BAU "Where Is the World Changing Towards?" Panel Held

21.12.2021 

Bahçeşehir University (BAU) hosted the "Where Is the World Changing Towards?" workshop and panel, organized together with the Turkish Quality Association (KALDER) and the Uludağ Exporters' Association.

The panel held by Bahçeşehir University (BAU) brought together the business, industry and education worlds and different stakeholder groups, and discussed the problems and solutions on the way to achieving decent work and economic growth, one of the sustainable development goals. Speaking at the panel, BAU Global Chairman Enver Yücel stated that "universities should support and guide industry", while Uludağ Exporters' Association Chairman Baran Çelik made important statements on the future of sectors that could lead economic growth.

The opening speech of the meeting was delivered by Yasemin Şahin, BAU Business Development and Bursa Center Director. Stating that they work like a center where business sectors can obtain information in every sense, Şahin said: "We have redesigned university-industry collaboration. Today, at our panel, we will seek an answer to the question of where the world is changing towards by listening to our distinguished guests. I would particularly like to emphasize that our University stands by you in your development and change processes on these issues and that we are ready to collaborate on all kinds of matters in every area where you need support. We are with you with our working model based on communication-based boutique services and collaboration. It is in the hands of everyone in this room to redefine the concept of university-industry collaboration and fill it with action steps and collaborations determined accordingly to adapt to the changing world. I sincerely believe that, with the collaborations we will develop together, we will achieve work that stands out, creates value, inspires and sets an example."

The first part of the program featured KALDER Board Member Emin Direkçi, Uludağ Exporters' Association Chairman Baran Çelik, BAU Global Chairman Enver Yücel, BAU President Prof. Dr. Şirin Karadeniz, BAU TTO Office Director Nil Girgin and news program producer and presenter Cem Seymen as speakers. The panel continued with special sessions after the keynote speeches, in which the general situation, problems and solutions of the business world were discussed. Topics such as the many opportunities Bahçeşehir University will provide to support private companies, including training camps, workshops and certificates, were also addressed.

Information was shared that, within the scope of the collaboration between KALDER, the Uludağ Exporters' Association and BAU, companies will be offered opportunities such as graduate programs, corporate training, certificate programs, panels, workshops, COOP collaborations, joint training, TTO collaborations, R&D activities, BAUSEM training, research centers, CIFAL support, branded courses, reverse mentoring, BAUGO, weekend training camps, an experience transfer program and international alumni support.

"We Are Now Experiencing a Green Transformation"

Underlining in her keynote speech that our lives and the way we do business have changed considerably, especially with the pandemic, BAU President Prof. Dr. Şirin Karadeniz said: "We were talking about digital transformation before the pandemic as well, and with the Paris Agreement we are experiencing a green transformation. In fact, we are going through a metamorphosis and we need to be aware of it. We need to create a puzzle by moving to a different system of working methods based on collective effort. It no longer makes sense for universities to be closed within their campuses and apply old curricula. Existing only with a diploma would be wrong; we would be deceiving a student who has studied for 4 years. That is why we need to transform education as we deliver it. Bahçeşehir Uğur Educational Institutions is an institution that can apply this system of transformation to education. We are a university that was able to switch quickly to distance education during the pandemic and then to hybrid education. The COOP education model, in which industry is part of the university, is important for us."

"Nearly 300,000 New Jobs Will Be Created in New Lines of Business"

Baran Çelik, Chairman of the Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters' Association, made important predictions about the future of the sector: "The Automotive Industry Exporters' Association has been Türkiye's export champion for the last 15 years. Bursa is the capital of the automotive industry, and the greatest indicator of this is the Automotive Industry Exporters' Association. We are an association that represents the entire automotive industry in Türkiye. We have a total of 7,800 exporters. We export more than 30 billion dollars annually. This is one sixth of Türkiye's exports." He added: "Türkiye and the world are facing the following risk: the transformation to electric and autonomous driving in particular is coming fast. It started in the 2010s, but with the pandemic it is advancing not linearly but in leaps. As a result, some of the products and technologies required to produce a car will disappear, some will remain the same or change, and some will increase. Over the next ten years, nearly 300,000 new jobs will be created in Europe in new lines of business emerging from this transformation. Unfortunately, however, employment of 500,000 people will also be lost. This need will be met by the new generation of students trained by educational institutions, who design the future and work on products, particularly high-technology products."