The 10th award ceremony and colloquium of the "MEKAN2023 Interior Architecture Students National Graduation Projects Competition", organized this year by Istanbul Kültür University Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, was hosted by Istanbul Planning Agency on Monday, December 25, 2023, at 14.00.

The award ceremony started with the opening speech of the Deputy Head of IKU Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design Assist. Prof. Arzu Erçetin. After the opening ceremony, with competition in which 44 projects from 21 different universities, including universities in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, were judged, the winners were announced and presented with their awards.  After the award ceremony, in the colloquium moderated by Prof. Dr. Zafer Ertürk, informative commentary regarding the evaluation process were made by the jury consisting of Prof.  Dr.  Hasan Şener, Prof.  Dr.  Gülay Usta, Assoc. Prof. Derya Adıgüzel Özbek, Assist. Prof. Arzu Erçetin and Architect Zeynep Özgüven. The colloquium, which saw huge attendance, was concluded with the questions and answer section. At the end of the colloquium, an exhibition of the award-winning projects was presented.

IKU Young Office organized "Financial Literacy Training" on Wednesday, January 3 at 14.00 at Önder Öztunalı Conference Hall in Bakırköy campus Ataköy building. Participating in the event as a speaker, Assist. Prof. İbrahim Ethem Tarhan, one of our academicians from the Department of Industrial Engineering, informed our students about key financial concepts such as budgeting, saving, borrowing and investing. Students who participated in the training were given a certificate of participation approved by the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Assist. Prof. Ender Demir, one of our academicians at the Faculty of Law, said, "The quality of education in the field of occupational health and safety is very important. The fact that these trainings are given on paper and organized by non-experts is one of the biggest risks to occupational health and safety."

In the statement made in the last week of 2023, according to the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Law No. 6331, the penalty rate to be applied to the employer who does not fulfill the notification obligation increased to 15 thousand 529 TL with an increase in the revaluation rate (122.9 percent) in 2023. According to the "Work Accident Statistics" 2022 report of the SSI, a total of 589 thousand 271 people, 588 thousand 823 insured under 4A and 448 insured under 4B, had work accidents. The main emphasis in the healthy and safe management of the process from beginning to end, especially reports on work accidents, is on training.

One of our Faculty of Law academicians, Assist. Prof. Ender Demir pointed out that trained Occupational Health and Safety experts and training play a very important role in the process of knowing and fulfiling their legal obligations regarding occupational health and safety of enterprises.

OHS Trainings Should Not Be Given on Paper 

Stating that although the employers provide all kinds of tools and equipment necessary for OHS, our professor emphasised the fact that the correct and effective use of these vehicles is not supervised, that the legislation imposes various obligations on the employer not only in the supply of equipment, but also in the supervision of these tools.

"They Are Experts On Paper But Do Not Have Sufficient Knowledge"

Noting that the most important actors in ensuring occupational health and safety are occupational safety specialists and workplace physicians, Assist. Prof. Demir pointed out that first of all, occupational safety specialists and workplace physicians should have undergone a legal and technical education. Stating that it is risky to carry out OHS services by people who are experts on paper but do not have sufficient knowledge, our teacher explained the points that we should pay attention to about the occupational health and safety trainings of enterprises as follows:

“It is important that OHS professionals who train and guide employees have a good education. Especially for employees; Training is provided before starting work, when the workplace or job changes, when work equipment changes or when new technology is applied. "Training is renewed in accordance with changing and emerging of new risks and repeated at regular intervals when necessary."

OHS Training is a Conscientious Responsibility as well as Judicial and Criminal

Our educator also draws importance to the technical and legal aspects of occupational health and safety training expressing that application and information content are at the forefront in technical training. He listed the headings that should be taken into consideration for activities planning to receive OHS training follows as :

“The fact that educators have knowledge of the field and are familiar with the practice prevents their education from remaining on paper. In determining the institutions where training is received, it is important that the institution has mastery of the subject, its history, who its educators are, and whether the relevant people come from the practice. It is of great importance for businesses to approach education by taking these issues into consideration, both for the reputation and benefit of their own institutions and for the interests of their employees. OHS training should not be seen only as the fulfillment of a legal obligation. Unfortunately, in our country, an average of 6-7 employees die every day as a result of work accidents. The issue is a conscientious responsibility as well as criminal and judicial responsibility. The destruction of a life and the dreams involved in that life creates great destruction in every aspect. In order to not be a part of this destruction, occupational health and safety training should not be viewed from a simple perspective. "We really need to approach it by thinking about how we can do better, the best."

The 8th issue (WINTER 2023) of the "KÜLTÜRK" Journal of Turkish Language and Literature Studies, which was published within the Department of Turkish Language and Literature of the Faculty of Science and Letters of Istanbul Kültür University (IKU), was published on December 22, 2023.

The Civil Aviation Club organized a panel talk titled "Aviation Rise: The English Adventure in Aviation" in order to inform our students about the current developments in the aviation industry. Gökhan Beyaz, Founder and Managing Director of AVIOACHING Aviation, was the speaker at the event, which was held on Wednesday, December 27 at 11:00 at the Önder Öztunalı Conference Hall in the Ataköy building of Bakırköy campus.

The event, in which interview techniques, elements to be considered in CV preparation and developments in the aviation sector were conveyed, ended after the question-and-answer session.

In cooperation with the Department of Communication Arts, the Department of New Media and Communication and the Effective Communication Club, a trip to Başka İşler Advertising Agency was organized. Within the scope of the trip held on December 26, 2023, our students observed advertising practices in the agency environment. Our students who participated in workshops on advertising design were given trainings on various fields such as event organization and event production.

Within the scope of the "Physical Environmental Control 2" course led by Prof. Dr. Esra Bostancıoğlu from the Department of Architecture, the technical facilities of our University were visited on December 26, 2023 with the contributions of IKU Department of Construction and Technical Affairs. Şenol Çolak from the Department of Construction and Technical Affairs informed the students about the places and equipments related to hot water supply, heating, cooling, fire and electrical installations in our Ataköy building on Bakırköy campus.

A technical trip to Özdisan Elektronik San. Tic. A.Ş. was organised by the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, on 27 December, 2023.