At the 2024–2025 Academic Year Commencement Ceremony of the Istanbul Kültür University (IKU) Institute of Graduate Education of the Republic of Türkiye, 216 master's and 13 doctoral students experienced the joy of graduation.

The opening speeches of the ceremony, held on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at the Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus, were delivered by our Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Bahar Akıngüç Günver, our Rector Prof. Dr. Fadime Üney Yüksektepe, and our Graduate Education Institute Director Prof. Dr. Nebile Korucu-Gümüşoğlu.

On Thursday, July 3rd, Istanbul Kültür University and the Municipality of Bakırköy signed a protocol agreement for an age-friendly city initiative titled "Start Anew." The signing ceremony was attended by Chair of the Board of Trustees Dr. Bahar Akıngüç Günver, Rector Prof. Dr. Fadime Üney Yüksektepe, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Gülce Öğrüç Ildız, and several university faculty members, alongside Bakırköy Mayor Assoc. Prof. Ayşegül Ovalıoğlu and officials from the municipality.

The protocol offers a multifaceted partnership based on social benefit and academic development, aiming to generate shared value by combining academic contributions with community services.

*Educational programs and workshops are scheduled to begin in September.

Areas of Collaboration in Education and Development:

Faculty/Instructor Consultancy
- Providing academic support for municipal projects.

In-Service Trainings
- Special training programs to enhance the professional development of municipal staff and ensure access to up-to-date knowledge.

Born from the Science Café project inspired by YÖK’s principle of public service, the IKU Science Café was launched with a seminar titled "Our Story That Begins with Curiosity: Humanity, Knowledge, and the Quest," delivered by author and academic Prof. Dr. İskender Pala.

At the event held on Friday, June 27th at 10:00 a.m. at the Kültür College Alumni Association Lounge, our Rector Prof. Dr. Fadime Üney Yüksektepe stated that the IKU Science Café would continue to host new gatherings throughout the year in line with its mission of serving the community.

The project titled “Developing Emotional Competence in Climate Education: A Pilot Workshop on Eco-Anxiety for Early Childhood Educators,” led by Assist. Prof. Meryem Demir Güdül from our Faculty of Education, has been awarded support within the scope of the Virtual Mobility Grant under COST Action CA23113 (CliMent – Climate Change Impacts on Mental Health in Europe).

The project team includes Assist. Prof. Emine Hande Aydos from IKU Faculty of Education, Department of Basic Education, Program of Preschool Teaching, and Dr. Ayça Ülker from Hacettepe University Faculty of Education, Department of Basic Education, Program of Preschool Teaching.

As part of the project, a hands-on workshop will be designed and piloted to raise awareness of the emotional impacts and eco-anxiety caused by the climate crisis, specifically targeting preschool teachers and teacher candidates.

We congratulate the project lead and the entire team, and we wish them continued success in their work.

Carlos Oro, Media Teacher and Erasmus+ Project Coordinator from CIFP Imaxe e Son, a higher education institution providing education in the field of filmmaking in A Coruña, Spain, visited the Department of Radio, Television and Cinema, which is a CILECT member, on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

As part of the visit, the department’s film studio was toured with the accompaniment of Vice Head of Department Assoc. Prof. Bilgehan Ece Şakrak and Res. Assist. Buğra Mert Alkayalar, and information was shared about the technical infrastructure and equipment.

During the meeting, ideas were exchanged on potential collaborations between the two institutions, student and academic staff exchanges, joint short film projects, and possible activities within the scope of Erasmus+ and CILECT projects.

Our faculty members and alumni from the Department of Industrial Engineering participated in the 44th National Congress of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, held in Ankara between June 25-27, to present their research studies.

The papers presented at the congress were as follows:

1. Flexible Flow-Shop Scheduling for Cutting-Tool Manufacturing in Turkish Aerospace Industries
Authors: Hacı Mahmut Demirkutlu, Şevval Aygün, Selay Berker, Ayşe Ulaşlı, Gizem Özcan, Prof. Dr. Murat Ermiş

2. Process Improvement in Electronic Board Manufacturing Supported by Data Mining
Authors: Tuğçe Şaşmaz, Melike Zeynep Gör, Güneş Yücel, Didem Tatlı, İlayda Arslan, Assist. Prof. Zeynep Gergin

3. Process Mining Application for IKU Promotional Days: Enhancing Visitor Efficiency and Satisfaction
Authors: Serhat, Beyzanur Bayraktar, Şevval Nur Dede, Dilara Yaşar, Ezgi Ergeç, Assist. Prof. Okay Işık

4. Development Of an Autoencoder, VAE, And GAN Based Anomaly Detection Model in Industrial Production Line
Authors: Çağrı Yaman, Assist. Prof. İbrahim Ethem Tarhan, Boran Toktay

5. A Study on the Vehicle Routing Problem in a Dairy-Focused Food Company
Authors: Emre Furkan Eltutan, Doğa Bozkuş, Ece Akçakaya, Sena Nur Uçar, Assist. Prof. Duygun Fatih Demirel

6. Multi-Criteria Decision Making for New Store Location Selection in Metro Türkiye
Authors: Kübra Karaalioğlu, Burak Erol, Tuğçe Karayel, Necdet Utku Mete, Kerem Koca, Prof. Dr. Murat Ermiş

7. Integrating Intelligence into Infrastructure: The Role of Smart Street Lighting in Advancing Urban Sustainability and Smart City Development
Authors: Research Assistant Dilek Akbaş, Tuncay Gürbüz, Gülfem Işıklar Alptekin

8. A Hybrid Method for Determining Earthquake Debris Collection Areas: The Case of the European Side of Istanbul
Authors: Assist. Prof. Duygun Fatih Demirel, Eylül Damla Gönül Sezer

9. Analysis of Forest Fire Management Dynamics: A Conceptual Model
Authors: Bilge Eriş, Eylül Damla Gönül Sezer, Assist. Prof. Duygun Fatih Demirel

Representatives from IKUANTS TEKMER and the IKU Technology Transfer Office paid a visit to Duygu Yücesoy Mansyaslı, Director of KOSGEB İkitelli, to congratulate her on her new appointment.

During the visit, where KOSGEB’s future vision for TEKMERs was shared, potential collaborative projects that could be developed jointly were also discussed and evaluated.

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences will organize a seminar titled “The Use of AI in Research and Teaching: Ethical Issues, Potential Threats, and Benefits.” The event, where Dr. Manuella Kadar from "1 DECEMBRIE 1918" University of Alba Iulia in Romania will be the speaker, will take place on Monday, July 7 at 13:00 in the Erdal İnönü Seminar Hall at the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus.

Istanbul Kültür University (IKU) 2025 Graduation Ball will be held on Monday, July 8th at 19:00 at Portaxe Baltalimanı.

The 2024-2025 Academic Year Graduation Ceremony of Istanbul Kültür University (IKU) will be held in four sessions at the Yahya Kemal Beyatlı Performance Center on July 10-11, 2025, between 11:00 and 18:00.

The projects and assignments of the students from the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty of Arts and Design will be exhibited at the IKUSAG Exhibition Hall in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus starting Thursday, July 10, 2025. The exhibition, organized by the Fine Arts Application and Research Center (GSUAM), can be visited until August 1, 2025.