Nano-Scale Turkish Flag Presented to Prime Minister Erdoğan
At a ceremony held on Wednesday, April 26, Bilkent University presented a nano-scale Turkish flag to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The flag was drawn on a silicon chip by the graduate students in the Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) Group under the supervision of Dr. Ahmet Oral in the Physics Department and the National Nanotechnology Research Project (NNRP) in the Faculty of Science.
The flag is 700 nanometers wide and about 2 nanometers high. (In comparison, a human hair is typically 50,000 nanometers in diameter.) To create the flag, the SPM Group used an atomic force microscope developed and built at Bilkent for nanolithography.
In his speech, Prime Minister Erdoğan thanked Bilkent's founder, Prof. İhsan Doğramacı, and praised the university for its ongoing contributions to science in Turkey.
He also urged researchers here to continue their efforts, and envisioned what those efforts could lead to: "When are we going to get the first Nobel Prize for our country? If Bilkent scientists can achieve this, it will be a great honor for Turkey, the Turkish people and for Bilkent."
"Entrepreneurship Symposium" Held at Bilkent
On April 29-30, the Bilkent University Operational Research Club organized a two-day symposium on entrepreneurship. For the opening session, Republican People's Party leader and former Foreign and Energy Minister Assoc. Prof. Deniz Baykal, former Finance and State Minister and industrial engineering faculty member Prof. Ekrem Pakdemirli; and the Ankara Chamber of Industry's chairman Zafer Çağlayan were at Bilkent University.
Prof. Pakdemirli focused on the role of the state in encouraging private investments and entrepreneurship, emphasizing the role of the internet in today's globalizing world and business life. Following Mr. Pakdemirli's speech, ASO Chairman Zafer Çağlayan discussed the economic dimensions of entrepreneurship and the benefits created by the entrepreneurial spirit. Mr. Çağlayan also talked about the 11.8% unemployment level as well as the unregistered labor problem in Turkey.
In the final speech of the opening session, CHP leader Deniz Baykal challenged the classical
definition of economy, highlighting the importance of technological advances and also entrepreneurship. Mr. Baykal held up Bilkent as a successful result of entrepreneurship: an ideal city made up of residential, commercial and recreational areas surrounding a world-renowned university with a well-planned campus. He also brought up questions about Turkey's entrepreneurs of the recent past, making comparisons with the Japanese experience.
After the opening session, the first day of the symposium continued with participants from the private sector speaking on the subjects of techno-entrepreneurship, education for entrepreneurship and modeling, and relating success stories of business people.
On the second day, the well-known anchorman Ali Kırca took part in the symposium, sharing his experiences with the Bilkent audience. To conclude the two-day event, the sponsoring organizations gave presentations on their activities and the symposium.
Erkan Bayır (MBG/II)
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Bilkent-Tilburg Universities Dual Master’s Program Opening Ceremony
On Friday, May 5, a ceremony will be held in Mithat Çoruh Auditorium to mark the opening of the Bilkent-Tilburg Universities Dual Master's Program in Economics. Prof. Ali Doğramacı, Rector of Bilkent University, and Prof. Frank A. van der Duyn Schouten, Rector of Tilburg University, will speak at the ceremony.
Bilkent News interviewed the chair of Bilkent's Department of Economics, Dr. Fatma Taşkın, on the new Bilkent-Tilburg program. "We designed this program to meet the demand for an applied master's program to prepare students for employment in both the private and public sectors," explained Dr. Taşkın. "The Dual Master's program meets this demand by supplementing our already strong MA program in Economics with the specialized fields offered at Tilburg University. We chose to form such a partnership with Tilburg due to the high educational standards of both universities. We also felt that it was the right time to direct economics education in Turkey toward European issues. Hence, this new program will lead to a more effective educational scheme that will open new horizons to its graduates, compatible with the demands of today’s economy."
The two-year program grants an M.A. in Economics from Bilkent University, and an M.Sc. in one of five related fields from Tilburg University in the Netherlands.
During the first year, which takes place at Bilkent, participants study fundamental theoretical concepts and quantitative methods in economics, in addition to various pecialized applications. In the second year, they study at Tilburg in one of the five following areas: economics; international finance and economics; mathematical economics and econometric methods; operations research and management science; quantitative finance and actuarial sciences.
Graduation Ball Coming Up!
The 2006 Graduation Ball will be held on May 31 and June 1 at the Bilkent Hotel's Sakarya Ballroom at 8 p.m., and will feature a live concert by Turkish pop singer Özgün.
Students will attend one of the evenings according to their faculty:
Wednesday, May 31
FEASS, FBA, FMPA, FS, SATM-VSTHS, LAW
Thursday, June 1
FADA, FE, FHL, SAL, VSCTOM, BUSEL
The ticket price is 100 YTL per person until May 15, and 110 YTL beginning May 16.
Tickets are now available at the Alumni Office in the Student Council Building.
For further information, please contact Ebru Ediz in the Alumni Office at ext. 2236.
Fun in the Sun at Spring
Fest 2006
Just as in past years, Spring Fest is coming to campus to celebrate the end of the semester and welcome the summer holiday. During the 3-day period, activities will be held for students on the grass field between the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts and the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, as well as on East Campus. Each day, there will be many parties, concerts, performances, exhibitions, movies, cartoons and other activities for you to enjoy.
Please see the insert for this year’s Spring Fest Schedule.
“Chef 8 Evening”:
Da Vincis of the Kitchen
The Başkent Aşçılar ve Turizm Birliği Derneği and Bilkent University recently organized a special evening of fine dining, "Chef 8 Evening." Hosted by the Bilkent University Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, the event took place at Le Piment Rouge Restaurant on April 22. Service was provided by the students of the THM & THS departments.
The evening began with an opening cocktail reception and then continued with dinner. Executive chefs from well-known chain hotels and restaurants had, with their teams, prepared eight different menus for the 80 invited guests at the event, who were seated at eight tables.
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