Over 5,000 guests attended the 2026 Graduation Ceremony held at the Küçükçekmece Yahya Kemal Beyatlı Show Center. The attendees included İmam Altınbaş, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Altınbaş University; Prof. Dr. Çağrı Erhan, Chief Advisor to the President, Ambassador, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Security and Foreign Policies Council, and former Rector of Altınbaş University; Canel Rüzgar, Member of the Supreme Court of Appeals; Prof. Dr. Cemal İbiş, Rector of Altınbaş University; Prof. Dr. Ali Argun Karacabey, Vice Rector; and Selçuk Uysaler, Secretary General. In addition to the protocol, members of the Altınbaş Family, university board of trustees members, academic and administrative staff, and the families of our 2,300 graduates were present.

Delivering an opening speech, Rector Prof. Dr. Cemal İbiş expressed their joy in graduating the 14th cohort in Altınbaş University's 18th year. "Today is not just a graduation ceremony; it is a very special day where efforts are crowned, dreams become reality, families proudly watch their graduating children, and our students look to the future with hope. Today is not an end, but a day of new beginnings," he said.

Emphasizing that the Altınbaş University journey—which began with great dreams 18 years ago following the late Mehmet Altınbaş's will to his children to "invest in education"—continues much stronger today, Prof. Dr. Cemal İbiş stated: "This year, we have continued to grow with our new programs, new research projects, new international achievements, and new academic gains. Our university has achieved significant success in research, publication, innovation, quality, internationalization, entrepreneurship, and social contribution. It has continued to rise in international rankings. It has increased its research capacity, expanded its educational spectrum with new programs, and launched its Technopark. It has made significant progress in quality and accreditation processes. All of these are highly valuable to us."

Prof. Dr. Çağrı Erhan also began his opening speech by commemorating with mercy and gratitude the late Mehmet Altınbaş, whose educational will inspired his children, and the late Ali Altınbaş, our university's founding chairman of the board of trustees, who passed away last year. Prof. Dr. Erhan said, "A few moments ago, in our university's promotional film and in the speech of our esteemed Rector, we saw with figures what an important position our university has reached in a very short time, what a great distance it has covered, and the level it has risen to not only in Turkey but also in its region and the world. Of course, this success did not happen by itself; it is not an ordinary, surprise success. Behind this lies the vision put forth by the Altınbaş family, our valuable academic and administrative staff working together with them under their leadership, and right beside it, our Foundation and Altınbaş Holding, which never withhold their support for the university."

Drawing attention to the values symbolized by the 7 diamonds in the Altınbaş University logo, Prof. Dr. Erhan listed these values as "Scientificity, student-centricity, entrepreneurship and innovation, social responsibility, internationalization, good governance, and dynamism." He added, "These seven criteria, seven standards, are the principles that our university instills in both its staff and students from the very first day they step under the roof of this institution. You have entrusted your children to such an institution that I have described. They studied here for 2, 4, 5, or 6 years, and today they are stepping into the future with hope, equipped not only with the subjects they studied but also with all these principles I mentioned."

At the ceremony, the valedictorian of the university, Cenan Hayder Saleh Alhassan from the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, was presented with their award by Chairman of the Board of Trustees İmam Altınbaş and Supreme Court of Appeals Member Canel Rüzgar. The ceremony, which also featured the traditional nailing of the nameplate to the graduation log and the flag handover ceremonies, saw 2,300 graduate candidates receive their diplomas one by one. Following the Altınbaş Oath at the end of the ceremony, all graduates tossed their caps in the air, thoroughly enjoying the joy of graduation.