09.11.2021 Ardahan
By the senate decision of Ardahan University, Honorary Doctorate was presented to M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB). Speaking at the ceremony, Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed his gratitude for the title and advised the students to become entrepreneurs.
TOBB President
Hisarcıklıoğlu gave leadership and entrepreneurship courses to the students
after the presentation of the honorary doctorate by Ardahan University Rector
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Biber.
Explaining the
importance of entrepreneurship to students, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “There is only
one way to become rich. If you want to be rich, you're going to be an
entrepreneur. There's no other way. The way to get rich is through
entrepreneurship.”
Emphasizing that the
internet is a great advantage for young people, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that a
market of 7 billion customers with a volume 20 trillion dollars is at their
feet and that entrepreneurship has become so easy.
Comparing the
situations of non-entrepreneurial countries and entrepreneurial countries,
Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that Germany and Japan, which were destroyed in World
War II, are now the 3rd and 4th largest economies of the
world economy, which they achieved thanks to their entrepreneurs.
Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed
out that the Soviet Union, one of the world's two superpowers, was destroyed in
1990 without a single bullet, and that the reason was that there were no
entrepreneurs. “Where there's entrepreneurship, there's quality. Competition
brings lower prices. It also brings quality. When there's no competition, the
country isn't strong. I look at the richest countries in the world, the 20 most
entrepreneurial countries, the 20 richest countries in the world. We have to be
entrepreneurs for both the national and personal wealth.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
explained that entrepreneurship starts with dreams. “It's where we're freest.
Don't be afraid to dream. Einstein said, ‘Logic takes you from point A to point
B. Imagination takes you everywhere.’ Don't stop dreaming. Famous boxer
Muhammad Ali said that a man without imagination has no wings. Imagine a world
where Edison didn't imagine a light bulb. Well, we dreamed. We have to do
something to make them not call us dreamers. Dreams must be turned into
targets. We're going to dream. We're going to focus on goals in our dreams.
There's a beautiful saying, no wind can help the ship without a target.”
Afterwards, he said, “Something
has to be sacrificed. If you can't get out of your comfort zone, you won't
succeed. It takes a lot of work to achieve the goal. A Turkish proverb says: To
be a sharp knife, you must be hammered.”
“This is the era of
inventing,” he said. “If you can't invent, you lose. You must think
differently. To be an entrepreneur, you need a garage and a computer. That's
capital. It's all about creating dreams, goals, hard work and inventing. There are
great opportunities. Bring new customs to the old village. Build a good team. Birds
of a feather stick together. Work with people who are smarter than you. Choose
to work with people who think differently. I'm from Kayseri, but I'm not upset
about the money I've given to ideas. I have employed people who are smarter
than myself everywhere.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu noted
the importance of branding and advised young people to “Brand what you
do". Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that one of the essentials of entrepreneurship
is courage, “You must not be afraid to lose. A person who's afraid of losing can't
be an entrepreneur. Never give up your confidence and your dreams. Remember,
not every attempt is successful. But only those who try succeed. Let everyone
have their own constitution for success.”
“Always hold out hope,”
he told the students. “This country has immense potential. Remember how far we’ve
come from in 100 years. Think of a country without bread to eat, devastated by
the war, missed out on the industrial revolution. No capital, no machinery to
produce, no trained workforce. Not a single tractor to process the land, no people
with foreign language skills. But what do they have? Great determination. On
this occasion, I commemorate the founder of our Republic, Gazi Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk, and his comrades in arms with our deepest gratitude. When we stand together,
we win. But when we're divided, we all lose. Don't marginalize anyone. If we
exclude people because of a difference of ideas, we lose.”
Governor Hüseyin Öner
explained that when looking at the basic characteristics of developed
countries, they are countries with knowledge and technology in all areas.
Noting that Ardahan University is also taking firm steps in this field, Öner
said, “We are acting with this truth and understanding. Ardahan University is a
university that continues to develop and prove itself in development. Our
students will obtain the information and use this knowledge for the peace and
prosperity of humanity.”
Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet
Biber reminded that Ardahan University will soon turn 14, “The beginning years of
the university will directly determine its success in the future. We strive and
strive to do the right things for the development of the region. Ardahan is one
of the cleanest provinces in Turkey with its air, water and soil. Ardahan will
be one of the most livable provinces in the coming years with these
advantages.”