08.10.2025 Ankara

The Board of Directors and Assembly Members of the İstanbul Chamber of Industry, led by Board Chairman Erdal Bahçıvan and Assembly Chairman Ender Yılmaz, visited M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), and TOBB ETÜ. Ali Coşkun, Member of the TOBB ETÜ Board of Trustees, former Minister, and former TOBB President, was also present during the visit.

In his speech, Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that he was not the real host, but rather all representatives of the business world, and said that he attached great importance to the İstanbul Chamber of Industry's program in Ankara.

Hisarcıklıoğlu consulted with İstanbul Chamber of Industry Assembly Members on economic issues on their agenda and emphasized unity and solidarity.

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu also provided information about Ankara's cultural and industrial structure and the work at TOBB ETÜ, stating, “TOBB ETÜ is your university. Among the 208 universities in Türkiye, it is a university that stands out with three fundamental differences and has become a role model for Türkiye today. At TOBB ETÜ, there are three semesters of education in one year, meaning that each of our students receives two semesters of theoretical education in the classroom. Then they spend one semester working in the field. We have been the first and only university to implement this since 2004. Our model has even been included in the election manifestos of political parties. We are also the youngest university from Türkiye to be included in the world rankings. Another important feature is that we are an entrepreneurial university. To date, our graduates have founded 1,280 companies. Nearly one in nine of our graduates has become an entrepreneur,” he said.

Hisarcıklıoğlu explained that TOBB is also one of the most democratic organizations in the country.