A conference titled “Engineering Education in the Century of Türkiye” was held by Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKU) Faculty of Engineering in cooperation with the Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences. Hosted by HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli, with TUSAŞ Engine Industries (TEI) Chairman of the Board Prof. Dr. Fahrettin Öztürk as the speaker, the conference offered prospective engineers important tips on shaping their careers, and drew great interest from engineering students as well as students of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Programme. Among the audience were TUSAŞ Director of Production Operations Fatih Uysal, HKU Board of Trustees Member Prof. Dr. Necip Fazıl Yılmaz, HKU Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Mehmet Lütfi Yola and Prof. Dr. Gül Rengin Küçükerdoğan, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Prof. Dr. Hanifi Çanakçı, Dean of the Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences Prof. Dr. Fatih Hasoğlu and Secretary General Ümit Şahnaoğlu, together with academics.
Speaking at the opening of the programme and expressing his great pleasure that KAAN, Türkiye’s national combat aircraft produced by TUSAŞ, has taken its place in the skies, HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli said: “We were very excited that KAAN, produced by TUSAŞ and the red apple of our aviation and defence industry, successfully completed its first flight. This should set an example for all of us. Every individual and every institution needs to have a KAAN, a red apple, a great goal. I sincerely believe that if everyone flies their own KAAN, reaches their own red apple and achieves their own great goal, no one can hold us back. It is precisely with this belief and passion that we at HKU are working with all our strength to educate leading and competent human resources who have great goals, who have red apples, who can achieve great goals and who can play a leading role in Türkiye’s national technology drive. We have important collaborations with TUSAŞ and we are making efforts to develop them further.”
Beginning his speech by stressing the importance of universities as the source of well-trained human resources and by summarising TUSAŞ’s work in the fields of aviation and space, TUSAŞ Engine Industries (TEI) Chairman of the Board Prof. Dr. Fahrettin Öztürk said: “Every activity and every piece of work we do is dedicated to our people, who want a strong Türkiye. When we achieve a success as a country, all our people embrace that success. For a strong Türkiye: KAAN must be in the skies, and the eyes of every member of Türkiye must be set high.”
Addressing the attentive participants in the hall, Prof. Dr. Fahrettin Öztürk continued his speech as follows: “Today we are here both to introduce TUSAŞ and to discuss how we can shape the future through engineering. Those who want to ensure justice in the world in every field need to be strong in every field. We have no choice but to be strong. Strength is not only in defence and industry, but strength in every field. To be strong, everyone, and of course young people, must do three things: work, work, work. This is something everyone knows, but there is no different recipe, no other way. You will set a goal, you will focus on the goal and you will work very hard with patience. Systems are now very complex and require working together and achieving together. If you look carefully at TUSAŞ’s projects, you will see that we now work in a highly multidisciplinary way. This is very important for projects to materialise. All stakeholders need to work together; we need to learn a culture of working together. One of the most important principles in engineering is to be innovative. The main goal is to develop new ideas, turn them into real products, and develop new ways and methods. In entrepreneurship, too, you should be able to say, ‘Let me develop this product, let me achieve this.’ Engineering education in the Century of Türkiye should be an education that delivers knowledge at the highest level and in detail, follows current technologies and develops technology, has a constantly renewed curriculum, gives direction to the future, sets and follows goals, attaches importance to multidisciplinary work, instils a culture of working together, makes and gets decisions made, and prioritises national and spiritual values.”
Following the programme, which ended with the exchange of plaques, TUSAŞ Engine Industries (TEI) Chairman of the Board Prof. Dr. Fahrettin Öztürk and his delegation paid a visit to HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli in his office.
