In 2025, Near East University used international collaboration, comparative research and international academic platforms to review how different countries and institutions address shared sustainability challenges. Across environmental sustainability, healthcare and education, these activities followed a common pathway: comparing approaches, identifying practices with potential for transfer or adaptation, and refining methods for use across different settings.

Rather than treating international exchange as an end in itself, the University used comparative evidence, research findings and professional experience to examine which elements of existing approaches could be adapted to other institutional and regional contexts. Through this process, Near East University supported the review, exchange and refinement of evidence-based practices relevant to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Reviewing International Approaches and Developing Shared Recommendations for Water and Environmental Sustainability

In December 2025, Near East University hosted two complementary international conferences: the 5th International Conference on Water Problems in Mediterranean Countries (WPMC-2025) and the 8th International Conference on Natural Resources and Sustainable Environmental Management (NRSEM-2025).

The two international platforms enabled researchers, practitioners and decision-makers from different countries to review and compare approaches to water security, environmental management, climate resilience, sustainable cities and natural-resource governance.

At WPMC-2025, international experts presented scientific and management approaches developed in different geographical contexts. Examples included sustainable dam operation and floodplain management from Japan; blue-economy and water-governance approaches from Ukraine; integrated decision-support systems for water-resource management under scarcity from the United Arab Emirates; hydrological modelling approaches from Türkiye; and energy-efficient desalination and water-reuse technologies for Mediterranean water security.

These contributions enabled participants to examine how different countries respond to common challenges such as water scarcity, climate change, ecosystem protection, infrastructure management and sustainable use of water resources. The comparative discussion focused on which elements of these approaches could be transferred, adapted or further developed for Mediterranean and other regional settings.

NRSEM-2025 extended this comparative review to natural-resource management, sustainable urban development, energy, wastewater reuse, environmental performance and climate adaptation. Contributions represented different national and institutional contexts, including Türkiye, Cyprus, Libya and the Russian Federation, alongside professional, governmental and environmental organisations.

The conference framework explicitly included the review of green and sustainable smart-city strategies, methods and indicators for measuring environmental performance, integrated smart-city deployments and field trials, and successful and unsuccessful smart-city cases. This enabled participants to compare lessons from different implementations rather than considering sustainability solutions within a single national or disciplinary context.

The comparative exchange extended beyond the presentation of different national approaches. Following the three-day programme, the conference organisers prepared a Joint Concluding Remarks document synthesising the main findings, recommendations and practice-oriented outcomes emerging from WPMC-2025 and NRSEM-2025. The document was developed from the discussions and presentations recorded throughout the conferences and translated the comparative exchange into a set of shared directions for sustainable water and environmental management.

The concluding document identified several priorities with potential for application across different regional and institutional contexts, including the use of advanced modelling, forecasting and decision-support systems; water harvesting and managed groundwater recharge; integrated water-quality management; coordinated water–energy planning; precision agriculture and smart irrigation; and quantitative, comparable and reliable tools to support environmental decision-making. It also emphasised stronger collaboration among policymakers, researchers and practitioners in strengthening the resilience of water systems and responding to climate-related environmental pressures.

Through this process, WPMC-2025 and NRSEM-2025 moved from the review of international approaches to the identification and synthesis of transferable practices and shared recommendations. By connecting evidence from different countries with the specific environmental and water-security challenges of Mediterranean and water-scarce regions, the conferences contributed to the continued development and refinement of practices relevant to SDGs 6, 7, 11, 13 and 17.

Developing a Transferable Decision-Support Approach for Clinical Practice

In 2025, researchers from Near East University and the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, collaborated on an international study evaluating pharmacological approaches to pregnancy-induced hypertension, a condition associated with serious risks to maternal and fetal health.

The international research team applied an advanced fuzzy PROMETHEE decision-analysis methodology to compare five FDA-approved pharmacological treatments. The analysis deliberately evaluated the treatment alternatives from two different perspectives: patient preferences and hospital decision-making priorities.

The comparative assessment showed that the preferred treatment differed according to the perspective considered: hydralazine ranked highest from the patient perspective, while nicardipine ranked highest from the hospital perspective. The findings demonstrated how clinical choices can change when different stakeholder priorities and decision criteria are incorporated into the same analytical framework.

The significance of the collaboration extended beyond ranking individual treatment alternatives. By applying the same structured method to two distinct decision perspectives, the study demonstrated a multi-criteria decision-support approach that can help make the reasoning behind clinical choices more transparent and context-sensitive. The findings were presented at DUPHAT 2025 in Dubai, enabling the approach and results to be shared with a wider professional and scientific audience.

Through international research and comparative evaluation, the collaboration supported the refinement of evidence-based clinical practice and demonstrated how a structured decision-support method can integrate patient and institutional priorities. This provides a potentially transferable approach for evidence-informed decision-making in comparable healthcare settings and contributes particularly to SDGs 3 and 17.

Reviewing and Refining International Practices for Socially Sustainable Education

The 7th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Educational Reflections (ICIER 2025), hosted by Near East University on 8-10 May 2025, was organised under the theme "Social Sustainability in Education."

ICIER 2025 brought together more than 130 participants from over ten countries, with more than 70 academic presentations and a programme combining research, international academic exchange and applied workshops. The conference created a platform for examining how educational practices developed in different contexts can be reviewed, adapted and refined for socially sustainable education.

International discussions compared approaches to inclusive education, educational technology, digital transformation, evidence-based policy, innovative teaching practices and socially sustainable education. By combining conceptual analysis, implementation experience and performance evaluation, participants could consider how approaches used in one context might be adapted or improved in another.

A keynote contribution on school evaluation and educational excellence based on artificial intelligence and big data examined evidence-based education policies from a global perspective and discussed the roles of international organisations such as the World Education Research Association (WERA) and the European Educational Research Association (EERA).

The international exchange was complemented by practical workshops that connected research with implementation and involved academics, graduate students, practising teachers and professional associations. These workshops created opportunities to discuss the translation of research-informed approaches into educational practice.

By comparing educational practices across national and professional contexts and connecting research with implementation, ICIER 2025 supported the identification and refinement of transferable approaches for socially sustainable education. The initiative contributes particularly to SDGs 4, 5, 10, 16 and 17.

Reviewing and Advancing Shared Approaches to Medical Education across Countries

Near East University participated as a partner institution in the 1st International Congress of Turkish-Speaking Countries in Medicine (TÜRKTIP 2025), which brought together universities and medical experts from Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

A dedicated session titled "Collaboration in Health Education among Turkish-Speaking Countries" brought together university leaders from different national higher-education systems to review existing cooperation in medical education and consider future approaches. Participants included representatives from Near East University, the University of Health Sciences in Türkiye, Nakhchivan State University, Samarkand State Medical University and the Council of Deans of Medical Faculties of Türkiye.

The session reviewed previous work in higher education and identified priorities for the next phase of cooperation. Particular attention was given to developing human resources, strengthening academic collaboration and advancing joint curriculum development in medical education.

The congress therefore provided an international mechanism through which institutions operating in different national contexts could compare existing approaches, identify common needs and establish shared directions for future educational practice. By linking review of previous cooperation with priorities for joint curriculum development and stronger institutional collaboration, the initiative supported more coordinated and potentially transferable approaches to medical education.

This international exchange contributes particularly to SDGs 3, 4 and 17 by showing how universities can use cross-country review to identify common priorities and support the continued development of shared educational practices.

Across these initiatives, Near East University used international comparison in complementary ways: to examine environmental-management approaches across regions, to test a structured decision-support method in healthcare, and to review how educational practices can be adapted across national and institutional contexts. Together, these collaborations demonstrate how comparative review can move from international exchange toward the identification, adaptation and refinement of practices with relevance beyond a single setting.