Arab-Turkish partnership for dual degrees, research hubs

Arab and Turkish universities are to establish a dual-degree system, a joint digital platform for the exchange of expertise and knowledge, and bi-regional hubs for research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The underlying aim is to strengthen academic collaboration and boost scientific research to increase universities’ contributions to achieving sustainable development.

These Arab–Turkish partnership initiatives were outlined in the “Tunis Declaration” adopted at the fifth Congress of Arab and Turkish University Presidents held in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, on 10 and 11 October.

The congress run on the theme of “Transforming Higher Education through Leadership, Innovation, and Regional Integration”, was organised by the University of Tunis El Manar, in collaboration with the Association of Arab Universities and the Eurasian Universities Union.

Professor Anas Ratib Alsoud, executive director of the Association of Arab Universities, told University World News: “The congress represents a strategic milestone in building a sustainable Arab–Turkish higher education ecosystem”.

Professor Erol Özvar, who is head of YÖK, the Council of Higher Education in Türkiye, representing all Turkish universities, wrote on : “The Turk-Arab University Rectors Congress holds great importance in terms of deepening the unity of strength in the field of higher education in our geography, which possesses a shared cultural and intellectual heritage.

“Today, cooperation between universities is not just a preference but a necessity.”

Özvar added: “Turkish and Arab universities, by increasing our capacity to produce solutions to the problems of our region through joint research, degree programmes, and academic exchanges, will contribute to scientific progress, cultural understanding, regional stability, and sustainable development.

“I sincerely believe that this gathering will be the beginning of new and lasting collaborations.”

At the congress, Dr Amr Ezzat Salama, secretary general of the Association of Arab Universities, described academic partnership with Türkiye as a “strategic priority” for shaping the future of higher education in light of technological, economic and political transformations.

Professor Mustafa Aydn, president of the Eurasian Universities Union, which is based in Istanbul, stressed the need to transcend national boundaries in academic collaboration.

Also, the Tunisian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Mondher Belaid, underlined the importance of “knowledge alliances” as “a foundation for intellectual and developmental sovereignty”.

Abdelmajid Ben Ammara, head of the Federation of Arab Scientific Research Councils, and president of the Arab Council for Scientific Research, added that Arab–Turkish cooperation has become an “urgent necessity”, noting that the two sides have produced more than 45,000 joint research papers over the past decade.

Türkiye’s broader internationalisation strategy

Dr Mosab Nouraldein Hamad, director of the Excellence Research Center at Elsheikh Abdallah Elbadri University in Sudan, told University World News building cooperation between Turkish universities and universities across the 22 Arab states is part of a “broader Turkish strategy for the internationalisation of Turkish higher education”.

He noted that Türkiye has more than 350,000 international students already enrolled from more than 200 countries and is seeking to raise that number to one million “in the near future”.

About 36% of the total number of international students studying at Turkish universities come from Middle Eastern countries including Syria (28.7%), Iran (5.1%) and Egypt (2.3%), according to a 2023 report by Skyline Education Services.

Hamad said through increased cooperation between universities, Türkiye is attempting to rebuild its soft power in the Middle East arena at a time when Arab-Turkish relations have been improving in recent years.

“These partnerships will be fruitful for the development of higher education in both Arab countries as well as Türkiye,” Hamad said.

The Global Soft Power Index 2025 (GSPI ), which evaluated soft power based on higher education and science capabilities, among other indicators, ranked Türkiye 26th out of 193 countries worldwide. That places it fourth among Middle Eastern and majority Muslim states, behind the United Arab Emirates (10th), Saudi Arabia (22nd) and Qatar (23rd), and ahead of Malaysia (36th).

“Besides expanding its joint university model abroad, focusing on Turkic states like Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan to share its higher education expertise, Türkiye has started to set up joint universities in the Arab world, including Egypt and Syria,” Hamad said.

For example, the International Turkic States University, established in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan and the Türkiye-Syria Friendship University planned to be established in Damascus, the capital of Syria.

Hamad’s views are in line with the June 2025 study titled “The internationalisation of Turkish higher education: A critical analysis of policy” which indicated that the Turkish agenda for internationalisation of higher education (IHE) is used strategically to position the country as a regional power and to strengthen ties with regions such as Central Asia, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa.

“Tools such as scholarship programmes and overseas educational institutions support geopolitical objectives and soft power narratives,” the study said.

Joint declaration adopted

The conference concluded with the adoption of a document titled the “Joint Declaration of Tunis” under the theme “Transforming Higher Education through Leadership, Innovation, and Regional Integration”.

The declaration outlined five main pillars, including leadership and governance, innovation and scientific research, regional integration, and sustainable development.

Besides strengthening university leadership capabilities and developing institutional governance systems and establishing joint research and innovation centres in the fields of digital transformation, artificial intelligence, health, and sustainability, the declaration called for supporting academic exchange programmes, scholarships, and inter-university summer schools and aligning academic cooperation with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To achieve that, the Tunis declaration called for the establishment of bi-regional hubs for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship and the creation of a joint Arab-Turkish digital platform to facilitate the exchange of expertise, share experiences, and coordinate research projects between universities.

It also called for the establishment of a dual-degree system between Arab and Turkish universities, under which students will be allowed to complete part of their studies in each country and obtain either two separate degrees or a joint one recognised by both partner institutions.

This will in turn enhance academic mobility and mutual credential recognition of qualifications within the Arab-Turkish education space.

‘Boost for both regions’

Alsoud, of the Association of Arab Universities, said the congress’ initiatives, particularly the dual-degree system, joint digital platform, and regional research hubs, create an “integrated academic space that enhances innovtion, talent mobility, and shared research impact across both regions”.

Professor Hamed Ead, based in the Faculty of Science, Cairo University, who is a former cultural counsellor at the Egyptian Embassy in Morocco, told University World News: “These initiatives are significant because they create a structured, integrated academic alliance, moving beyond sporadic cooperation to boost the global competitiveness of both regions, combat ‘brain drain’ by creating attractive local pathways, and foster deep cultural and intellectual ties that strengthen geopolitical and civilisational alignment”.

Walid Gashout, president of the Higher Education Students Foundation in Libya, told University World News that the Arab–Turkish partnership initiatives represent a “strategic step toward building a shared academic space capable of transforming scientific cooperation into tangible developmental value”.

Implementation challenges and solutions

Ead said key challenges for the initiative include bureaucratic incompatibility between different national education systems, significant quality disparities among universities, linguistic barriers, the high cost of sustainable funding, and potential disruption from regional political volatility.

“Success requires establishing a joint authority to standardise academic rules, launching small-scale pilot programmes before a full rollout, investing in language preparation, and creating a diverse, multi-source funding model to ensure long-term stability beyond political cycles,” Ead said.

Gashout believes harmonising legal and administrative frameworks among countries and ensuring sustainable funding and project continuity are the main challenges.

Alsoud said key challenges might include alignment of accreditation frameworks, recognition of qualifications, and ensuring sustained institutional commitment amid diverse regulatory and funding contexts.

He said that to address these challenges it was vital to establish a permanent Arab–Turkish coordination mechanism under the umbrella of both the Association of Arab Universities and the Eurasian Universities Union.

“Harmonising standards, launching pilot projects, and mobilising joint funding can turn the declarations into actionable, measurable programmes,” he noted.

“This partnership should evolve into a model for interregional academic integration, linking knowledge production to development priorities and positioning universities as engines of innovation and diplomacy between the Arab world and Türkiye,” Alsoud said.