A farewell ceremony was held for Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, President of TÜBİTAK, at TÜBİTAK Gebze Campus following his appointment as rector of Istanbul Technical University (ITU). Addressing TÜBİTAK employees at the ceremony, Mandal said, "I see my departures from institutions as a new beginning. When I tell my story with TÜBİTAK, I always start by saying that it started with a research fellowship during my PhD. If I am here today, if I have been appointed rector of Istanbul Technical University, one of the best universities in Turkey, it is all thanks to the gains I have achieved through TÜBİTAK, in other words, thanks to the value this institution has created through you."

Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal said, "We have come together with you many times in this hall. This is a more difficult speech for me. I was appointed to the institution on February 18, 2018. I served as the head of the institution for more than 6.5 years. When we look at the history of the institution, it is a long period. I served as the twenty-fifth head of the institution. When I took office, the life span I had set for myself was two years. In other words, if I could serve for more than two years, I would have contributed to this institution above the average. This was a success for me. Completing four years, that is, completing a term, was a second goal I set for myself. All of these were realized together with you. My second appointment as the head of the institution was in February 2022."

"I would like to thank Mr. President for deeming us worthy of such a task"

Noting that one of the managerial positions he most desired in his career life was that of rector, Mandal said, "In 2010, I made a lot of effort to become the rector of Anadolu University. I worked day and night. It is important to wait for the best, to wish the best. I would like to thank Mr. President for deeming us worthy of such a task. This is really very precious for me."

Stating that he felt both excited and responsible for being entrusted by our President to be the rector of a university that is expected to be good and better for our country, Mandal also expressed his sadness for leaving TÜBİTAK. "Our association with you will certainly continue in another environment, but this is the last time we will meet as the head of the institution. I was always at the point of being a learner at the institution. We have a huge institution that not only shares what it knows, not only expresses that it knows everything, but also learns and develops as it learns. It is a brand value of Turkey. During these periods, the names of many institutions have been formed, their names have changed, but this institution has always been the apple of everyone's eye, abbreviated as TÜBİTAK. Therefore, it is a great pleasure for me to work with you in such a favorite institution. We have tried to raise the bar of our institution in this period of time. I have been in constant communication since the night. I was pleased that people from all different profiles, from universities, industry, non-governmental organizations, politics and many other profiles expressed where TÜBİTAK has come to."

"TÜBİTAK is now an accessible institution"

Expressing that he is happy that TÜBİTAK is now an accessible institution, Mandal said: "If I say what I am leaving at TÜBİTAK, I would say; First of all, TÜBİTAK is now an accessible institution in our society. I am very happy about this, especially in terms of the two missions of our institution, our support parts and our research parts. Within the scope of both missions, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to our 6,300 friends at all levels. When I go to the field, we are really welcomed."

"TÜBİTAK is moving forward for Turkey's critical needs in a transformative rather than static manner"

Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal stated that TUBITAK is moving forward at a transformative, not static, point for Turkey's critical needs. "Likewise, I strongly believe that TÜBİTAK deserves more from our central institutes. What I mean by more is that TÜBİTAK does not have a product in general. But there is a TÜBİTAK brand in our country and in the world. And especially when we focus on Ankara again, we see that we are progressing at a transformative point, not a static point, in order to respond to the critical needs of our country at the point of institutions that we look at as more need authority customer institutions."

 "Traditional methods of accessing resources need to change"

Noting that Turkey and TÜBİTAK do not have a resource problem, Mandal said, "We just need to change the traditional methods of accessing resources."

Stating that the most important power is human resources, Mandal said, "Our most important power is human resources. Therefore, we need to improve our human resources-oriented process more in the future. If this institution is expected to do more work and innovate in the future, it will do so with its human resources."

"I will always feel honored and pleased to serve as the President of TÜBİTAK"

Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal stated that he will always feel honored and pleased to serve as the President of TÜBİTAK. "I had previously left Anadolu University, then I left Sabancı University, then I left the Council of Higher Education. My relationship with all of those institutions is at the same level. Of course, not in terms of managerial duties, but in terms of communication, I had a departure process in all the institutions I have served so far, where I could easily enter their doors and come together with the professors. I hope it will be the same with TUBITAK, and thankfully, our Minister has expressed that he expects my contribution. I will continue to contribute to TÜBİTAK on some topics."

Mandal said, "I have always tried to bring what I learned at the previous institution to every institution I have visited. Therefore, whatever this institution has given me, especially in the past seven years, I will now try to bring it to a university. This institution is really a very respectable institution and I know that this institution will do much better in the future. I have always tried to build on it. If this institution has created a brand, it means that good work has been done in the past. Naturally, you have also contributed to this. Therefore, it will be built on it from now on. That is why I will continue to watch and follow the institution, to be proud of it and to feel honored and pleased to have worked in this institution."

Mandal concluded his speech by mentioning and thanking the employees of the institution and said, "I would like each and every one of our friends to forgive their rights. Because I have been in an effort to make up for this without victimizing our friends in many environments where tensions rise, but in the background, without victimizing our friends, whichever of our friends is heartbroken. While walking here at night, many of our security friends will also see it in the campus. I was always in a state of conversation, all of these conversations were basically about where we can bring this institution and our country to a better place, because this country deserves this. This institution deserves this. " he said.

Mandal announced that Deputy President İsmail Doğan will be in charge until the President of TÜBİTAK is appointed and wished him ease of mind.

İsmail Doğan, Vice President of TÜBİTAK, said, "Thank you, it is really flattering to hear these words from you. In fact, it was a fast and sudden process. We wanted to use today as an opportunity to thank you for at least making an announcement in a very short period of time and coming together with the employees and being on campus. You have addressed us as well. Thank you for your address. But in the end, since 2018, you have presided over a very critical institution for the country, such as TÜBİTAK, which performs such critical and important tasks. Therefore, we would like to thank you again for your contributions to the institution, your services, your contributions to the country and your contributions to us as employees of this institution as the head of the institution. Therefore, we would like to give you a flower on this occasion."

After the presentation of flowers, the program ended with a collective photo shoot.