World-renowned pianist and composer Fazıl Say met with art enthusiasts on Wednesday, May 27, at the Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center. Before the concert, Fazıl Say was presented with a commemorative photograph in honour of his “50th Year in Art” by Dr. Bahar Akıngüç Günver, our Chair of the Board of Trustees, Ful Akıngüç Över, Chair of the Board of Directors of Istanbul Kültür Educational Institutions (IKEK) & Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, and our Rector Prof. Dr. Fadime Üney Yüksektepe.

In the concert, Fazıl Say was accompanied by the brilliantly talented flutist Aslıhan And. The program featured several of Say’s works, including “Claros ‘Temple of Prophecies’” Op. 112, a ten-minute virtuosic piano piece composed in 2024, “The Little Black Fish” Op. 117, inspired by Samed Behrengi’s story, and the piano version of “Insan Insan”. Fazıl Say and Aslıhan And delivered a captivating performance of “Bosphorus Romance” Op.113, Say’s composition for flute and piano. The program also included “Kara Toprak” and F. Schubert’s “Arpeggione Sonata”. The concert, enriched by Say’s engaging introductions to each piece, mesmerized the audience and was met with a standing ovation that lasted several minutes.

Istanbul Kültür University Design Factory successfully completed the fourth edition of Demoday, one of the most exciting events of the semester. The event, where young entrepreneurs introduced their creative projects, featured inspiring presentations and fostered strong collaborations.

Participants had the opportunity to listen to the innovative ideas of the entrepreneurs one-on-one and meet the labor behind the projects. During the event, the projects were presented to the expert jury members and the audience; creativity and vision took center stage in the presentations.

The feedback shared at the end of the event, where entrepreneurs presented their projects to the jury and the audience, inspiring presentations and impressive narratives took place, and interaction and new collaborations developed among the participants, once again revealed how productive and inspiring Demoday was.

The book titled “Early Childhood Education in the Mediterranean: Availability, Accessibility and Affordability of Services”, co-edited by Professor Mehmet Toran, a faculty member of the Department of Basic Education at the Faculty of Education, and Professor Valerie Sollars from the University of Malta, has been published by BRILL, a leading international publishing house classified in Category A.

The book critically and analytically examines early childhood education and care services in 11 Mediterranean countries, including Türkiye. It is considered a significant reference in the fields of early childhood education policy and comparative education.

Faculty members from our university, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Toran and Dr. Ebru Aydın Yüksel, co-authored the opening chapter of the book.

More details about the book can be found at: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004733664

The Department of Radio, Television and Cinema held a workshop titled “Journey of a Short Film” for Anatolian High School and Science High School students at Kültür College on Friday, May 23, 2025. The workshop, conducted by one of our faculty members, Res. Assist. Buğra Mert Alkayalar, conveyed the basics of short film scriptwriting and the journey of a short film from the idea stage to the festivals to high school students. It was explained how the resulting ideas can be transformed into a treatment and short film script after writing the logline and synopsis. In addition, basic information about the pre-production, shooting, and post-production processes of the short film was shared with the students.

The workshop concluded with the screening of the short film “Station People” written and directed by Res. Assist. Buğra Mert Alkayalar and shot with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye, followed by a Q&A session addressing students’ questions about the film production process.

The traditional “Most Successful Project Awards Ceremony” organized each semester by the Department of Architecture was held for the 2024-2025 Fall Semester projects on Tuesday, May 27 at the 2nd floor, C corridor of the Ataköy building, Bakırköy Campus.

The projects selected by the jury were awarded with certificates. The winning projects were chosen from those completed for the following courses: “ARC0001 Architectural Design I”, “ARC0003 Architectural Design III”, “ARC0005 Architectural Design V”, ARC0007 Architectural Design VII” and “ARC0080 Graduation Project”. We congratulate our award-winning students and wish them continued success.

ARC0001 Architectural Design I & ZAIN ALI
ARC0003 Architectural Design III & NOUR EL OMAR
ARC0005 Architectural Design V & OSMAN SÖYLEMEZ
ARC0007 Architectural Design VII & BEYZA ÖZ
ARC0080 Graduation Project & ÖZLEM AYDIN 

Within the scope of the “Sone Psychology Seminars” organized in cooperation with the Department of Psychology and the Division of Psychology, Clinical Psychologist Cansu Metin Bozkurt delivered a speech titled “Art Therapy." The event, held with the participation of our undergraduate and master's students, took place online via CATS on Tuesday, May 27.

On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the Program of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology organized a technical trip to the Arçelik LG Air Conditioner Factory, the largest air conditioner production facility in Türkiye and Europe, located in the Gebze Organized Industrial Zone. During the trip, where the assembly lines were introduced in detail, technical information about the air conditioner production processes was shared first-hand.

The technical trip, which was attended by our Director of the Vocational School Prof. Dr. Mehmet Özer, our Vice Director Lecturer Kerem Yücesan, our Head of the Program of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology Lecturer H. Serpil Karakuş and our students, was led by HR Manager Sinem Çeliköz, Maintenance Manager Ertan Muşdal and Energy & Mechanical Engineering Leader Yavuz Okumuş, who also teaches in our program as an hourly-paid Lecturer, on behalf of Arçelik.

In collaboration with Istanbul Kültür University Department of Public Relations and Advertising and Creative Club, an online event titled “Creative Workshop” was organized on Tuesday, May 27, to bring young creatives together with professional agencies. Within the scope of the workshop held via the ZOOM platform, participants presented their projects based on the creative ‘brief’ given by Jupiter Agency. The evaluation process was carried out by agency officials. The event, which was held with the intense participation of club members and students aiming for a career in the creative field, allowed students to gain practice in the sector, develop their portfolios and gain real brief experience. In this context, Jupiter Agency, which has an important place in the sector, announced that it will offer internship opportunities to three students who participated in the workshop.

The Department of Special Education organized a technical trip to Türkan Sabancı School for the Visually Impaired on Friday, May 23rd. Within the scope of the trip, students from the Department of Special Education had the opportunity to learn about the educational services provided for individuals with visual impairment.

In collaboration with the Department of Foreign Languages Education, and the ELT Club, the “Alumni Panel” event was held on Thursday, May 22 at 14.00 in the Küçükçekmece Campus Conference Hall. Our graduates who participated in the event as the guest speakers, Çağla Yıldız, English Teacher at Münir Tınaztepe Anatolian High School, and Irmak Tali, Lecturer at IKU School of Foreign Languages, shared their professional experiences with our students.

In collaboration with the English Literature Society and the Gender Equality Club, an event titled "Women’s Writing: The Tradition, And Why It Still Matters" was organized on May 7, 2025, in the 4th floor multi-purpose hall of the Ataköy building in the Bakırköy campus. The event, where our Vice Chair of the Department of English Language and Literature, Assist. Prof. İpek Kotan Yiğit, was the speaker, discussed the contributions of women writers to literary production processes throughout history and how women made their voices heard through writing.