The FEASS GE440 and GE443 Transdisciplinary Senior Project courses recently hosted three distinguished guest lecturers. Dr. Katalin Zaim (October 25) from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Michele Villani, head of the Trade, Economy and Agriculture section in the EU Delegation to Turkey (October 30), and Mark Lewis, the IMF’s resident representative in Turkey (November 1), shared mind-opening observations and arguments concerning globalization and the challenges Turkey is facing in the globalizing world.
The first lecture, by Dr. Zaim, was on sustainable development in the globalizing world and, more specifically, where Turkey stands in terms of UNDP’s sustainable development criteria. Dr. Zaim also talked about the types of problems she observed as a UNDP officer in Turkey. On the following day, Mr. Villani, as a “fervent European” from the EU Delegation to Turkey, shared with students his extensive knowledge and experience concerning the EU’s place in world trade. He also raised critical points about the future of EU-Turkey relations. The last guest speaker was Mr. Lewis, who discussed the current state of Turkey’s economy. Among other issues, he explicitly underlined the low rate of women’s participation in the economy and the negative effects of this.
GE440 and GE443 are 6-credit courses for senior students in the Departments of Economics, International Relations and Political Science, in which they work in interdisciplinary teams on their chosen project topics. The theme of GE440 is “globalization”; GE443 is on “Social Challenges in Turkey.” As part of these courses, experts come to Bilkent to share their knowledge and experiences. Students will present their project results to a panel of experts on December 28.
For more information about FEASS GE courses, visit https://www.facebook.com/FEASSGE4XX.