Thirty students have successfully completed the preparatory program of the Academic Summer School of Ibn Haldun University (IHU), held between July 1-29, 2019 in the USA. At the closing ceremony of the 4th program, our President Prof. Recep Şentürk, stated that the Academic Summer School’s program has a rich content consisting of university lectures, institution visits, and city trips which paves the way for the students to observe the world closely. Prof. Recep Şentürk who gives due consideration and follows up personally the summer schools organized by our university, joined the opening and closing ceremonies of the summer school and said, “Our university works against the euro-centrism and western imitation, yet it attaches a particular importance to the recognition of western societies and cultures. Because humanity is living in the era of open civilization and global competition. We invest in nurturing our students to become a global actor.” The coordinator of America Program of Ibn Haldun University, Assist. Prof. Yaşar Çolak, said, “At the Academic Summer School, we prepared a program of different lectures and talks that addresses the interest of our students. In addition, we arranged trips in order to get our students have a perception about the American society and to see their main cities.”
At the summer school, organized in cooperation between George Mason University and Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA D.C.), our students attended lectures for one month. The lectures, given by academicians from George Mason University, had topics such as American Anthropology, Islam at America, Arab Spring, Chinese Political History, Colonialism and Slave Trade, Orientalism, and Ottoman-American Migration. At the think tank based in Washington (SETA), our students listened to presentations, given by leading experts, on current issues including History and Institutions of America, History of the Middle East, Syrian Civil War, and Security and International Migration, within the context of the program. Besides, they had the opportunity to see the administration and judicial institutions of the United States by visiting the American congress, Constitutional Court.
In addition to lectures and seminars, our students had the opportunity to visit universities in the neighborhood of Washington. They attained information about the history, graduate programs and registration requirements of leading universities in Washington including Georgetown university, Maryland University and Shenandoah University. Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Maryland and one of the most important academics nurtured by of our country Prof. Ahmet Aydilek met with our students and gave a speech about the strengths and weaknesses of Turkish and American higher education institutions, academic study and research culture.
Students attending the Academic Summer School program visited the major American cities of New York, Washington DC, Baltimore and Annapolis. During the trip to Washington, students were able to get to know American history, institutions and culture by visiting the Library of Congress, the Museum of American History, the National Air and Space Museum, the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of African America. On a two-day New York trip, students toured the World Trade Center, the Empire State Building, Central Park, Times Square and other highlights in Manhattan.
Meryem Boğday, Student of IHU Faculty of Islamic Sciences, “I learned the American education system and lifestyle through the lessons we took in the summer school, which gave me a broad vision of America. It was also a nice holiday opportunity for me.” Mehmet Sadin Kara, a student of IHU History Department, “With the rich content of the program, I had the chance to take courses at George Mason University which enabled me to comprehend different perspectives from the academicians who are experts in their fields and many of them encouraged us for new researches. With the SETA program, we listened to high-level officials and researchers with field experience, and I found answers to some of my questions. The information we gained in the lessons gave rise to new questions. I decided to do more detailed research to find answers to these questions.” Bengisu Akkan, a student at IHU Faculty of Law, “Summer School allowed me to come out of the small box and explore the outside. I had the opportunity to get to explore different lives of people and cultures.” Abdüssemi Aydın, “As a student of the Department of History, I visited one of the many museums in the center of Washington. These spaces are not only an exhibition space, but also an educational institution for people of all ages.”
This year, our University organized an English and Arabic Academic Summer School in the USA and in Morocco. Through the summer schools, students are expected to get to know more closely the countries and cultures where the languages they learn are spoken. The students participating in the programs stated that providing such education and travel opportunities to them at the undergraduate level contributed greatly to their personal development.
