1st National "University in Schools" Symposium Held

The "University in Schools" education model, implemented for the first time in Türkiye by Bahçeşehir University (BAU) and bringing a breath of fresh air to teacher training, was discussed at the "First National University in Schools Symposium". In addition to Ömer Balıbey, Director General of Teacher Training at the Ministry of National Education, many teachers and educators attended the symposium held at Halkalı Bahçeşehir College.

The opening speech of the "First National University in Schools Symposium" held at Halkalı Bahçeşehir College was delivered by Bahçeşehir University President Prof. Dr. Şenay Yalçın. Yalçın emphasized that the overall level of success of a society is directly proportional to the projects implemented and the successes achieved in education. Yalçın said: "It is the wish of all of us that our children, the guarantee of our future, are educated by well-equipped, qualified teachers. As BAU, we have implemented a pioneering practice in Türkiye in this regard and brought another original brand to our world of education with the University in Schools education model. What matters in our education system is training good teachers. With this model implemented by the BAU Faculty of Educational Sciences, we will transform teachers and education administrators into people who have 21st-century skills, believe in democracy and are sensitive to the environment.

Stating that training qualified teachers in Türkiye is the key to overcoming many problems, Ömer Balıbey, Director General of Teacher Training at the Ministry of National Education, said that, from the Ministry's perspective, the most important problem of teacher candidates is the internship. Balıbey said: "We have identified many projects and carried out work to overcome this problem. However, we will undertake many projects led by the University in Schools education model implemented by BAU. Although there are various difficulties in education in Türkiye, ambitious work will emerge with such models. I congratulate everyone who contributed to the implementation of this system, especially BAU Chairman of the Board of Trustees Enver Yücel, BAU President Prof. Dr. Şenay Yalçın and all members of the Faculty of Educational Sciences. I believe that we will see very important developments in this area in five years."

With the "University in Schools" education model implemented by Bahçeşehir University (BAU) following work on training qualified teachers, BAU Faculty of Educational Sciences students begin working part-time at partner schools with the title of "candidate teacher" in their third and fourth years, after the basic education received in the first two years. During this period, an expert teacher accompanies the candidate teachers and attends classes. Bahçeşehir University is the first in Türkiye to implement this model, of which similar examples exist around the world.