The Head of the Department of Forest Industrial Engineering, Prof. Dr. Emrah Peşman, conducted a series of important meetings in Ankara on October 23–24, 2025, within the framework of the Council of Heads of Forest Industrial Engineering Departments (OREMKON). As part of these visits, meetings were held with the Higher Education Council (YÖK) Department of Education and Training, the General Directorate of Forestry (OGM), the Central Office of the Chamber of Forest Engineers (OMO), the General Directorate of Personnel of the Ministry of Trade, and the relevant departments of the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE).

During the meeting with Deputy General Director of Forestry Mr. Mustafa Özkaya, consultations were held regarding enabling the employment of graduates in standing timber sales auctions, establishing signature authorization in classification, stacking, and timber measurement works, promoting their employment in public forest depots, and increasing recruitment opportunities in Ecosystem, Operations, and Marketing Units.

Meetings were held with Mr. Süleyman Çalışkan, Head of the Human Resources Department, and Dr. Murat Gündüz, Head of the Education Department of the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE), to discuss increasing the employment of our graduates within the institution and emphasizing the necessity for companies operating in the forest products sector to employ Forest Industrial Engineering graduates. In addition, the TSE Wood, Panel, and Furniture Testing Center was visited.

Productive discussions were also conducted with Mr. Teoman Dağcı, Deputy Director General of Personnel at the Ministry of Trade, regarding the employment of our graduates in the import/export units of the General Directorates of Customs that serve the forest products sector, as well as the inclusion of our graduates’ signatures in the preparation of capacity reports for private sector companies.

A meeting was held with Mr. Hasan Türkyılmaz, President of the Chamber of Forest Engineers (OMO), to discuss several key issues, including enabling our graduates to establish private offices and companies in the forest products sector and to participate in standing timber sales auctions; introducing signature authorization requirements in classification, stacking, and timber measurement works; facilitating the employment of graduates in public forest depots under the Regional Directorates of Forestry; and increasing employment opportunities in Ecosystem, Operations, and Marketing Units, as well as across all departments of the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks (DKMP). The discussions also emphasized the importance of fully implementing Law No. 5531 in the private sector and ensuring the prompt activation of the Council of Heads of Forest Industrial Engineering Departments (OREMKON).

A meeting was held with Mr. Eyüp Özdemir, Head of the Department of Education and Training at the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), to discuss several important issues, including the removal of the suffix “-si” from the name of the Department of Forest Industrial Engineering, the introduction of pedagogical formation training for graduates, the development of a core curriculum, and the restructuring of academic sub-departments.

As a result of the discussions, it was agreed that the removal of the “-si” suffix from the department’s name should be prioritized, that the Council of Heads of Forest Industrial Engineering Departments (OREMKON) should be established without delay, and that sub-departments should be restructured. In addition, it was emphasized that enabling graduates to establish private offices and companies in the forest products sector and to participate in standing timber sales auctions, introducing signature authorization in classification, stacking, and timber measurement works, employing graduates in forest depots within Regional Directorates of Forestry (OGM), increasing their employment in Ecosystem, Operations, and Marketing Units as well as in all departments of the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks (DKMP), and ensuring the prompt implementation of Law No. 5531 in the private sector are all highly important and valuable objectives.

The meetings were found to be constructive and productive, and it was concluded that the proposed requests are reasonable and should continue to be promoted regularly to raise awareness and strengthen public engagement on these matters.