Vocational School of Justice
EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN ESBAŞ and IZMIR UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS
A collaboration protocol on graduate education has been signed between Izmir University of Economics (IUE) and Aegean Free Zone Development & Operating Co. (ESBAŞ). The protocol, signed by IUE Rector Prof. Dr. Can Şımga Muğan, and Dr. Faruk Güler, Chairman of Executive Board of ESBAŞ, will allow employees of companies located within Aegean Free Zone to attend graduate programs carried out by IUE Graduate Schools at ESBAŞ Technology Center Training Hall.
In her speech at the protocol ceremony where Prof. Dr. Hasan Fehmi Baklacı, Director of IUE Graduate School of Business and Dean of IUE Faculty of Business, also attended, Rector, Prof. Dr. Can Muğan stated that they offered a new opportunity with graduate programs with/without thesis to those who wanted to give a new direction to their careers. Prof. Dr. Muğan said, “Our graduate programs are developed based on the needs of the era and the business world. We are offering a high quality education for those who want to achieve their high goals. This protocol with ESBAŞ emphasizes the importance of academic education in university-industry collaboration. The medium of instruction at the University is English in principle; however, some of the programs offer Turkish options. Training will take place at ESBAŞ so that those who cannot make it to campus due to time and location problems can also benefit. We allow youth and professionals to focus on the area they want to specialize. One area of specialization in today’s work life is not enough anymore; we have to welcome change and innovations into our lives”.
‘Knowledge from its source’
Chairman Dr. Faruk Güler pointed that Izmir University of Economics was one of the universities not only in Izmir but also across Turkey to provide high quality education. Güler said, “ESBAŞ believes that employees of companies located within Aegean Free Zone always have something to learn from the University. We all need this kind of education. Universities are ultimate source of knowledge. We often miss the agenda due to our busy schedules. We forget to get knowledge from its source. We carry out various projects with universities from time to time. This new project is an MBA project. IUE Lecturers will commute to Aegean Free Zone to teach the MBA program to the professionals in the region”.
‘Platform to bring university and industry together’
Dr. Güler, who pointed that they believe the program would be successful, and that the employees needed such an education, stated the following:
“There are young managers. These young managers need such programs. We are creating a platform to bring university and industry together. This era requires industrialists to share the knowledge of universities. The future may hold for different programs with Izmir University of Economics. This is only the beginning.”