On April 26, the 25th Bilkent Department of Tourism and Hotel Management Awards Ceremony took place at the Bilkent Hotel and Convention Center. The annual awards event has been held since 1993 to recognize and reward THM students based on their achievements in the department and during their internships. Awards are given for academic success, and also for social and volunteer activities and contributions to the department. Among the award categories are All-Around Best Student, Best Classmate, Best Intern, Promising Performer for the Industry, and the Excellence Award.
At this year’s ceremony, School of Applied Technology and Management Director Kamer Rodoplu delivered a speech in which he noted that THM was the first department in the university to institute this type of annual event recognizing the excellence of its students. The highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the awards to the 2018 recipients: Furkan Başaran, Esin Esen, Zahra Garagöz, Sadık Can Gazelci, Maruf Dora Giray, Aybars Karasu, Soo Youn Kim, İlayda Köymen, Sedef Özbay, Başak Tatarlı, Kuntalp Tok, Gizem Turşucu, Pamir Üstün and Endercan Yoldar.
The THM Awards Ceremony, which is supported and sponsored by leading firms and organizations in the tourism industry, provides a good opportunity for companies to meet a large pool of prospective THM graduates as well as to raise awareness of their brands. The following organizations sponsored this year’s event: the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the USDF International SKAL Associations Federation, the International Association of Travel and Tourism Professionals (SKAL) Ankara, the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB), the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), the Cappadocia Touristic Hoteliers and Operations Association (KAPTİD), the Divan Ankara Hotel, the Sheraton Ankara Hotel and Convention Center, HiltonSA Ankara, the JW Marriott Hotel Ankara, the Crowne Plaza/Holiday Inn Kavaklıdere Ankara, the Bilkent Hotel Ankara and Convention Center, the Mandarin Oriental Bodrum, the Concorde de Luxe Resort Antalya, Link Computer Systems Ankara, the Limak Ambassadore Hotel, Dinler Hotels and Kayakapı Premium Caves, Mack House, the Hilton Garden Inn Ankara, Rollhouse Ankuva and Savor Restaurant, Pizza Il Forno and the Düveroğlu Restaurant Bilkent.