The regular meeting of the Advisory Board of the Faculty of Agriculture at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University was held with the participation of the Faculty management, department heads and representatives of external stakeholders. The meeting was also attended by Davut ŞİMŞEK, Director of the Kırşehir Meteorological Office, and Fuat POLAT, President of the Kırşehir Breeders’ Association for Sheep and Goats, who have recently joined our Advisory Board.

The meeting, organised with the aim of ensuring that the views and suggestions of internal and external stakeholders are reflected more effectively in the processes of education and teaching, research and development, and social contribution, addressed various issues aimed at enhancing the Faculty’s capacity to respond to regional needs and strengthening inter-institutional cooperation.

At the meeting, discussions centred primarily on ways to enhance the effectiveness and raise awareness of the Farmers’ Helpline, which is run by our Faculty for producers. Initiatives that could be carried out in collaboration with stakeholders were considered, with the aim of making it easier for producers to access academic knowledge and of linking requests and issues arising from the field more effectively to academic research.

With regard to teaching and learning processes, the focus was on curriculum development initiatives that are in line with accreditation criteria, keep pace with current developments and take the region’s needs into account. Consultations were held on increasing the contribution of external stakeholders to curriculum development and improvement processes, ensuring graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills required by the sector, and strengthening the capacity for collaboration with partner institutions.

With the aim of enhancing students’ opportunities for practical learning, it was decided to organise student visits to the Kırşehir Meteorological Directorate as part of the climate and meteorology-related courses offered across all departments of our Faculty. The aim of these visits is to enable students to observe meteorological observation, measurement, data collection and evaluation processes first-hand.

During the meeting, opportunities for collaboration between the Directorate of Meteorology and our Faculty were also assessed, with a view to facilitating data sharing and data flow so that meteorological data can be utilised more effectively in scientific research. Views were also exchanged regarding the measurement and monitoring infrastructure that could be established to obtain microclimate data, enabling more detailed monitoring of our Faculty’s trial plots for agricultural research purposes.

It was decided to launch information and awareness campaigns to promote the use of the General Directorate of Meteorology’s official ‘Meteorology Weather’ mobile app – which provides the public with access to up-to-date observations, forecasts and meteorological information – amongst our students, farmers and relevant stakeholders.

Another item on the meeting’s agenda was the development of employment opportunities for graduates. Discussions took place on increasing employment opportunities for agricultural engineers within partner institutions and organisations, ensuring that the skills required by the sector are imparted to our students more effectively, and enhancing university-sector interaction. A consensus was reached on increasing incentives and guidance to develop our students’ foreign language skills, with the aim of enhancing their competitiveness in national and international work environments.

Fuat POLAT, Chairman of the Kırşehir Breeding Sheep and Goat Farmers’ Association, stated that the Association is open to collaboration with our Faculty in various areas, particularly in research and development activities, scientific events, training programmes for students and producers, and teaching and learning activities.

The meeting concluded following the consideration of the views and recommendations of the Advisory Board members and an assessment of potential joint projects to be undertaken in the coming period.

As the Faculty of Agriculture, we will continue to incorporate the views of our internal and external stakeholders into our decision-making and improvement processes, to develop our teaching and learning activities in line with regional and sectoral needs, and to carry out initiatives that strengthen university-community collaboration.