Istanbul Kültür University (IKU) became a member of the Balkan Universities Association (BAUNAS). The meeting held at Tirana International Hotel was attended by IKU Rector Prof. Dr. Fadime Üney Yüksektepe. With the signed protocol, IKU stands among the member universities of the Balkan Universities Association.

The Balkan Universities Association, consisting of universities in Southeastern Europe, aims to provide solutions to social problems and help facilitate collaborations between universities.

The association aims to create a scientific academic network and carry out joint scientific studies as well as aiming to establish a scientific academic network in the fields of language, culture, art, history, economy, education and sports through joint projects between regional universities.

In cooperation with the Faculty of Education and the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education, the "PDR Summit" was held on Monday, May 27. 650 school psychological counselors working under the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education attended the summit, which was held at the Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center in the Ataköy building of Bakırköy campus. After the opening speeches made by our Chairperson of the Board of Trustees Dr. Bahar Akıngüç Günver and our Faculty of Education Dean Prof. Dr. Alim Kaya, one of the academicians of the Department of Educational Sciences, Prof. Dr. Serdar Erkan gave a remarkable conference titled "Psychological Counseling and Culture". In the panel held afterwards, the field experts discussed the issue of 'Peer Bullying in Schools' in many ways and drew attention to the importance of the problem and listed solutions. In another panel, the reflection of artificial intelligence to psychological counseling services was discussed. Finally, studies were carried out to improve the skills of school psychological counselors in 20 different workshops.

The 2nd Surveillance Audit of ISO 27001 ISMS (Information Security Management System) has been completed, and the TS ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certificate of the Information Systems and Technologies Department has been renewed.

We would like to thank all our members taking part in the audit process, especially Chief Information Security Officer Barış Dereli.

"Theater Festival" was organized by IKU Theater Club at Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center between 20-24 May. In the festival hosted by our university, students of Istanbul Gelişim University, Istanbul Technical University, Yeditepe University and Istanbul Gedik University performed their plays. On the last day of the festival, Haldun Taner's immortal work "I Close My Eyes and Do My Duty" was staged with the interpretation of IKU Theater Club. 

At the festival, the "Best Hobby Club of the Year" and "Best Culture and Art Club of the Year" awards given within the scope of the "Club 'Best' Awards" organized by the Kültür Point were presented to the IKU Theater Club.

In cooperation with the New Media and Communication Club and the Department of New Media and Communication, the “MediaVision Summit” was organized on Friday, May 24th at the Önder Öztunalı Conference Hall in the Ataköy building of Bakırköy campus in order to enable students to be familiar with the media field in more detail. Students had the chance to form closer relationships with the industry and shape their career steps at the summit, where important industry professionals such as Walther Kranz Co-Founder Bilal Boğa, Brandfocus Agency President Tülin Çeneli Dönmez, MNG Cargo Corporate Communications and Marketing Manager Efe Çıvgın, Yiğit Ayvazoğlu and İrem Yavsı Ebussuutoğlu from Campfire Istanbul took part, along with content producers such as Ceren Yaldız, Berke Abraş, Sena Bostancı, Batuhan Soyaslan and Metin Pıhlıs.

The students of Vocational School of Justice, who got one of the leading places in the 2024 Türkiye İhsan Yener Keyboard Championship, were presented with their awards at the Award Ceremony on Wednesday, May 22, 2024.

Our students Furkan Aktı and Emircan Eryılmaz came sixth and eighth respectively in the "Native Language Competition for Experienced People Over 20 Years Old" category.

In the "Mother Tongue Competition for Youth 17-20 Years Old" category, Yağmur Yar became the Champion and Yusuf Ali Çolak became the Second.

We congratulate our students who succeeded in the competition and wish them further success. 

New Media and Communication Club organized an event titled "Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Creative Process in Advertising" on Tuesday, May 14, in the 3rd floor multi-purpose hall in the Ataköy building of Bakırköy campus. Participating in the event as a speaker, A.I. Artist Merve Kurtuluş conveyed to the students the revolution created by artificial intelligence in the advertising, new media and communication sectors and how the adaptation journey to this process should be.

New Media and Communication Club organized a talk titled "Staying Updated in the Digital Career Journey-1" on Thursday, May 2, at the Design Factory in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus. TOGG User Experience Specialist Berk Sarper Şenol, who attended the event as a speaker, told the students about the path to a career, staying up to date in the digital world, common mistakes made in job interviews, and what to pay attention to during job interviews in the UX field. Şenol also conducted an applied workshop on case studies, which is one of the steps that may be encountered in this process.

Poster presentations and evaluations of the thesis projects carried out by senior students of the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics (MOBIGEN) as a part of the "MBG7002 Graduation Project I" and "MBG8002 Graduation Project II" courses taken in the 7th and 8th semesters was held at MOBIGEN in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus Thursday, June 6, 2024, between 11.00-16.00. After the short speech made by Istanbul Kültür University Alumni and Members Association (IKUMED) Deputy Director Ali Kaplanoğlu about the Alumni association, the IKU students were given IKU badges. Following the poster presentations with the MOBIGEN faculty members participating, a cake was cut with all the students to celebrate the graduation.

An event titled "Psycho-analysing Hitler" was organized with the joint efforts of IKU Psychological Counselling and Guidance Club (PDR) and Ankara University Psychology Student Community via Google Meets on Saturday, June 1. At the event, Hitler's psychological makeup, his childhood and his living conditions throughout his life, as well as his psychological state of mind, were examined.

The New Media and Communication Club organized an event titled “A Look at Neuromarketing: How Do We Tell You What Consumers Cannot Say?” on April 30, 2024 at the third floor multipurpose hall in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus. Award-winning Neuromarketing Consultant Seda Genç attended the event as a speaker. Students at the event had the opportunity to learn practical ways to benefit from neuromarketing in marketing strategies and how the data obtained from neuromarketing research can be adapted to marketing strategies through examples.

New Media and Communication Club organized a seminar titled "Artificial Intelligence and Design" on Monday, May 20. At the event, where IKU Graphic Design Assistant Specialist Gizem Kaycan was the speaker, how artificial intelligence was integrated into our daily lives and the opinions of famous businessmen about artificial intelligence were discussed. In the seminar, artificial intelligence design tools such as Adobe and Canva and sample designs were examined

The New Media and Communication Club organized a workshop titled “Acting Together” on Tuesday, May 14th. Dr. Cansu Şimşek, who participated in the event as a speaker, informed the students about making visualizations based on stories experienced in daily life and visualizing stories from different perspectives.

The New Media and Communication Club organized an event titled “Personal Brand Workshop & Content Marketing” on Tuesday, May 7. Digital Content Producer & Founder of Repute Agency Gözde Rana Yılmaz, who attended the event as a speaker, told the students how to build a strong brand identity by analyzing the needs of their target audience, how to position their brands, how to reflect their brand values to their communication strategies, the storytelling techniques that all strong brands use skillfully and the subtleties of writing an inspiring story.

New Media and Communication Club organized a talk titled "Staying Updated in the Digital Career Journey-2" on Thursday, May 9, at the Design Factory in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus. TOGG User Experience Specialist Berk Sarper Şenol, who attended the event as a speaker told the students about the path to a career, staying up to date in the digital world, common mistakes made in job interviews, and what to pay attention to during job interviews in the UX field. Şenol also conducted an applied workshop on case studies, which is one of the steps that may be encountered in this process.

"E-Commerce Summit" will be organized by the Leadership and Management Club to help support students' career planning processes. The event, where experts in their respective fields are to give a talk, will be held on Sunday, June 9, between 11.00-17.00 at the Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus.

The products prepared by the Fashion Design Program students in accordance with the field of “Sustainable Fashion” within the scope of the “Project course” will be exhibited at the IKUSAG Exhibition Hall in Bakırköy campus Ataköy building between June 10-14.