An "Academic Gowning, Academic Achievement, Incentive, and Award Ceremony for 2026" was held for faculty members appointed and promoted by Kastamonu University in 2025, as well as for academics who qualified for awards with their scientific achievements. 

The program, celebrating its 20th anniversary, was held at our University and drew a large audience to the Sezai Karakoç Hall of the Central Library on March 31, 2026. The ceremony was attended by our Rector, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Topal, as well as our Vice Rectors, Prof. Dr. Ömer Küçük and Prof. Dr. Selahattin Kaymakcı, the Deputy Secretary General, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İbrahim Demirbaş and many academics.

The program began with a music recital prepared by the Department of Musicology of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design. After the concert, the program continued with a video presentation prepared for the 20th anniversary. 

After the showing, our Rector, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Topal, who gave the opening speech, emphasized the great importance of making academic labor visible and of encouraging successful work, stating that rewarding academics who contribute to science paves the way for new achievements. 

Reminding us that the 20th anniversary of our university's establishment is being celebrated, our Rector stated that significant progress has been made in the areas of institutionalization, education and training, research and development, quality and accreditation efforts, internationalization, regional development, social responsibility activities, and physical infrastructure during the past period. 

In his speech, our Rector emphasized the social responsibility of universities and stated that a university's success can be measured not only by academic indicators but also by the solutions it offers to the problems of the city and region in which it is located. 

Our rector stated the following in his speech:"It is expected of us to accurately analyze the needs of our province, region, and geography, develop solution-oriented projects to address these needs, and directly contribute to regional issues. The true value and success of a university are closely related not only to academic achievement indicators but also to the extent to which it can provide solutions to the problems of the city and region in which it is located. At this point, I would like to emphasize that a university approach that is disconnected from the public and fails to take into account the needs of the region in which it is located has no place in today's world. Our academics should be integrated with society, share their knowledge and experience with the public, and offer all their resources for the service of the community. All academic units of our university should not limit their areas of interest to academic circles; they should direct their knowledge, human resources, and infrastructure to farmers, entrepreneurs, industrialists, tradespeople, and, indeed, all of society in our province and region, and strive to fulfill their social responsibility." 

Our rector also stated that digitalization and data analytics have now become not just technological innovations but strategic necessities for education, research, and management processes. Our Rector, noting that the strong universities of the future will be institutions with high digital competence and capable of making data-driven decisions, emphasized that academics' adaptation to this transformation will strengthen our University's future.

Emphasizing that academic competence should be combined with social values, our Rector stated that social responsibility projects are an important indicator of our University's human-centered approach. Stating that academics who transform their scientific knowledge into social benefit elevate the intellectual level of our University, he emphasized the importance of community service projects. 

Our Rector stated, "We are pleased to observe that our University holds a prestigious place among higher education institutions, both in ÜNİDES and in social responsibility projects. On the other hand, he concluded his remarks by saying, "I would like to thank you once again for the work you have done to evaluate the natural resources, cultural heritage, production capacity, human resources, and development needs of our province and region from a scientific perspective."

After our Rector's speech, a total of 89 faculty members, including 21 professors, 30 associate professors, and 38 assistant professors who have shown academic advancement, donned their academic gowns. After the video presentation prepared for the 20th anniversary of Kastamonu University, 95 academics who were deemed worthy of awards for their scientific studies received their awards. 

Awards were given in numerous fields such as academics who made it to the list of the world's most influential scientists, researchers with the most publications in Q1 and Q2 categories, academics who produced the most national and international articles, international project successes, TÜSEB and TÜBİTAK project awards, TÜBİTAK 2209 student project successes, patent studies, TEKNOFEST successes, national and international competition successes, accredited departments and programs, social responsibility projects, international activities, academic and social activity performances, projects supported under ÜNİDES, academic incentive successes, teaching staff and research assistant incentives, and exemplary student and student community successes. 

You can access the photo album from here.