Acıbadem University School of Medicine has received a Certificate of Merit in Student Engagement as part of the 2026 AMEE ASPIRE to Excellence Awards, an international programme recognising excellence in health professions education.
Run by the International Association for Health Professions Education (AMEE), the ASPIRE to Excellence programme goes beyond traditional accreditation to recognise best practice, innovation and a culture of educational excellence across medical, dental and veterinary education. Acıbadem University School of Medicine was one of two institutions to receive a Certificate of Merit in the Student Engagement category in 2026.
This recognition reflects the School’s longstanding approach to seeing students not only as participants in education but as valued stakeholders and partners who contribute to shaping and continuously improving their educational environment. Over the years this culture has been strengthened through structures that enable students to contribute to representation, educational decision-making, programme evaluation, educational innovation and continuous improvement.
The Certificate of Merit was celebrated during the ASPIRE Awards ceremony at the AMEE 2026 Conference in Vienna, Austria. Prof. Nadi Bakırcı, Dean of the School of Medicine, described the award as “a meaningful recognition of our ongoing commitment to making student engagement an essential part of our educational philosophy and institutional culture”. Kaan Mert Güven, MD, alumnus and author of the application report, said the certificate “recognises a shared culture that has developed through years of dialogue, trust, persistence, and partnership”.
