UNIVERSITY COLLABORATIONS THAT WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR YOUTH
University students will be gaining work experience in European Union countries. Total of 79 students from Ege, Dokuz Eylül, Celal Bayar, Katip Çelebi universities, under the coordination of Izmir University of Economics, will be performing internship at organizations and institutions in European Union countries organized by Izmir Chamber of Commerce. Each student will receive one thousand 500 Euros for 3 month Erasmus internship. Total amount of grants will be 118 thousand 500 Euros.
The protocol ceremony for "Erasmus Internship Mobility Consortium - Izmir", which will start activities with the funds provided by the National Agency, took place at Izmir Chamber of Commerce. Ekrem Demirtaş, CEO of Izmir Chamber of Commerce and President of IUE Board of Trustees, Prof. Dr. Oğuz Esen, IUE Rector, Prof. Dr. Galip Akhan, Rector of Katip Çelebi University, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Pakdemirli, Rector of Celal Bayar University, Prof. Dr. Atilla Silkü, Vice Rector of Ege University, Prof. Dr. Recep Yaparel, Vice Rector of Dokuz Eylül University, and İlyas Ülgür, Higher Education Coordinator of National Agency, attended the ceremony.
President Demirtaş, in his speech, stated that development in educated societies was much faster. He said, "The educational reforms by the government in the recent years are very significant. Our students perform internships but performing internship at companies in European Union countries will impact the vision of students. Izmir University of Economics welcomes students from more than 58 countries. We offer full scholarship. More than that, we provide intercultural amalgamation.”
President Demirtaş also stated that Izmir Chamber of Commerce would be reaching out to 75 chambers in Europe and other countries with this consortium. "Our role here is to provide a location for students to perform their internship at, and we would accomplish this exceedingly. We want the National Agency to increase the number of students,” said President Demirtaş.
National Agency Coordinator İlyas Ülgür stated that students got in a state of confusion in business life after they graduated from the university. He said, "Graduates experience confusion for about 5 - 6 months. One major reason for this is the lack of industry-university collaborations. Business life sits on one summit, students sit on another one. Students should be able to work at any part of the world. Up until now, 80% of the students were able to find a place to perform internship on their own. A student of International Relations was performing internship at a restaurant. 12 consortiums have been established during this period, the strongest one being in Izmir.”
Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Esen pointed the importance of university-industry collaborations, and he said that they would be responsible for the coordination of Erasmus Internship Mobility Consortium - Izmir and the corporate mechanisms would increase their unity.
Kâtip Çelebi University Rector Prof. Dr. Galip Akhan stated that students needed to get on the field and with that being said internships were the most important means of practice. As Celal Bayar University Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Pakdemirli indicated that the consortium was a concrete step for university-industry collaboration, Ege University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Atilla Silkü said that Ege University had a significant past in Erasmus, and that it would take its deserving place this year as well. Dokuz Eylül University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Recep Yaparel said that a big opportunity to turn knowledge into practice was offered with this consortium.
