CIU Redefines Graduation with AI in 2026
Cyprus International University (CIU) implemented a more comprehensive version of its AI-powered digital ceremony management system at the 2025–2026 Spring Semester Graduation Ceremony, in line with its vision of becoming an “AI-Powered University.” Developed and implemented entirely in-house by a university in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) for the first time, the innovative system demonstrates that CIU is not only a higher education institution that uses technology, but also one that develops it.
According to information provided by CIU Rector Prof. Dr. Erbuğ Çelebi, the system was developed in-house by the CIU Software Development Office and put into operation within a short period of time. Due to the system, the 2025–2026 Spring Semester Graduation Ceremony was successfully completed in a single session with careful planning, coordination, and high operational efficiency, despite being the largest graduation ceremony in the university’s history in terms of attendance. Approximately 2,500 graduating students took part in the ceremony, which was successfully conducted through effective event management supported by digital infrastructure.
The digital infrastructure, which was initially introduced as a pilot application at the 2025–2026 Fall Semester Graduation Ceremony, was expanded with its second version developed for the spring semester and transformed into a system capable of managing all stages of the organization. Personalized QR codes assigned to graduating students enabled the ceremony flow to be managed digitally, while students’ names and information were monitored simultaneously through the system. AI-powered text-to-speech technology invited graduates to the stage by pronouncing their names according to the phonetic structures of their respective languages, contributing to an enhanced experience for international students.
Through control panels developed for ceremony coordinators, the system enabled real-time monitoring of faculty and department transitions, while the progress of the ceremony and the remaining time until its completion could also be tracked in real time. This allowed all stages of the organization to be managed simultaneously, maximizing operational coordination.
Commenting on the contribution of the system to the graduation ceremony, CIU Rector Prof. Dr. Erbuğ Çelebi said, “It was a great experience to be able to monitor the real-time status of the graduation ceremony, ceremony-related data, and the completion time minute by minute through an online panel.”
CIU Dean of Students Nidai Kordal stated that the coordinated work of the organization team and the AI-powered digital ceremony management system played an important role in the successful completion of the ceremony. He said, “Thanks to the planning carried out and the coordinated efforts of artificial intelligence and our 85 staff members involved in the organization, we managed to complete the largest graduation ceremony in our university’s history in approximately three and a half hours.”
Dr. Anıl Eyupoğlu, Coordinator of the CIU Software Development Office, stated that the digital ceremony management system was designed not only to digitize the existing organization but also to redesign the process to make it more efficient and effective. He explained, “While developing the project, we focused not only on digitizing the existing organization but also on how the process could be designed more effectively. This approach takes software development beyond being merely a technical activity and makes it part of institutional improvement.”
Eyupoğlu noted that, due to the system developed entirely in-house, all processes of the university’s largest graduation ceremony to date were managed in real time, in coordination, and without interruption. He added, “With this system, which we developed entirely in-house, we were able to manage all processes of the largest graduation ceremony in our university’s history in real time, in coordination, and without interruption. As a team that not only uses artificial intelligence but also transforms it into solutions tailored to institutional needs, we will continue to develop the system.”
As one of the prominent applications of CIU’s “AI-Powered University” vision, the digital ceremony management system increases efficiency in event organization processes while also serving as a concrete example of the university’s capacity to develop technology. The system, which continues to be enhanced, is expected to contribute to innovative applications aimed at digital transformation in higher education.