Personal Development Program: Bright Future Within Reach
BY ANNA KORSUNSKA (COMD/III)
Even though the snow has not melted yet, and students are still getting lost trying to find their classes, spring semester has begun. Still, there is no time to waste. The future is rapidly approaching, and we must be ready for it. Are you? The Career Center is here to help.
February 7 to 26 will be devoted to the second part of the Career Days with the seventh annual Personal Development Program. This program is targeted at giving students practical knowledge about the professional life in which they plan to work and educate them on how to improve their skills. The point is to help students stand out from the mass of university graduates and give them a better chance at getting a good job and having a bright future.
The program began in October with three weeks of Sector Introduction Meetings. Almost two thousand students attended. Now it's time for Part 2.
Personal Development Days is a series of workshops and lectures given by the most famous and successful representatives from a wide variety of professions, including Murathan Mungan, Erendiz Atasü, Atilla Özdemiroğlu, Hayrettin Karaca, Ahmet Şerif İzgören, Ali Özgentürk, and many others. Normally such seminars would be very expensive, but these luminaries are coming to Bilkent as volunteers and giving lectures for free. Students of all grades and departments can attend. The lecturers are the best representatives of the market and will be able to give real life hints and practical information about your future career choice.
The lectures will be about improving management, interview, presentation, and teamwork skills, as well as ways of identifying your strengths and weaknesses and how to improve them. Also many of the seminars will be about international work opportunities, including work and travel programs, working camps, and other opportunities and fellowships in Europe, the U.S., and South America. There will also be a meeting with Bilkent alumni who will talk about their experiences and give advice. All the lectures will be in Turkish.
"It is extremely important," says Yıldız Öztürk Balamir, coordinator of the Career Center, "for students to attend this program. It's a unique opportunity to really make a difference in their lives, to give them something extra, which the normal curriculum of the university doesn't offer. It's the key to their future."
Every year from 5000 to 7000 students attend the Personal Development Program lectures and workshops. So, don't miss your chance!
How? It's easy: the lectures require no prior registration. The schedule can be obtained from the Career Center in the Student Union Office or online at www.kariyer.bilkent.edu.tr. There are also three workshop activities: a project-writing workshop, a dancing workshop, and a tree planting activity, all of which require registration. You can register by calling ext. 2624 or 1131. Space is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Space is limited, so register as soon as possible.
Also, as an extra stimulus, all of the activities are assigned points, and when you attend, you collect these points, and at the end of the program there are prizes, including certificates, a trip to İstanbul to the Body Worlds Exhibition, and free passes to special seminars.
The program will continue in March with Part 3, The Career Fair, on March 17.
