Half a Century's Journey in Science from Ondokuz Mayıs University

Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) is crowning the half-century journey in science, education and culture it has made since it was founded on 1 April 1975 with its 50th anniversary events.

Samsun Faculty of Medicine, founded in 1973 under Hacettepe University, formed the basis of OMU. The university was formally founded by the law passed in the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye on 1 April 1975. The Faculty of Science and Engineering Sciences opened that same year and teaching began. The faculties of agriculture, education and theology joined the university in later years.

Under the regulations that came into force in 1982, some higher education institutions under the Ministry of National Education were brought under the OMU roof. Growing over the years, the university led the way in the founding of new universities as its faculties in Amasya, Ordu and Sinop separated from it. With the founding of Samsun University in 2018, OMU came to stand at the centre of the region's higher education structure.

Today OMU continues its teaching, research and public service work with 20 faculties, 1 school, 14 vocational schools, 3 institutes and 27 application and research centres. Home to more than 52,000 students, the university is among the top 5 in Türkiye for the number of international students it hosts, with around 5,000.

OMU is taking significant steps towards its goal of becoming a research university. The university stands out for its projects based on collaboration with the city, its leading role in health and the joint work it has developed with industry. The Faculty of Medicine Hospital serves more than a million patients a year, while the Faculty of Dentistry Hospital sees more than 300,000. OMU is also home to the only centre in the Black Sea Region able to carry out living-donor organ transplants.

Active in technology and innovation too, the university brings industry and academia together through its Technology Transfer Office and supports more than 200 projects. Within Samsun Teknopark, 350 projects have been completed to date and 150 are still under way. OMU also leads the field in Türkiye with its Hemp Research Institute.

The anniversary celebrations continue with the various events held throughout the year. A wreath was laid at the OMU Atatürk Monument on 7 April. A 50th Anniversary Reception was held at the OMTEL Hotel that same evening. The celebrations will continue with the Academy Awards Ceremony on 24 April. Under the heading "50 Events in the 50th Year", many activities from academic panels to concerts and from cultural events to spring festivals are bringing OMU's members and the city together.

Rector Prof. Fatma Aydın said that the university continues its work with the goal of being a leading centre in science, art and technology. Stressing that they aim to make progress in fields such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, sustainability, the defence industry and space technologies, Aydın stated that universities have a responsibility not only to produce knowledge but also to commercialise it.

Saying that knowledge acquires meaning when it is blended with morality, virtue and mutual help, Aydın stressed that OMU is not only a higher education institution but also an inseparable part of Samsun.