Certain cities are more than mere coordinates on a map. They are repositories of living memory. Samarkand is undeniably one of them.

  For centuries, at the crossroads of trade routes linking the East and the West, this city hosted far more than commerce. It served as a crucible where ideas collided, knowledge was traded, and civilizations learned from one another. Mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and medicine flourished within a shared scholarly ecosystem.

  For this reason, a young student entering the doors of the medical faculty in Samarkand today carries an unseen yet immense historical inheritance upon their shoulders.

  Yet the grandeur of the past must not serve solely as a source of pride.

  It also confers an inescapable responsibility.

  And precisely here, we must confront a difficult question:

  Is taking pride in titans like Avicenna (Ibn Sina) sufficient to genuinely carry their legacy forward?

  In my view, it is not.

  Knowing Avicenna is important.

  Understanding how Avicenna thought is far more consequential.

  Preserving his treatises in our libraries is unquestionably commendable.

  However, if hundreds of years later we fail to generate new knowledge, ask novel questions, inspire youth toward scientific inquiry, and push the frontiers of science even one step forward, history will serve only as a reminder of what once was.

  Our true mandate, however, is to construct the future.

Scientific Heritage Lives on Questions, Not Names

When Avicenna’s name is invoked, most envision a legendary physician.

Yet the heritage he bequeathed extends well beyond clinical compendiums:

• Rigorous observation;
• Inquiry;
• Systematic organization of knowledge;
• Logical reasoning;
• An unyielding drive to decipher the human body.

All of these constitute the core of his legacy. Indeed, this is the very essence of science.

The foremost responsibility of today’s medical schools is not simply transferring existing information to the student. The principles we accept as dogma today may be redefined tomorrow. Breakthrough pharmaceuticals are synthesized; novel pathophysiological mechanisms are unraveled; genetics and molecular medicine advance exponentially; and artificial intelligence becomes an indispensable partner in clinical decision-making. Technologies whose names we do not yet know will become routine in tomorrow's hospitals.

Therefore, we cannot teach students every answer.

What we can do is teach them how to ask the right questions.

I believe this is the definitive pillar shaping the future of medical education.

Cultivating Curiosity, Not Just Memory

Medical training worldwide is inherently demanding and rigorous. Anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology, and clinical clerkships—thousands of pages assimilated and rigorous examinations cleared.

Yet, after all this, we must ask ourselves:

Should the merit of a medical school be measured by how much data a student memorizes, or by how accurately and holistically they evaluate a patient?

Knowledge is fundamental. But knowledge alone does not make a physician.

Listening to the patient is medicine.

Exercising sound judgment under conditions of clinical uncertainty is medicine.

Possessing the humility to acknowledge what one does not know is medicine.

Seeking counsel from a peer is medicine.

Translating complex diagnoses into language the patient understands is medicine.

And, when necessary, having the intellectual honesty to revise longstanding beliefs in the light of fresh empirical evidence is medicine.

Therefore, our universities must look beyond rote instruction. We must keep the flame of curiosity burning within the student. For science slows the moment curiosity wanes.

Nurturing Researchers Alongside Clinicians

Great breakthroughs in medical history often originated from disarmingly simple queries: "Why?", "How?", "Could there be another way?". An unusual case encountered at the bedside can ignite a clinical trial spanning decades.

Research cannot be viewed merely as an academic pursuit reserved for master’s, doctoral, or postdoctoral tracks. A student must engage with scientific thinking from their earliest undergraduate years:

• Learning to critically evaluate peer-reviewed literature;
• Discerning the methodological strengths and biases of a trial;
• Distinguishing statistical significance from clinical relevance;
• Comprehending how medical evidence is generated;
• And above all, believing that they, too, can contribute to global medical knowledge.

A university’s stature is not measured merely by headcounts at commencement. It is measured by the transformative questions it bequeaths to science.

Forging a Shared Destiny in Samarkand

It is through this lens that I view the flourishing partnership in healthcare and medical education between Türkiye and Uzbekistan as profoundly invaluable.

Today, our dialogue goes far beyond memorandums of understanding. We are witnessing a tangible educational model where students learn, faculty exchange expertise, new faculties are instituted, and new generations of practitioners graduate.

The Samarkand Faculty of Medicine of the University of Health Sciences, established in partnership with Samarkand State Medical University, is actively training students in Samarkand. This faculty is not merely an administrative addition; it is the living embodiment of carrying the historical ties between Türkiye and Uzbekistan into the future via science and medicine.

Every scholarly debate in the lecture hall, every laboratory protocol, and every emerging young clinician solidifies this bridge. Centuried scholarly traditions of Samarkand converge with Türkiye’s modern medical education framework toward a unified horizon.

The Journey Commenced in Bukhara Now Yields Graduates

This synergy is not confined to Samarkand. In Bukhara—another historic cradle of knowledge—the partnership between the University of Health Sciences and Bukhara State Medical Institute has matured into robust educational practice.

The Ibn Sina Faculty of Medicine and the Ibn Sina Vocational School of Health Services in Bukhara served as pioneering milestones. Today, the scope has expanded to encompass dentistry and allied health sciences.

Most importantly, this enterprise has evolved beyond admissions: it is now producing graduates. The graduation of the inaugural cohort of physicians from the Ibn Sina Faculty of Medicine in Bukhara stands as a defining triumph.

The true metric of academic collaboration is not ink on parchment; it is the human outcome:

• The physician attending to the afflicted;
• The public health leader safeguarding communities;
• The inquisitive researcher pioneering discovery.

The most gratifying moment affirming the success of an alliance is the day a student, who embarked on this path years prior, proudly accepts their diploma. This is the reality unfolding in Bukhara today.

Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent…

A defining virtue of this bilateral medical education initiative is its expansive geographic reach:

• Medical training in Samarkand;
• Medicine, dentistry, and health sciences in Bukhara;
• Nursing education in Tashkent.

Viewed holistically, these are no longer disparate projects, but a cohesive, expanding healthcare education network.

Its primary virtue lies not in institutional designations or statistics, but in student-to-student peer learning, joint faculty engagement, clinical cross-pollination, the cultivation of a shared research ethos, and giving real substance to the brotherhood between Türkiye and Uzbekistan.

Universities Can No Longer Thrive in Isolation

In contemporary science, no single institution or country can remain an island. A study initiated in one country gains momentum through complementary laboratory data from another; a protocol formulated in one institution alters patient outcomes thousands of kilometers away; an academic in one corner of the globe reshapes the worldview of a student in another.

The premier university of tomorrow is not one confined to its own campus borders. It is an open, interconnected institution—sharing knowledge, exposing students to diverse intellectual environments, and actively incentivizing multilateral scientific inquiry.

I firmly believe that the healthcare education model being forged between Türkiye and Uzbekistan must now evolve toward high-impact joint research. Our next frontier cannot be limited to co-teaching; it must encompass co-creating science.

Young investigators from Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent, and across Türkiye must work side by side to resolve pressing medical challenges:

• Establishing collaborative research centers;
• Conducting multicenter clinical trials;
• Co-authoring high-impact publications;
• Expanding student and faculty exchange programs.

The zenith of academic partnership is not merely disseminating existing knowledge, but discovering new knowledge together.

Educating the Physician in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

As we delineate these milestones, we must navigate the profound technological shift transforming medicine. AI algorithms now analyze radiological imaging, process complex datasets in seconds, assist clinical workflows, and synthesize literature in minutes.

We must neither fear these developments nor embrace them uncritically. The core question before us is:

What kind of physicians must we educate in a world shaped by artificial intelligence?

The physician of tomorrow cannot simply be an encyclopedia of data. They must:

• Rigorously evaluate the veracity of algorithmic data;
• Scrutinize automated clinical suggestions with an independent, critical eye;
• Bear full moral and professional accountability for every clinical decision;
• And never lose sight of the fact that the human being before them is far more than an aggregated data point.

Paradoxically, as technology advances, the deeply human attributes of medical practice will become our most prized asset.

The White Coat Conveys the Same Sacred Trust Everywhere

Whether in Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent, or Istanbul—young minds embarking on medical careers shoulder the exact same profound trust.

The white coat is not mere uniform. It is a symbol of centuries of hard-won knowledge, unconditional dedication to the patient, and the continuity of science.

As educational leaders, we do not merely hand students the clinical paradigms of today; we entrust them with the medicine of tomorrow. Demanding that they become good practitioners is not enough. They must become relentless seekers of excellence:

• Keen observers of science;
• Tenacious inquirers;
• Dedicated researchers;
• Empathetic listeners;
• Lifelong learners who freely share their expertise;
• Visionaries committed to leaving behind a stronger, more compassionate health system.

The Past Bequeaths a Responsibility

Operating within historic academic capitals like Samarkand and Bukhara inspires profound pride. Yet historical prestige carries an equivalent weight of duty: the greater the legacy inherited, the more monumental the contribution one must leave behind.

We revere Avicenna, al-Biruni, and Ulugh Beg. We introduce young minds to their towering contributions. But we must not rest on their laurels. We must emulate their mindset: standing at the frontier of the known, and daring to step into the unknown.

I do not view our joint academic endeavors across Samarkand, Bukhara, and Tashkent as transient milestones. We cannot predict the full extent of what these students will accomplish:

• Perhaps a student in Samarkand will pioneer an innovative therapeutic modality;
• A young physician in Bukhara may contribute to an essential breakthrough in global disease management;
• A healthcare specialist in Tashkent may devise a revolutionary model of compassionate patient care;
• Or a collaborative effort between researchers from Uzbekistan and Türkiye will leave an indelible mark on international medical literature.

The ultimate duty of universities is precisely this: to build the ecosystem where such breakthroughs can flourish.

Those who reshape scientific history do not appear by chance. They are nurtured in lecture halls, ignited in laboratories, refined in clinical wards, challenged by mentors, enriched by international peers, and unified by the defining question:

“I have learned all that was discovered before me. Now, what will I contribute to medicine?”

This, in my view, is the ultimate purpose of the scientific and educational bridge uniting Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent, and Istanbul. It is not merely remembering our shared heritage, but actively constructing a vibrant future upon it.

The greatest tribute we can offer Avicenna is not merely repeating his name, but raising a generation equipped to make lasting contributions to science.

Source: Tibbiye Bülteni

Turkish Translator: Ahmed Balcı