Bilkent Industrial Engineering students from the Operational Research Club travelled to Holland last semester to take part in the European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management (ESTIEM) board meeting. With member groups from 20 different nationalities throughout Europe, ESTIEM organizes activities and projects at both the local and European levels for individuals to meet and gain useful international experience.
As an observer group for ESTIEM, the Operational Research Club organized the local qualification Tournament in Management and Engineering Skills (TIMES) at Bilkent on December 11, 1999. Twelve groups of four students each participated. A jury composed of one management and three industrial engineering professors awarded the group of Yiğit Özkan, Çağrı Sönmez, Orçun Molvalıoğlu and Gürkan Üstünkar first place for the best solution and presentation. The group thus earned the right to go to Warsaw, Poland from March 4 to 8 for the semi-finals and placed respectably as Bilkent's first-ever entrants in TIMES.
Every year, hundreds of Europe's top Industrial Engineering Management (IEM) students come together to match their skills at TIMES. The only tournament of its kind in Europe, TIMES is organized in three stages: local qualifications, semi-finals, and the final. At each of these stages, teams have to solve case studies and present their solutions to a jury. The first-place winners in the final are introduced to well-known companies as a first step towards a successful professional life. With hard work and preparation, first-place honors could very well go to Bilkent students in the future!
Feyza Barutçu (IR/II)
