Sivas Cumhuriyet University participated in APAIE 2026 (Asia-Pacific Association for International Education), the most prestigious higher education organization in the Asia-Pacific region, to strengthen its position in the global education network and reinforce its "World University" vision. Held in Hong Kong from February 23-27, 2026, the fair provided Sivas Cumhuriyet University with crucial opportunities to expand its global academic network. This participation marked the first time the university attended this event in 2026, building upon previous years' participation in international education fairs.
The Sivas Cumhuriyet University delegation, participating in the “Study in Türkiye” pavilion coordinated by the Turkish National Agency, met with higher education institutions from all over the world as a result of five days of intensive contacts. Representing our university at the fair were Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Süleyman Değirmen and Erasmus+ Institutional Coordinator Assistants Lecturers Emre Seven and Murat Ercan, who laid the foundations for academic collaborations.
During the five-day fair, one-on-one meetings were held with a total of 40 universities from Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Hungary, Romania, China, the United States, Colombia, Croatia, Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Spain, Austria, and Switzerland. The meetings focused on increasing student and staff mobility, developing joint research projects, and strengthening academic collaborations.
The APAIE 2026 Fair stands out as a significant step in our university's internationalization strategy, following the NAFSA fair in the United States and the EAIE fair in Sweden. As part of this process, which our university meticulously monitored, meetings were held with over 100 universities at the fair in Sweden, and agreements were reached on collaborations with many institutions.
As a result of contacts made within the scope of the APAIE 2026 fair, agreements were reached with many institutions to initiate Erasmus+ Inter-institutional Agreement and Bilateral Agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) processes and to update existing quotas. On Friday, the last day of the conference, significant steps were taken towards establishing a bilateral agreement between the two universities during a meeting held with XinXiang University in China.
Following the visit, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Süleyman Değirmen made the following statement: “As Sivas Cumhuriyet University, we are on the path to becoming an institution that not only produces knowledge but also shares this knowledge with the world. These contacts, which we have made to expand our university's international network, will open doors for our students to study in different countries in the coming periods. Our goal is to contribute to the academic mobility of our university by transforming these new ties into concrete collaborations.”.