History

The idea of establishing a university in our province, which has a deep historical and cultural heritage in the Eastern Anatolia Region, dates back to 1942. The idea of establishing a university in the East first emerged during the "Second University Week" held in Elazığ in September 1942. The President of Istanbul University, Prof. Dr. Cemil BİRSEL, expressed this idea during his speech at the event. The reason for organizing the "Second University Week" in Elazığ was the presence of a significant number of students from Elazığ in higher education institutions at that time. In the 1940s, it was noted that there were around 120 students from Elazığ registered at Istanbul University alone. Istanbul University Rector, Prof. Dr. Cemil BİRSEL, personally highlighted that this number represented the highest proportion of students relative to the population among all other cities, including Istanbul.  Prof. BİRSEL, expressing that if the idea of establishing an Eastern University arose in the future, undoubtedly it would belong to Elazığ and its people, contributed to the emergence of the idea of "Founding a University" in the public opinion of Elazığ. Ten years after this development, in 1952, when the idea of establishing a university named after Atatürk in the Eastern Anatolia Region was brought up by the political authorities of the time, the "Foundation and Development Association of Atatürk University" was established to initiate the necessary efforts to establish this university in our province and to initiate the necessary initiatives with the political authorities. The members of the association worked diligently to ensure that the land for Atatürk University could be acquired in Elazığ. Their efforts included persuading landowners to agree to the expropriation of the university land, securing the support of influential bureaucrats in the public sector, and making necessary initiatives with the government to establish the university.  As a result of the efforts of the association, technical teams appointed by the government to conduct feasibility studies for the university conducted inspections and determined the location for land acquisition. All these efforts culminated in the completion of the necessary procedures for expropriation. However, despite the expectations for a Council of Ministers' decision and the enactment of the required legislation by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) for the establishment of Atatürk University in Elazığ, for reasons that need not be discussed here, a Council of Ministers' decision was issued proposing the establishment of Atatürk University in Erzurum instead. This decision brought an end to the efforts to establish the university in Elazığ. On May 13, 1960, with the enactment of Law No. 7475 published in the Official Gazette, granting the government the authority to open two Technical High Schools and to determine their locations, efforts to establish a higher education institution in Elazığ gained momentum once again. As a result of intense efforts to ensure that one of these Technical High Schools would be opened in Elazığ, and even with the assurance given to the Ministry of National Education that landowners whose land had been expropriated for Atatürk University would not file lawsuits to reclaim their land, a Council of Ministers' decision was issued regarding the opening of one of the Technical High Schools in Elazığ. The Technical High School started its educational activities in Elazığ in the 1967-1968 academic year with two departments (Mechanical and Civil Engineering) in its own educational buildings. In 1969, it was transformed into "Elazığ State Academy of Engineering and Architecture" (EDMMA) by Law No. 1184 issued in 1969. The EDMMA graduated its first students in the 1970-1971 academic year. In addition to the two departments that were previously operational, the Electrical-Electronics Engineering Department was opened in 1972. In 1982, in accordance with Law No. 2547 on Higher Education and Decree Law No. 41, the EDMMA was renamed as the Faculty of Engineering of Firat University. The Faculty of Engineering, initially established within the Faculty of Science at Firat University through Law No. 1873 dated April 1, 1975, was joined by the Chemistry (1976) and Geology (1977) departments. In subsequent years, the Environmental Engineering (1989), Computer Engineering (1995), and Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (1996) departments were opened, transforming the Faculty into an 8-department institution. The Department of Mechatronics Engineering, which started its education in the 2008-2009 academic year, the Biomedical Engineering Department that admitted students in 2009, and the Software Engineering Department that began education in 2015 have joined the Faculty of Engineering. Currently, the faculty continues its educational activities with a total of 11 departments. Despite the existence of some departments without students, such as Industrial Engineering, Geodesy and Photogrammetry (Geomatics), Food Engineering, and Mining Engineering, the Faculty of Engineering has been transformed into a 15-department institution. Established in 1967 with the founding of the Elazığ Technical High School, the Faculty of Engineering played a crucial role in the establishment process of Firat University. Since graduating its first students in 1971, the Faculty has produced approximately 20,000 graduates from various departments.