Orhan Aydın, Chairman of the OSTİM Board of Directors and Chairman of the OSTİM Technical University Board of Trustees, was a guest on the live broadcast of the "Education World" program on TV5. Aydın provided information about OSTİM and also made statements about OSTİM Technical University.
Aydın explained that for many years, OSTİM has had apprenticeship training, vocational training, vocational high schools, and vocational colleges to train the human resources that companies need, adding, “In vocational training, there is no possibility of learning without touching the work. While conducting the training, you have to get people to touch the work, involve them in the application, mold them, and this person will be able to do the job the day they graduate. The models of developed countries are more or less like this.”
“We are trying to set an example for Turkey”
Aydın, emphasizing that practical applications in engineering education cannot be done solely on paper, stated: “We designed a system by looking at examples from around the world, together with our professors involved in education and companies in the field, to determine how we can train the engineers and technical personnel we define. The Higher Education Council (YÖK) also said, ‘This is a good thing, do it, we support it. If you do this successfully, we will show it as an example to other institutions.’ Therefore, we are trying to create an example for Turkey, and for this, we have placed the university right in the middle of the industry. Our campus is not just a building, it is the entire OSTİM (Osmaniye Industrial Zone).”
Orhan Aydın, describing OSTİM Technical University as the top layer of a pyramid, said, “We have completed all the layers below the pyramid. We have established all of them, from industry and companies to workshops, clusters, technoparks, training centers, and vocational schools. What is missing? The university. We have placed it on top of the pyramid, thus completing an ecosystem in our minds.”
It is exceeding expectations.
Aydın stated that OSTİM Technical University has progressed beyond expectations, adding, “Hopefully, we will carry out even more wonderful activities. We also have a very enthusiastic rector who has dedicated himself to this work. Therefore, we are currently enjoying what is being done; it's quite good.”
Highlighting the school's unique features, President Aydın noted: “Our most important difference here is that we will involve our students more in practical applications. From the very first day they arrive at university, our students come into contact with industry. Therefore, we are raising our students within the workplace, in the realm of nature.”
We have many highly skilled engineers in our country, but their theoretical knowledge often leads to a lack of experience when they get down to work. However, you say that we train them to be able to apply this knowledge as soon as they graduate. Our school's slogan is, "Four-year experienced engineer, newly graduated four-year experienced engineer."
Stating that the university also offers students a more effective education opportunity with its state-of-the-art laboratories, Orhan Aydın said, “Our university has an augmented reality laboratory. It lets you experience reality in a virtual environment without touching it. For example, it lets you repair a car. You put on glasses, and with those glasses, you feel like you're touching the car, seeing the parts, opening and closing them. This is an important tool for education right now. It brings you closer to reality, it practically connects you with reality. It has unlimited uses; it is used in many places; in the defense industry, in healthcare, in education. Such a laboratory is currently available at OSTİM Technical University.”
Orhan Aydın recalled that OSTİM Technical University recently awarded honorary doctorates to Prof. Dr. Nevzat Kor and Recai Kutan. Aydın stated, “These are exceptional individuals. And as the saying goes, merit deserves recognition. Our rector did this as a token of appreciation for these esteemed gentlemen and to encourage other universities to do similar things, and we are very pleased. They truly deserve this recognition.”
“The OSTİM ecosystem is very suitable for students to do business”
Aydın, who also offered advice to prospective university students, said that OSTİM Technical University attracts the attention of young people with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Orhan Aydın stated that young people who want to do business and are already striving to do something choose OSTİM Technical University, adding, “If you want to get involved in business, to really do business, to start a business after graduation, we are at your service. You won't find an environment like this anywhere else. The OSTİM ecosystem is very suitable for students to do business. Our technopark is also different from other technoparks; there is a 1000 square meter shared workshop area under our technopark. If you have an idea, you can bring it to life and commercialize it.”
You can watch the full program below.
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