Turgut Ozal University

After the high school visit and lunch we headed to a university that was founded in 2009 by the 8th president of Turkey (Prime minister 1983-89; President 1989-93).  There are four campuses.  We visited the main one where the Econ, Int'l Studies, Political Science and Engineering departments are located.  The Econ and Political Science and IS programs have tracks in English.  We had a good visit with an International Studies professor who was originally from Uzbekistan.  Students from 40 different countries attend there.   They pride themselves on being a "student oriented university" - more so than the traditional model of many Turkish schools.  The professor mentioned that this was challenging with the need to have 2 publications every semester!

There are many new universities starting up in the country and there is a high demand.  Approx 2 mil take the college entrance exam and only 500,000 are accepted to a university each year.

Our host mentioned that he knows that Turks do not have the same language skills as other Europeans who speak 3 or 4 languages readily.  The need to do more to advance this.

*Interesting side note:  good English is especially important for a job in the public sector.  Students get good instruction in writing and reading, but have fewer opportunities for conversation.  This really makes the best students stand out when they have strong speaking skills.

Front gate

Large lecture hall - no AC - felt stiflingly hot as we passed.  Note the many women in head scarves.  These are forbidden in public universities, making private universities a preferred option for women who prefer to wear scarves.