The Akıngüç Awards, organized by the Akıngüç Family -founders of Kültür College, Istanbul Kültür University, and the Kültür College Foundation- to encourage individuals of science, art, and thought, found their recipients. The awards ceremony was held on Wednesday, December 18 at the Önder Öztunalı Conference Hall in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy Campus. The 2024 Akıngüç Awards, which was organized this year under the title of “Artificial Intelligence Applications in Health”, was awarded to Assoc. Prof. Ercüment Çiçek for his work on “Privacy Challenges in Genomic Data Sharing: Signs and Solutions”. The Akıngüç Honourable Mention Award was given to Prof. Dr. Mustafa Alper Selver for his work titled “CHAOS challenge - Combined (CT-MR) Healthy Abdominal Organ Segmentation”, which focuses on the segmentation of abdominal organs from medical imaging data.

Dr. Bahar Akıngüç Günver: We Will Continue to Support Research and Researchers for High-Quality Education

In the message shared on behalf of the Akıngüç Family, Dr. Bahar Akıngüç Günver, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, summarized the purpose of the awards as follows:

“The sustainability of high-quality education is only possible by supporting the efforts in the fields of science, culture, thought, and art. Our family business, which has been serving in the field of education under the Kültür brand for 65 years, will continue to support research and researchers for high-quality education.”

Prof. Dr. Fadime Üney Yüksektepe: A Researcher is Always Alone with Their Questions in the Beginning

In her speech, our Rector Prof. Dr. Fadime Üney Yüksektepe stated that very valuable studies on artificial intelligence applications in the field of health had applied for the Akıngüç Awards. Our Rector pointed out that the efforts for research are priceless, and said: “The curiosity of a scientist, a thinker, an artist to understand the world and life, and the excitement they have to interpret it are invaluable. And in the beginning, a researcher is always alone with their questions. Academics and educators in particular know how tiring and laborious a research journey that is set out to understand and prove and pursued with passion is. In his 65 years of experience in education, our Founder and Honorary President, Civil Engineer (M. Sc.) Fahamettin Akıngüç and the Akıngüç Family, who emphasizes respect for the work of people of science, art, and thought, have embodied this stance through the Akıngüç Awards.”

IKU Turkish Folk Music Choir presented an unforgettable evening of folk music for the audience at the Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center on Thursday, December 19, at 20:00. Elif Ertürk hosted the evening, which brought together pieces from different regions of Turkish folk music. The choir, led by conductor Bülent Kılıçaslan, reminded the audience of the cultural heritage of melodies once again with a rich repertoire. The night, during which pieces such as “Ey Sevdiğim Sana Şikâyetim Var,” “Yazımı Kışa Çevirdin,” “Yüce Dağ Başında Yanar Bir Işık,” “Giresun’un İçinde” were performed, ended enthusiastically with the piece “İndim Dere Irmağına.” The concert, with intense participation, brought together many folk music lovers.

Zafer Ciyit, a senior student in the Department of International Trade and Finance, is working tirelessly to turn his dreams into reality as part of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. In this process, Zafer developed a product called “FQ Charging” to provide solutions to the needs of electric vehicle users and add value to the sector. With FQ Charging, which aims to prevent electric vehicle users from being stranded in emergencies, our student Zafer Ciyit aims to establish key collaborations in the business world and achieve global-scale goals.

The Department of Educational Sciences organized a seminar titled “Career Journey in Psychological Counseling: From Student to Expert,” with Expert Psychological Counselor Betül Coşkun as the speaker, on Friday, December 13, 2024.

Our Head of the Department of Radio, Television, and Cinema, Assoc. Prof. Perihan Taş Öz, participated as an invited speaker at the 3rd International Film Research Symposium Cinema Workshop, hosted by Sakarya University with the support of the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture General Directorate of Cinema and the Film Research Association.

During the workshop, attended by the Heads of Departments of Cinema from across Türkiye, discussions focused on how Radio-TV-Cinema departments respond to sector needs, the challenges of meeting international standards, the employment prospects for graduates, and the potential issues they may encounter during their integration into the industry, and solutions were also proposed.

IKU Vocational School organized a panel talk titled "On Love and Affection" on Friday, December 13, at 15:00, in the Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center at the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy Campus. Psychiatrist and Academician Prof. Dr. Mansur Beyazyürek, the guest speaker, delivered a presentation on the beauty of love and affection.

"At the Mountains of Madness," a short film created using artificial intelligence tools by Res. Assist. Buğra Mert Alkayalar, a faculty member of the Department of Radio, Television, and Cinema, won an award at the 9th International Golden Baklava Film Festival. The film won the Second Prize in the “Artificial Intelligence” category of the festival held by Hasan Kalyoncu University in Gaziantep between December 10 and 12, 2024.

Adapted from H.P. Lovecraft's cult work of the same name, the film, which had its world premiere at the prestigious genre film festival MotelX Portugal, was featured in the first Turkish Artificial Intelligence Film Festival and the 12th International Silk Road Film Festival, which were held on the same dates as Altın Baklava.

We congratulate our faculty member and wish him continued success.

The Industrial Engineering Club organized the "17th Decision Support Systems" symposium on December 9-10, in the Önder Öztunalı Conference Hall at the Ataköy Building of the Bakırköy Campus. The symposium, which featured experts in their respective fields as speakers, focused on the theme of "Sustainability."

As part of the “#GameTalks” activities, the Department of Digital Game Design organized the panel talk “Graphics, Visuals, and UI/UX Design in Games” with İrfan Kaya, an external stakeholder and game developer, on Tuesday, December 10. The students who attended the event had the opportunity to discuss Kaya's professional experiences, as well as explore numerous examples of UI/UX design related to the game genre and medium. In the final segment of the event, students received valuable suggestions for the games they were planning.

The Department of Radio, Television, and Cinema organized the "Kavur Movie Screening and Interview with Fırat Özeler" event on Tuesday, December 17, at 13:00 in the Önder Öztunalı Conference Hall in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus to support students' career planning processes. The 2023 documentary film “Kavur,” which had its world premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival and its Turkish premiere at the Istanbul Film Festival, participated in many national and international film festivals and won “Best Documentary” awards at the SİYAD 34th Ankara Film Festival, the 24th Golden Saffron Documentary Film Festival and the 2nd Kocaeli Film Festival, was screened at the event, which also included an interview with the film's director, Fırat Özeler.

The docudrama-style documentary film “Kavur,” which mirrors the personality and past of Ömer Kavur by embarking on a journey between dream and reality, like in Ömer Kavur films with a semi-fictional story, was watched with interest by the participants.

Following the screening of the “Kavur” film, Fırat Özeler, the director of the film, talked about the director's interest in Ömer Kavur, the production and festival process of the documentary, the characteristics of the docudrama style and Özeler's future projects. The event ended with the presentation of a commemorative plaque to Director Fırat Özeler.

Students of the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, provided health trainings at the Darülaceze Presidency in December 2024 as part of the “Public Health Nursing” course. Under the supervision of Assist. Prof. Kübra İncirkuş from the Department of Nursing, presentations were made on “Proper Hand Washing,” “Balanced Nutrition and Exercise,” “Prevention of Smoking,” and “Chronic Disease Management” for the residents of the Darülaceze. After the presentations, the questions of the participants were answered, and brochures on the subject were distributed.

The Vision Club organized an event titled “Next Step” on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, in the Önder Öztunalı Conference Hall at the Bakırköy Campus, Ataköy building. Mert Güler, Founder and CEO of Teknevia, and Merve Kurtuluş, Chief AI Officer at Format AI Studio, who attended as speakers, shared their experiences during their university years and discussed how these experiences have influenced their careers.

In cooperation with the Istanbul Kültür University Department of Communication Arts and the Effective Communication Club, an event titled “New Generation Digital Marketing” was organized on Thursday, December 12, from 11:00 to 13:00. Mehmet Safa Yalçıntaş, Founder of Creatix Digital and the guest speaker at the event, provided valuable insights into developments in digital marketing, as well as digital communication, advertising, and marketing.

The “Sadettin Bayrak Memory Book,” edited by Assist. Prof. Yakup Türkdil, one of our academicians from the Department of Common Courses, together with our Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Letters Prof. Dr. Ömür Ceylan, and Prof. Dr. Hayati Develi, has been published. Assist. Prof. Yakup Türkdil’s article titled “Place Names Made with Plant, Animal, and Number Names in Kazakhstan/Kızılorda” was also included in the book.

As part of the “Public Health Nursing” course, students from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, conducted health training sessions at Family Health Centers affiliated with the Bağcılar District Health Directorate in December 2024. Supervised by Assist. Prof. Kübra İncirkuş and Res. Assist. Zozan Tutuş, the students provided individual and group training on topics such as “Balanced Nutrition and Exercise,” “Proper Hand Washing,” “Breast Cancer Prevention and Early Diagnosis,” “Protection of Heart Health,” “Prevention of Smoking,” and “Chronic Disease Management,” at the stands set up for individuals receiving services from the relevant centers. After the presentations, participants’ questions were answered, and informational brochures on the subject were distributed.

Within the scope of the “Building Science II” course conducted by Prof. Dr. Esin Kasapoğlu, one of our academicians from the Department of Architecture, a seminar on tile roofs was held by the Başak Kiremit company on Wednesday, December 18. Within the scope of the seminar held in the MTS-4 studio on the 4th floor of the Ataköy building on the Bakırköy campus, company representatives Mustafa Parlak and Hakan Şirin gave information about the features and application details of tile roof systems.

Hamide Bulut, the Director of Bakırköy Private Yaşar Hospital, was the guest of the “Health Tourism” course given in the Program of Medical Documentation and Secretarial, on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. Bulut, who provided a valuable perspective on the course, shared her experiences and discussed the role of hospitals in this field.

Istanbul Kultur University volleyball, basketball and handball teams started the Turkish University Sports Federation (TÜSF) Interuniversity Regional 1st League competitions.

Our Volleyball Women's Team defeated Piri Reis University 3-1. Our Basketball Men's Team lost to Marmara University 102-100 in a closely contested match. Our Handball Team lost the match against Yıldız Technical University 43-30.

 We congratulate our sports teams for their efforts.

The symposium proceedings book, to which Lecturer Ceren Çilek, one of our academicians from the Department of Common Courses, contributed with her paper titled “Island Festivals and Competitions as an Example of Policies for Returning the Social Mobility of the Islands in the Construction Process of Modern Türkiye,” has been published.

As part of the “Logistics Management” course taught by Dr. Hakan Çınar in the Department of International Trade and Finance, Koton Global Supply Chain and Logistics Director Canan Mutlu was invited as a guest on December 14, 2024. During the event, topics such as the importance of warehousing in logistics, the warehouse and stock operations at Koton, and the role of logistics in international trade were discussed with the students.

The English Language Teaching Club organized a “Movie Night” event on Friday, December 13, at 17:00, in the Önder Öztunalı Conference Hall, at the Bakırköy Campus Ataköy building, to bring prospective teachers in the Faculty of Education together.

A technical trip will be organized by the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design to visit Ulutaş Yachting in Tuzla on Monday, December 23, to support students' career planning processes and strengthen university-industry collaboration.

In cooperation with the New Media and Communication Club and the Department of New Media and Communication, a workshop titled “CV in New Media” will be organised to convey important points about CV preparation for digital media to students. The event, where Efe Anğın, from the Kültür Point of the Dean of Students Office will be the speaker, will be held on Monday, December 23, between 17:00 and 19:00 in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus.

"Academic Article Writing Training" will be organized in cooperation with the Istanbul Kültür University (IKU) Youth Office and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to convey the steps of the academic article writing process and the points to be considered in this process to the participants. The training, which will be given by Res. Assist. Harun Coşkun, one of our academic members from the Department of Turkish Language and Literature, will take place on Tuesday, December 24, at 13:00 in the Önder Öztunalı Conference Hall in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus.

IKU Faculty of Sciences and Letters continues to organize “Coffee Is Just an Excuse” to share important studies in terms of research and examination in the fields of Basic Science and Social Sciences. The seminar titled “Pythagoras and the Cult of Pythagoras,” where Prof. Dr. Emel Yavuz from the Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences will be the speaker, will be held on Wednesday, December 25, at 15:00 in the Erdal İnönü Seminar Hall in the Ataköy building of the Bakırköy campus.

The theatre play "Artiz Mektebi," which will be staged by the Association for the Blind and Volunteers as part of "December 3 Disabled Day," will be hosted by the Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center in the Ataköy building on the Bakırköy campus on Wednesday, December 25, at 19:30.

IKU Turkish Classical Music (TSM) Choir will meet with the audience at Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center in the Ataköy building on Bakırköy campus on Thursday, December 26, at 19:00. The choir, led by conductor Tarkan Öngen, will sing the most beautiful songs that touch our hearts.