The Turkish National Intelligence Organisation’s (MİT) recruitment drive at universities such as Boğaziçi has sparked fears of increased surveillance and the politicisation of educational settings, threatening the independence and trust within academic circles.
MİT’s active recruitment, which openly promotes the prospect of an intelligence career with the slogan “We are everywhere in the homeland”, seeks to engage students from specific disciplines, emphasising qualities like initiative and emotional intelligence.
MİT’s recruitment campaign, extending into Turkish educational institutions, is perceived as part of a broader effort to bolster the agency’s public image, previously tarnished during the tenure of Hakan Fidan, now the Foreign Minister. The exclusive and somewhat secretive nature of these seminars, which require early applications due to limited availability, have been highlighted as a strategic push to deeply integrate intelligence operations into university life.
This recent focus on universities mirrors concerns similar to those triggered by MİT’s earlier child-targeted initiative, which invited primary school children to explore themes of security and intelligence. Critics, including educational professionals and legal experts, argued that such early exposure was inappropriate and potentially harmful, echoing fears that the state’s security apparatus is extending its reach into younger demographics and educational institutions, thus shaping future generations under a veil of surveillance and control.
Former intelligence chief Fidan recently disclosed his long-term involvement with ‘sensitive state services’ since his teenage years.
Known colloquially as Erdoğan’s ‘black box’, Fidan’s revelations have fuelled controversy and speculation about his early training and potential engagement in covert operations for MİT, a background that might have influenced the agency’s current bold recruitment moves.
🔴Hakan Fidan, Turkey's foreign minister, has confessed to a longstanding role in 'sensitive state services' since adolescence. With whispers of secret training and covert operations, the shadowy picture deepens. (https://t.co/dYCJ6l0NFR)#Turkey | #MIT | #Kurds pic.twitter.com/UR0ga3guld
— MedyaNews (@medyanews_) March 19, 2024
