Istanbul Kültür University Art Gallery (IKUSAG) opened the 2025-2026 season with the exhibition titled “A Portrait of an Art Enthusiast: A Selection from the IKU Akıngüç Collection.”

Organized by the IKU Fine Arts Application and Research Center (GSUAM), the exhibition met with art lovers on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, at 15.00 at the IKU Art Gallery (IKUSAG) in the Ataköy building, Bakırköy Campus. The opening speeches of the exhibition were delivered by Prof. Dr. Fadime Üney Yüksektepe, Rector of Istanbul Kültür University, and Prof. Dr. Mehmet Üstünipek, Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design.

Featuring selected works from a collection of over one thousand pieces, including paintings, sculptures, ceramics, photographs, and caricatures, the exhibition presents a vivid reflection of the love of art that blossomed in M.Sc. Civil Engineer Fahamettin Akıngüç, Founder of Kültür Educational Institutions & Honorary Chair of the Board of Trustees, in the 1940s when was attending Istanbul Technical University. The first event of the season features works by many renowned artists, including Naci Kalmukoğlu, Ayetullah Sümer, Hasan Kavruk, Levent Arşiray, Abidin Dino, Atilla Galatalı, İbrahim Balaban, and Selim Turan, reflecting the interest, love, and belief in art embodied by this collection. More than just an art experience, the exhibition is also an expression of respect for an art lover in the footsteps of art and education, and will be open to visitors until November 28, 2025.

Students of Istanbul Kültür University (IKU), under the umbrella of the IEEE IKU Student Club, achieved remarkable success at TEKNOFEST 2025, one of Türkiye’s most prestigious technology and innovation platforms.

Competing against thousands of teams, ten IKU teams advanced to the finals, showcasing their creativity and engineering skills. Our students proudly represented our university by demonstrating their technical expertise, innovative approaches, and team spirit through the projects they developed over months of intensive preparation.

Finalist Teams

- IEEE IKU ASTRA
- IEEE IKU MOMENTUM
- IEEE IKU BioTopia
- IEEE IKU BioNext
- IEEE IKU SahiZeka
- IEEE IKU Siyah Giyen Adamlar
- IEEE IKU ABİS
- IEEE IKU Kırmızı Kanatlar
- IEEE IKU HotelMind
- IEEE IKU LinguaTECH 

Prize-Winning Teams

- IEEE IKU SahiZeka (2nd Place in Türkiye)
- IEEE IKU Siyah Giyen Adamlar (3rd Place in Türkiye)
-IEEE IKU ABİS (3rd Place in the Underwater Systems Competition & 4th Place in Türkiye)
- IEEE IKU HotelMind (3rd Place in Türkiye)

This extraordinary achievement was made possible by the dedicated efforts of our students, the guidance of our faculty advisors, and the strong support provided by our university. The results achieved by our young engineers are the greatest indication that they have the potential to shape not only today’s but also tomorrow’s technology.

Team Members & Advisors

IEEE IKU SahiZeka (2nd Place)
Team Members: Hacı Mahmut Demirkutlu, Atalay Anıl Altunoğlu, Mehmet Emin Toraman, Rumeysa Danacı, Safiye Kapukaya
Advisor: Res. Assist. Büşra Kocaçınar Öz

IEEE IKU Siyah Giyen Adamlar (3rd Place)
Team Members: Ümit Emen, Batın Kazankaya, Cem Girgin, Ahmet Hakan Yıldız
Advisor: Res. Assist. Mert Hayar

IEEE IKU ABİS (3rd Place & 4th Place Türkiye)
Team Members: Beyza Aydın, Ali Aral, Emre Kurtuluş, Zarife Şahbaz, İkram Uygur, Cihan Gören, İrem Aydın, Mustafa Kerem İskefiyeli, Yusuf Hakan Kılıç, Barış Can Kara
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Atilla Özmen

IEEE IKU HotelMind (3rd Place)
Team Members: Cem Girgin, Berk Çiloğlu, Mustafa Yavuz Okumuş

We congratulate our students and their advisors on this remarkable achievement and have full confidence that they will continue to pursue future projects with the same determination and excellence.

Organized annually in collaboration with the Dean of Students Office - Kültür Point and Vizyon Marka, the traditional event “Autumn Breeze on Campus” took place on Thursday, October 9, 2025, at Istanbul Kültür University’s Bakırköy Campus, Ataköy building.

This year’s event, featuring the participation of 25 brands, attracted great interest from students. Participating brands offered students both fun and engaging experiences through games, raffles, and product showcases.

The Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Istanbul Kültür University (IKU) hosted Emeritus Prof. Dr. Mustafa B A Djamgoz from Imperial College London on Tuesday, October 7, 2025.

Prof. Dr. Djamgoz, an internationally acclaimed scholar who has conducted pioneering research in cancer biology and neuroscience, is the originator of the “CELEX” hypothesis in cancer, the author of the book “Beat Cancer”, and the founder of the TRNC Cancer Research Foundation. Prof. Dr. Djamgoz met with our students and academics in the Prof. Dr. Önder Öztunalı Seminar Hall for the seminar titled “The Neural Features and Clinical Potential of Cancer.”

During the seminar, topics such as the neural characteristics of cancer cells, tumor progression through ion channels, and the potential clinical applications of these mechanisms in cancer treatment were discussed. Participants had the opportunity to gain comprehensive information about the latest findings on the neurobiological aspects of cancer. Following the seminar, Prof. Dr. Djamgoz, who is also the editor of the journal Bioelectricity and a TÜBİTAK Science Award laureate, visited IKU’s research laboratories, where he received briefings on ongoing projects and explored possibilities for future research collaborations.

In cooperation with the Financial Literacy Club, The Program of Foreign Trade, and the Program of E-Commerce and Marketing, an event titled “Marketing & Trade in Action” was held on Thursday, October 2, 2025, at the Önder Öztunalı Conference Hall in the Ataköy building, Bakırköy Campus.

The event featured Serkan Ünal, Sales and Marketing Manager at Enthoosia, as the guest speaker, and was moderated by Lecturer Tülay Ölmez, Head of the Program of Foreign Trade, and Assist. Prof. Emine Anık, Head of the Program of E-Commerce and Marketing.

Participants had the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in foreign trade, e-commerce, and marketing, as well as the role of marketing in trade and valuable insights into the future of the industry.

IKUANTS Technology Development Center (TEKMER), operating under Istanbul Kültür University, participated in Türkiye Innovation Week and represented our university’s work in entrepreneurship and innovation.

At the IKUANTS TEKMER booth, visitors were provided with information about IKU Technology Transfer Office Inc., the Spectroscopy Lab, and various research and infrastructure opportunities offered by our university. Our student clubs also participated and shared their projects and innovative ideas.

Our booth, which attracted significant attention from visitors, highlighted our university’s R&D, entrepreneurship, and technology development capacity, while paving the way for new collaborations with numerous stakeholders.

The event, which brings key representatives of Türkiye’s entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem, will continue at the Haliç Congress Center until October 11, 2025.

The “Health Tourism” course, led by Lecturer Emin Aksan, Head of the Program of Medical Documentation and Secretariat, hosted Mükkerem Şen, Founder of IME Clinic, as a guest speaker. In the course held on Tuesday, October 7, Mükkerem Şen shared valuable insights on medical tourism, the areas of activity of health tourism agencies, and the processes involved in this field.

The book titled, "Spatial Analysis I: Spatial Dimensions in Design Thinking", edited by the faculty members of the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design Assist. Prof. Arzu Erçetin, Assist. Prof. Gamze Akbaş, and Yasemin Tuzlu Erol, has been published.

Authors:

FIProduct is one of the innovative startups operating under the IKUANTS Technology Development Center (TEKMER), founded on the idea of bringing cultural heritage into the digital realm and reconstructing it through immersive technologies with its project VRHistoria.

The team participated in the exhibition titled “From Sketch to Pixel”, organized as part of the 12th Türkiye Innovation Week, with three works centered around themes related to cultural heritage:

SIMULACRA: A VR experience that opens up a discussion on the concepts of reality, imitation, and representation within a virtual environment.

TOLU: A holographic digital artwork that transforms the act of shaping and creating into a digital ritual by taking inspiration from the nature of clay, offering an abstract interpretation of the aesthetic and intellectual influence of different cultures on one another.

HÛŞ / DIALOG: An interactive, AI-assisted digital painting based on the theme of human-consciousness interaction.

The FIProduct team is one of the pioneering examples of creative technology initiatives under the TEKMER umbrella with its work on reinterpreting cultural heritage through contemporary technologies.

The Gender Equality Club will organize a panel titled “Breaking the Glass Ceiling: The Power of Girls and the Role of Law” in observance of UNESCO International Day of the Girl Child. Lawyer Dilan Şahin will be the guest speaker at the event which will be held on Monday, October 13, at 13.00 in the 1st floor multipurpose hall of the Ataköy building, Bakırköy Campus.

The Department of Digital Game Design will organize the “Dev-Meets: Newmind Interactive” event to give students an up-close look at the game industry. Batuhan Gözlüklü, Co-Founder of Newmind Interactive Game Studio, will be the guest speaker at the event which will take place on Monday, October 13, 2025, at 15.00 in the 2nd floor multipurpose hall of the Ataköy building, Bakırköy Campus.

The Dean of Students Office - Kültür Point will organize a “Turkish Sign Language Training” to promote healthy communication with hearing-impaired individuals, raise social awareness, and instill a sense of social responsibility in our students. The training, conducted by Ahmet Tombul, will be held online via CATS platform on October 13-14, 2025, from 17.00 to 20.00.

The Industrial Engineering Club will organize the “Department Introductions” event to support students in their career planning processes. The event, which will feature Mecnun Korutürk, Production Manager at Perfetti Van Melle, Barbaros Günay, Cloud Technology Architecture Lead at Microsoft, as the guest speakers, will take place on Tuesday, October 14, at 13.00 in the Önder Öztunalı Conference Hall of the Ataköy building, Bakırköy Campus.

The Interior Architecture and Design Club will host a “Welcome Party” at INNSide in the Ataköy building, Bakırköy Campus on Tuesday, October 14, between 13.00-17.00 to help newly enrolled students get to know each other and socialize.

The Digital Culture Club, in collaboration with the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, will organize a technical trip to the exhibition “Digital Experience Museum – Van Gogh: Chasing the Light” on Tuesday, October 14. The visit, held within the scope of the “IAD5045 - Lighting” course, aims to provide students with the opportunity to experience the effects of light in spatial design firsthand.

As part of the “IAD5051 - Measured Drawing” course, the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design will organize a technical trip to Yeldeğirmeni, Kadıköy on Wednesday, October 15. The trip aims to take façade measurements and conduct on-site sketching of historical buildings selected for measured drawing studies.

Organized by the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, the first session of the “IIBF Talks: Academic Seminar Series” will feature Res. Assist. Aras Yolusever from the Department of Economics. The event titled, “Evolutionary Game Theory and Dynamic Interactions” will be held on Wednesday, October 15, from 12.30 to 13.15 at the Küçükçekmece Campus Conference Hall.