Investing In Intellectual Capital is a Requisite For Progress: Boğaziçi University Receives $ 1.5 Million Donation

Tırsan A.Ş., one of Europe’s largest trailer manufacturers, was the first donor to contribute to the Argüden Governance Academy Conditional Donations Fund that was launched following the protocol signed between the Boğaziçi University Foundation and ARGE Consultancy.

The signing ceremony was attended by President Gülay Barbarosoğlu, who is also the President of the Boğaziçi University Foundation, Barış Dinçer, Director of Argüden Governance Academy, and Çetin Nuhoğlu, Chairman of Tırsan A.Ş. Mr. Nuhoğlu donated $ 1.5 million to the Argüden Governance Academy to be used for educational and research activities.

“Good Governance is Comprised of Culture, Climate, and Behaviors”

At the signing ceremony, Boğaziçi University President Gülay Barbarosoğlu noted that “Turkey moved into the 21st Century with a young and dynamic population, which is a not-to-be-missed opportunity,” and underlined that “good governance is comprised of culture, climate, and behaviors,” adding, “Consequently, it is critically important to educate next-generation leaders who are both competent and visionaries in terms of governance.” President Barbarosoğlu continued, saying, “As the Boğaziçi University Foundation, we are very happy to present our collaboration on the basis of a donation platform with the Argüden Governance Academy, which was founded under the direction of Dr. Yılmaz Argüden, an exemplary Boğaziçi graduate who embraced a leadership role from the time he was a student that spilled over not only to academia, business, and the public sector, but to matters related to social responsibility as well. I believe that the esteemed faculty members at Boğaziçi University will also support the governance-oriented education and research activities that will be forthcoming.” Çetin Nuhoğlu, Chairman of Tırsan A.Ş. noted that currently, it was very important for organizations to have a well-defined institutionalization process and added that the protocol signed with Boğaziçi University would create notable added value in this context. Nuhoğlu said that investor-university collaborations were very widespread in the West and that the donation made to Boğaziçi University would serve as a crucial model for other investors.

A Turning Point in Turkey’s Donation Culture

Chairman of the Argüden Governance Academy, Dr. Yılmaz Argüden said that not only the promising young leaders from both the public and private sectors, but non-governmental organizations and all institutions that focus on the future would benefit from this collaboration, and added: “Trust is the foundation of social progress. The trust in institutions is much more long-standing that the trust placed in individuals. The way to achieve this is to improve good governance. As the Argüden Governance Academy, which is a non-profit organization, we are happy to be collaborating with Boğaziçi University, one of Turkey’s leading universities, in our efforts to explain what good governance is, especially to the young generation of future leaders, and support research in this area.” Yılmaz Argüden also said that this donation was groundbreaking in Turkey’s donation culture, and noted, “This is the first time a donation was made in our country to advance the concept of good governance. This is also extremely important for the development of our country. You cannot improve physical capital without improving intellectual capital. We believe this donation will contribute to advancing Turkey’s intellectual capital.”