‘I'm proud to share my forty years of experience with the KazNU’

Mehmet Derviş Kılınçkaya is a Doctor of History and a Professor. He was born in 1955 in Adıyaman, Turkey. He is a professor from Hacettepe University invited to Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU).

He graduated from the Department of General History at the Faculty of Literature of Istanbul University. He began his academic career at the Atatürk Principles and History of Turkish Revolution Institute at Hacettepe University in Ankara. He completed his master’s degree in 1985 and his doctoral studies in 1992. Between 2008 and 2010, he lectured for two years on “History of the Republic of Turkey” at the Department of General History, Faculty of History and Pedagogy, at Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University in Turkistan. In 2010, he returned to Turkey and, since 2011, served as head of the Atatürk Principles and History of Turkish Revolution Institute at Hacettepe University.

"On behalf of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, I contributed to signing the agreement on scientific cooperation between Hacettepe University and KazNU, facilitated through Professor Dr. Amanzhol Kalish and Associate Professor Dr. Myrzakhan Yegemberdiev. At that time, Professor Dr. Ugur Erdener, who was Rector of Hacettepe University, played a significant role in this process",- said Professor Kılınçkaya, recalling his first visit to KazNU.

In the 2014/15 academic year, I began delivering my first lectures at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, he added.

Mehmet Derviş Kılınçkaya’s doctoral dissertation is titled “The Emergence of Arab Nationalism and Turkey-Syria Relations.” It examined the Arab uprising against Turkey during the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of Arab nationalism. While continuing his work at Hacettepe University, he was also appointed professor at the Department of History of Asian and African Countries at Baku State University in Azerbaijan, where he lectured on the history of the Republic of Turkey. He became an associate professor in 2006.

"In 2017, at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, with the support of the Atatürk Institute of Language, Culture, and History, the Atatürk Research Center, and Hacettepe University, I organized an international conference. When I was Director of the Atatürk Principles and History of Turkish Revolution Institute at Hacettepe University, I invited prominent historians from KazNU to the international conferences I organized. Between 2017 and 2022, in the framework of successful implementation of the cooperation protocol between the two universities, I facilitated programs to enhance the scientific experience of over 100 PhD and master’s students", - he noted.

After a forty-two-year career, he retired according to the age limit. Accepting the invitation from the Department of History, Faculty of History at KazNU, he continues to work there for the benefit of all. His publications mainly focus on Turkish modernization in the 19th century and events of the 20th century. His academic research focuses on the Turkish War of Independence, general nationalism, Turkish economic history, and historical issues of the Turks of Central Asia. He continues work in these areas. At the Department of History of Kazakhstan, he delivered lectures on Turkish enlightenment in the 19th century and continues to conduct research on related topics.

Hacettepe University is recognized among prestigious research universities worldwide. I am proud to have shared the experience I accumulated over forty years at this university with my colleagues at Kazakhstan’s leading research university – Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, concluded Mehmet Derviş Kılınçkaya.

Nurbek NURZHANULY