The Founding Head of Department of the Molecular Biology and Genetics (MOBIGEN) , and our very valuable professor Prof. Dr. Atilla Özalpan was commemorated with an event held on the 11th anniversary of his passing. The event, which was held on Wednesday, March 15, was attended by Prof. Dr. Cengiz Çakmak, in which he gave a speech titled “Earthquake and Philosophy”. At the event, which was attended by the former rectors of our university Prof. Dr. Tamer Koçel and Prof. Dr. Dursun Koçer, Prof. Dr. Atilla Özalpan's family and friends, faculty members, lecturers and students, Prof. Dr. Özalpan's life story, memories with his students and friends were commemorated with photographs.

IKU Faculty of Architecture Dean Prof. Dr. Neslihan Dostoğlu attended a panel talk titled "Earthquake and Architecture" on February 16, 2023, alongside the President of the Istanbul City Council, Architect Tülin Hadi, as a guest of Kıraathane Istanbul Literature House.  In the panel talk  topics such as the construction of earthquake-resistant cities, the states of cities that cannot be regulated, the special needs of women and children affected by the earthquake, how to meet the shelter, hygiene and health needs of all earthquake victims, men and women, and earthquake preparations in Istanbul were discussed.

One of the activities carried out under the subject of "Unifying Cultural Forces for the Earthquake-effected Region" after the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes shook our country, was in-house trainings.  With that, Assoc.  Dr.  Evren Burak Enginöz, gave a seminar titled "How Should We Prepare for Earthquakes and the Aftermath?" on February 20, 2023.

Assoc. Dr. Evren Burak Enginöz in his speech said;

"After the two 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes in just 9 hour intervals on February 6, 2023, which affected 11 provinces in total, and whose epicentres were Pazarcık and Ekinözü districts of Kahramanmaraş, respectively, shook the country, so did it shake our trust in the safety of our buildings throughout the country.

The times as such we are going through when search and rescue efforts and meeting the temporary shelter needs such as tents and containers are becoming of vital importance, we should all explore ways to have cities that are resistant to possible new disasters across the country.

As a result of the earthquakes encountered today, we have seen that it is not enough just to have an earthquake resistant structure, that it is also of vital importance to have the entire city we live in to be earthquake resistant.  With that, we need to understand that pre-disaster preparation stages are much more important than post-disaster interventions and the swiftness of reacting. Certainly, had structures not been damaged and destroyed to this horrible extent , the search and rescue process would have been easier and we would not have lost this many lives.  Unfortunately, rebuilding the cities that are not resistant to disasters and returning them to their old normality is both costly and is very time-consuming.

Henceforth, as a country, we should prioritise preliminary preparations and endeavours that will make our cities resistant to disasters.  So what can we do as individuals in this process?  We should get the buildings we live in tested to see if they are compatible with the earthquake resistance requirements, rebuild them if necessary, or install reinforcements against earthquake loads.  We should securely fix the furniture in our homes and offices, and furnish our rooms in a way that does not block the doors and escape routes.

Although we do not know when the next earthquake will hit, we (all Istanbulites) need to aid these preparations, keeping in mind that it can happen at any time, without wasting any time and without waiting for others. I hope we have time to make Istanbul resistant to future earthquakes,".

After the workshops held between 18 July and 15 August 2022 within the scope of the internship protocol signed between Istanbul Kültür University and the Bakırköy Representative Office of the Chamber of Architects, the works produced during the program were exhibited at the TMMOB Chamber of Architects Bakırköy Representative Office until 30.09.2022.

The products of the workshop, to which Res. Assist. Ufuk Küçükyazıcı, Res. Assist. İdil Akkuzu, Res. Assist. Elif Çileli, Res. Assist. Merve Aksoy Oral, Res. Assist. Dilara Gür, Res. Assist. Berkay Oskay and Res. Assist. Sevgi Pınar Turan and the students of the Department of Architecture attended, started to be exhibited on the 2nd floor of our Ataköy campus as of March 7, 2023. The exhibition can be visited until 7 April 2023.

Res. Assist. Mustafa Bekmezci, from the Department of Entrepreneurship, gave a conference on “Futurism and Entrepreneurship” to Kültür2000 College students on Wednesday, March 8 and to Kültür Science High School students on Friday, March 10.

Lecturer Kübra ÖztürkIKU from IKU Vocational School, participated in the training held in Dualen Hochschule Baden-Württemberg (DHBW) Lörrach with Erasmus+ KA103 Partner Countries Staff Teaching Mobility as a part of the 2022-2023 project period.

In the training held between 13-17 March 2023, Lecturer Kübra Öztürk made a presentation on managing cultural diversity and intercultural differences.

Assist. Prof. Mukaddes Turan Miral from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, attended the training organized by Private Küçükçekmece Halkalı Ocean Secondary School for 5th and 6th grade students as a speaker. In the training held on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, between 10.30-12.00, Assist. Prof. Mukaddes Turan Miral made a presentation titled “Healthy Growth and Development in Adolescence”.

Kadir Akhan, Assistant Specialist for Alumni Relations at the Student Life, Career and Alumni Advisory Unit (Kültür Point), met with Onur Yazıcı, one of our graduates from the Department of Public Relations and Advertising, on Wednesday, March 15, in order to strengthen alumni relations, support graduates and students on their career paths and find new connections.

Kültür Point has started cooperation with Worknwerk, an advertising agency founded by Onur Yazıcı, to recruit four of our alumni or students for these positions:

- Graphic Designer & Jr. Art Director (Intern or Full Time)

- Copywriter (Intern or Full Time)

- Event Coordinator (Intern or Full Time)

- Communication Officer & Customer Service Officer (Intern or Full Time)

Efforts to establish and improve communication with our alumni and their belonging to the institution continue uninterruptedly.

IKU Social Responsibility Club will collect books in the Ataköy campus stand area within the scope of the "5th A Cup of Books" campaign until Friday, April 14, 2023, in order to send them to the earthquake zone.

In cooperation with the International Law Club and the Istanbul City Council Youth Assembly, a campaign of collecting books will be carried out to help the youth in the earthquake-affected region. The books to be collected in Şirinevler campus until 31 March 2023 will be sent to the earthquake zone.

"Nutrition and Dietetics Summit" will be organized in cooperation with Kültür Point and Etkin Kampüs in order to contribute to the career development of the participants. The summit, in which Expert Dietitian Orçun Kürüm, Expert Dietitian Nilay Keçeci, Expert Dietitian Handan Kavuştu, Expert Dietitian Beyza Uyan and Expert Psychologist Senem Eke Yıldız will be the speakers, will be held on Saturday, March 18, between 10.00-14.30 at Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center.

"Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Summit" will be organized in cooperation with Kültür Point and Etkin Kampüs in order to contribute to the career development of the participants. The summit, where Expert Physiotherapist Zafer Aksungur and Expert Physiotherapist Deniz Aktan will be the speakers, will be held at Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center, on Saturday, March 18, between 16.00-18.00.

A seminar titled "CATHARSIS: Let's Start Again" will be organized in cooperation with Kültür Point and Etkin Kampus in order to create awareness among the participants. The event, in which Specialist Psychologist Gökhan Çınar will be the speaker, will be held on Saturday, March 18, at 19.30, at Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center.

İKÜ Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center continues to bring together beautiful events with the people of Kültür and art lovers. In the event to be organized by GSUAM; “Complete Us, O Love”, an interactive comedy written by Ali Poyrazoğlu based on his book, will meet with the audience on Sunday, March 19, 2023, at 20.00 at the İKÜ Akıngüç Stage.

Kültür Point will organize the "Diction and Etiquette Training" in order to teach the rules of etiquette and courtesy that the participants can apply in all areas of life by enabling them to speak Turkish effectively. The training, which will be given by Özcan Tekdemir, will be held on Friday, March 24, 2023, between 15.00-18.00 on the CATS platform.

“SEO Training” will be organized by the Leadership and Management Club to inform the participants about SEO and to enable them to gain experience. The event, where Digital Marketing Specialist Sedat Akdemir from Groupama Sigorta & Groupama Emeklilik A.Ş. will be the speaker, will be held online on the Google Meet platform on Friday, March 24 at 20.30.