IUE SCIENCE COLLEGE ON ITS WAY
Izmir University of Economics is creating its own system for Science College. Officials from the University visited South Korea and observed educational institutions from elementary schools to higher education institutions, and signed protocols for student and academician exchange.
Ekrem Demirtaş, President of IUE Board of Trustees, Prof. Dr. Murat Aşkar, Vice Rector of IUE, Asst. Prof. Dr. Evrim Üstünlüoğlu, Director of IUE School of Foreign Languages, Mehmet Ali Atakan, Education Coordinator of IUE Science College, and Hayrettin Çelikhisar, Coordinator of Science park and Technology Transfer Office, visited the schools for the gifted children in Seoul, Daejeon, Cheonan, South Korea, and observed the university education.
The delegation visited Arslan Hakan Okçal, Ambassador of Turkey in Seoul, Korea, on the first day of the trip, and later on observed the education systems of Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) National Research Center, the National Research Center for Gifted and Talented Education, Seoul Science High School, and Hwan Middle School onsite. Negotiations were started to make collaboration with KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) in the city of Daejeon. The delegation also visited Daejeon Science High School and Daejeon Science Museum, and observed the education systems of Sangmyung University and Koreatech (Korea University of Technology and Education) in Cheonan. President Demirtaş signed a collaboration agreement with Koreatech.
‘For the technology revolution of our country’
President Demirtaş stated that they would educate the gifted children at IUE Science College who would start the technological revolution of Turkey. He said that they continued their search to reach for the best. “We are observing the structure, functioning, and education systems of all leading education institutions and how they reach out to learners. We formerly visited New York and Houston in the States. Then observed how the gifted children in three different cities of South Korea are educated. South Korea is known for investing in its human power. They provide special education for gifted children in mathematics, science, language and arts, technological development, social sciences, information technologies, and sports. 82% of the gifted children receive education in mathematics and science,” said Demirtaş.
‘24 hours of a Korean student’
South Korea had leading education institutions in world rankings, and we observed students’ life in a day, said President Demirtaş. “We’ve initiated negotiations with Korean Ministry of Education for teacher exchange. IUE Rector Prof. Dr. Can Muğan will sign an exchange protocol with Prof. Dr. Sung – Mo Kang, Rector of KAIST, in the upcoming days,” stated Demirtaş.
‘University Education at High school’
Demirtaş indicated that the instruction program for all levels of Science College (K-12) was already set, and they would focus on a hands-on learning model. President Demirtaş stated the following:
“We’ve seen that students learn through experience. Their investigative skills are promoted there. University academicians also teach at high schools, and develop projects with them. High school is integrated into the university. Teachers are in close collaboration with the students. The instruction program for all levels of IUE Science College (K-12) is being prepared. Talented students will be able to take university courses while they are still in high school. They will adopt the investigative identity. They will be exempt from these courses when they start their university education.”
