The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Near East University, established on November 2, 2009, as Cyprus’s first and only private veterinary faculty, has since sustained a distinguished tradition of education built upon strong academic foundations. Prof. Dr. Ömer Memduh Esendal, a distinguished scholar retired at Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, served as the founding dean, making invaluable contributions to the establishment of the Faculty. Since then, under the guidance of visionary academics, our Faculty has continued to evolve and expand. During the deanship of Prof. Dr. Kürşad Turgut, beginning in 2019, the Faculty gained momentum through innovative scientific research and a commitment to academic excellence. Following his tenure, the appointment of Prof. Dr. Deniz Seyrek İntaş in 2021 further strengthened our national and international presence.

Today, our Faculty has grown beyond its mission of providing high-quality veterinary education and has become a pioneering institution contributing to global knowledge production through scientific research. By embracing the standards of the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), we aim to achieve international accreditation in both education and research. Our strategic priority is to ensure that every graduate of our Faculty enters the profession with an accredited diploma that is globally recognized.

Our infrastructure is designed to support both education and research. With a fully equipped Small Animal Teaching Hospital, multidisciplinary research laboratories, a modern educational building, the Havva Hanım Training, Application and Research Farm in Şirinevler, and the Equine Facility in Arapkoy, Girne, we provide our students with unique opportunities to translate theory into practice. From pre-clinical and clinical sciences to food hygiene, animal nutrition, and husbandry, our curriculum encompasses a wide academic spectrum while encouraging students to engage in research from the earliest stages of their education. In line with the rapid transformation of the digital era, our Faculty has also adopted artificial intelligence-supported approaches in both education and research. AI-based clinical decision-support systems, imaging analysis tools, herd management software, and personalized learning algorithms are increasingly becoming integral to our training framework. Thus, our graduates will not only master existing veterinary knowledge but will also be equipped to shape the digitalized veterinary practices of the future.

Research lies at the heart of our Faculty. Through large-scale international and multidisciplinary collaborations, we aim to expand our scientific productivity, focusing especially on the One Health approach, which integrates animal, human, and environmental health. Our research areas span from dairy cattle and small ruminant production to advanced imaging techniques and biotechnological applications. In the near future, we plan to enrich our postgraduate programs with internationally accredited specialization curricula, while enhancing our research capacity to achieve greater global visibility through large-scale projects.

Our educational philosophy is student-centered and practice-oriented. Emergency clinics, mobile clinics, placements at state laboratories, internship programs, and farm visits ensure that our students are not only equipped with theoretical knowledge but also develop critical analytical, problem-solving, and leadership skills. Nurturing graduates who are ethically grounded, research-driven, and visionary veterinary professionals remains our foremost mission.

Our vision is to provide our students not only with professional training but also with a global academic platform where science is generated and applied. By integrating research, innovation, and social responsibility, we aim to serve as an academic hub that addresses both national and international needs.
By bridging science and technology, and through AI-supported research and innovative educational models, our Faculty aspires not only to educate the veterinarians of today but also to prepare the global health leaders of tomorrow.

I warmly invite you to join us in this strong scientific and technological vision, and to shape the future together within this distinguished academic home that values knowledge.

Prof. Isfendiyar DARBAZ, DVM, Ph.D.
Dean