yükseköğretimdeki büyüme eğilimlerine bakıldığında, yükseköğretimdeki büyüme ve yaygınlaşmanın farklı bölge ve ülkelere göre farklı hızda bir eğilim gösterdikleri görülmektedir. Her şeyden önce, ABD’nin daha 20. yüzyılın başlarında yükseköğretimde büyümeye başladığını, Batı Avrupa ülkelerinin de II. Dünya savaşının ardından büyüme hareketini başlattıklarını vurgulamak gerekir.  Yükseköğretimde kitleselleşme ve evrenselleşme süreci özellikle 2000 yılı sonrasında diğer bölgelere de yayılmış, özellikle 2000-2020 yılları arasında öğrenci sayılarında 100 milyondan fazla kayıt gerçekleşmiş, toplam sayı 235 milyona ulaşmış, okullaşma oranları da %19’dan %40’a yükselmiştir. Bu bağlamda, aşırı öğrenci baskısı altında kalan, giderek genişleyen ve karmaşıklaşan yükseköğretim sistemleri, büyümeyle eşzamanlı olarak yükseköğretimde kaliteyi koruma, sürekli olarak geliştirme ve kaynaklarını daha etkin bir biçimde kullanma arayışları çerçevesinde, farklı biçimde kalite güvence sistemlerini uygulamaya geçirmiş, birbirleriyle işbirliği ve deneyim paylaşımı yoluyla küresel bir harekete dönüşmüştür. UNESCO verilerine göre 146 ülkenin %83’ünde yasal olarak kurulmuş en az bir ulusal kalite güvence kurumu bulunmaktadır. Kısaca, kalite güvencesi ve akreditasyon kurumları, bugün dünya yükseköğretim sistemlerinin ayrılmaz bir parçası olmuştur.

Kalite güvence sistemleriyle ilgili uygulamalar değerlendirildiğinde, kurumların iç kalite güvence sistemleri olgunlaştıkça, dış kalite güvence kurumlarının daha az müdahaleci olduğu ve öğretimi geliştirme konusunda danışmanlık rolü üstlendiği gözlenmektedir.

Abstract (full version)

IHEC2025 Call For Papers

The Future of Higher Education in an Age of Uncertainty

Higher education, constituting an open and complex system, is shaped by its interactions with society, economy, culture, politics, nature, and other domains, whilst also playing an eminent role in shaping the future of the domains in question. From a historical perspective, major transformations such as the post-World War II era, which was marked by changes of profound sort in knowledge, science, education, and technology, along with the transition to a global knowledge economy/society beginning in the 1990s have also been periods during which higher education and universities were subjected to various forms of ‘restructuring’. The said periods have repeatedly prompted some fundamental questions like, ‘What is the university and what should it be?’, ‘What is and should be the role of higher education in constructing the future of our societies?’, and ‘What kind of a higher education reform is necessary to adapt to these transformations?’.

These questions also form the reason for the emergence of Higher Education Studies as an international and interdisciplinary field of research. Dwelling on and analyzing how these questions are mirrored in contemporary higher education policies necessitates collaborative, multi-disciplinary research initiatives, particularly in the fields of Educational Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities.

In recent decades, the accelerating pace of radical transformations alongside uncertainties pertaining to the future have compelled universities to develop ways through which they can sustain their existence within an ecosystem that calls for constant change. This externally driven and rapid demand for transformation has, in a fair number of respects, rendered traditional academic processes and the culture of universities and science increasingly unsustainable.

Within this frame of reference, at IHEC 2025, under the concept of ‘The Future of Higher Education in an Age of Uncertainty’, we intend to concentrate on the transformation of the missions of higher education viz. education, research, and community service in the face of multiple crises e.g., climate crisis, pandemics, economic crises, wars, migration, and others, on the challenges it encounters, and on the possible future scenarios. In this conference, which we expect it to be enriched with the contributions from scholars of diverse disciplines with distinct perspectives, we will broadly be addressing the following questions and themes: As the Association for Higher Education Studies, we are also pleased to be collaborating under this shared theme with TED University, founded in 2009 with the vision of ‘Leaving a lasting impact on social development for a sustainable future’.

  • How are the global policies on higher education evolving from the ‘Global Knowledge Economy’ toward the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’?
  • How will the trend towards massification in higher education be shaped by demographic changes? To illustrate, can massification continue in the countries in which birth rates are declining?
  • How are the pandemic and national protectionist tendencies impacting internationalization policies in higher education?
  • What pedagogical/andragogical approaches are coming to the fore in education and learning in the age of uncertainty?
  • How are learner profiles and experiences altering (with respect to intergenerational dynamics, poverty, identity, and alike)?
  • How do the current approaches to higher education administration and quality assurance models contribute to the effective functioning of universities under these conditions of uncertainty?
  • As the mental health and well-being needs of university stakeholders have become more crucial through the pandemic experience, how are these issues being addressed in higher education policies and practices?
  • How are digitization and Artificial Intelligence transforming the administration, education, research, and community engagement related missions of universities?

Conference Themes:

  • Academic freedom and autonomy of universities
  • Academic staff experiences and needs
  • Regional development and higher education
  • Science and technology policies
  • Digitization and Artificial Intelligence in education and research
  • Entrepreneurship, community engagement, development, sustainability
  • Graduate student experiences and needs
  • Micro-credentials and flexible learning
  • Faculty development policies
  • Higher education for the Sustainable Development Goals
  • Mental health and well-being of university stakeholders
  • University-city relations
  • University-industry/private sector collaboration and helix ecosystems
  • University students’ experiences and needs
  • New generation universities and alternative university models
  • Internationalization of higher education
  • Ethics, principles, and values in higher education
  • Quality assurance in higher education
  • Pedagogical/andragogical approaches in higher education
  • Access to higher education, equity, diversity, participation
  • History and philosophy of higher education
  • Mission, vision, and role of higher education
  • Higher education system and administration
  • Massification of higher education
  • Financing and sustainability of higher education

IHEC2025 Committees

Organizing Board

  • Prof. Dr. Armağan Erdoğan
  • Prof. Dr. Kezban Çelik, TED University
  • Prof. Dr. Oya (Yerin) Güneri, TED University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gökçe Gökalp, Middle East Technical University
  • Dr. Mete Kurtoğlu, Middle East Technical University
  • Dr. Mehmet Şengül, Hacı Bayram Veli University
  • Asst. Prof. Dr. Şahabettin Akşab, Gaziantep University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar Ayyıldız, Lokman Hekim University
  • Asst. Prof. Dr. Feride Öksüz Gül, Istanbul Medeniyet University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Betül Bulut Şahin, TED University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aylin Çakıroğlu Çevik, TED University
  • Tugay Durak, University College of London
  • Tuna Uzunyol, PhD Student, Middle East Technical University
  • Gökçen Kuru, PhD Student, Middle East Technical University
  • Funda Kurt Keskin, Research Assistant, Gazi University
  • Hilal Karaoğlan, Research Assistant, Marmara University

Advisory Board

  • Prof. Dr. Rachel Brooks, University of Surrey, United Kingdom
  • Prof. Dr. İhsan Sabuncuoğlu, TED University
  • Prof. Dr. Ömer Demir, Ankara Social Sciences University (Founding Rector)
  • Prof. Dr. Mehmet Durman, Yeditepe University
  • Prof. Dr. Yüksel Kavak, TED University
  • Prof. Dr. Stan Taylor, Durham University, United Kingdom
  • Prof. Dr. Metin Toprak, Sabahattin Zaim University
  • Prof. Dr. Öktem Vardar, TED University (Founding Rector)

Scientific Board

  • Prof. Dr. Yüksel Kavak, TED University
  • Prof. Dr. Kezban Çelik, TED University
  • Prof. Dr. İhsan Sabuncuoğlu, TED University
  • Prof. Dr. Oya Yerin Güneri, TED University
  • Prof. Dr. Kürşat Çağıltay, TED University
  • Prof. Dr. Mehmet Durman, Yeditepe University
  • Prof. Dr. Fatma Nevra Seggie, Boğaziçi University (Retired)
  • Prof. Dr. Fatma Zeynep Kızıltepe, Boğaziçi University (Retired)
  • Prof. Dr. Türker Kurt, Gazi University
  • Prof. Dr. Yaşar Kondakçı, Middle East Technical University
  • Prof. Dr. Barış Uslu, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University
  • Prof. Dr. Yusuf Gürcan Ültanır, Mersin University (Retired)
  • Prof. Dr. Hayal Köksal, Istanbul Kent University
  • Prof. Dr. Susanne Maira Weber, Marburg University
  • Prof. Dr. Karri Holley, University of Alabama
  • Prof. Dr. Şefika Mertkan, Eastern Mediterranean University
  • Prof. Dr. Jungcheol Shin, Seoul National University
  • Prof. Dr. Nuno Dorotea, University of Lisbon
  • Prof. Ly Tran, Deakin University
  • Prof. Angela Yung Chi Ho, Lingnan University
  • Prof. Anatoly Oleksiyenko, The Education University of Hong Kong
  • Chair Prof. Bruce Macfarlane, The Education University of Hong Kong
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sedat Gümüş, The Education University of Hong Kong
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aylin Çakıroğlu Çevik, TED University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Betül Bulut Şahin, TED University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duygun Göktürk Ağın, Middle East Technical University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hasan Yücel Ertem, Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sevinç Gelmez Burakgazi, Hacettepe University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zehra Taşkın, Hacettepe University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Güleda Doğan, Hacettepe University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serap Emil, Middle East Technical University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar Ayyıldız, Lokman Hekim University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Adem Yaman, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömür Hakan Kuzu, Selçuk University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alper Çalıkoğlu, Nazarbayev University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gökçen Aydın, TED University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ezgi Pehlivanlı, Middle East Technical University
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Çoymak, Abdullah Gül University
  • Asst. Prof. Dr. Şahabettin Akşab, Gaziantep University
  • Asst. Prof. Dr. Maissam Nimer, Istanbul University
  • Asst. Prof. Dr. Feride Öksüz Gül, Istanbul Medeniyet University
  • Asst. Prof. Dr. Yusuf İkbal Oldaç, The Education University of Hong Kong
  • Asst. Prof. Dr. Harun Serpil, Anadolu University
  • Asst. Prof. Dr. Hakan Ergin, Boğaziçi University
  • Asst. Prof. Dr. Fatma Zehra Ünlü Kaynakçı, TED University
  • Dr. Karri Holley, University of Alabama
  • Dr. Mete Kurtoğlu, Middle East Technical University
  • Dr. Sonay Caner Yıldırım, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University
  • Dr. Oya Uslu Çetin, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University
  • Dr. Bekir Burak Soyer, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University
  • Dr. Ferhat Ünal, Middle East Technical University
  • Dr. Furkan Uzan, University of Southampton
  • Dr. Kristian Szadkowski, Adam Mickiewicz University
  • Dr. Zeynep Bumin Süzen, Gazi University
  • Andreas Rogler, University of Oulu