Prof. Nazife Güngör: “We must focus on tomorrow from today”
University student candidates are now experiencing the excitement of preference after the result of YKS (Higher Education Institutions Exam) are announced. Experts remind the candidates to see the university environments they prefer by evaluating the preference promotion days of the universities very well in this process and to meet other students who study and graduate there. Emphasizing that it is important for candidates to try to understand their professions by asking questions that they can get to know themselves better, Prof. Nazife Güngör suggested that candidates should follow their hearts under the control of their minds...
University candidates now have a challenging marathon of choices ahead of them. Candidate students will make one of the hardest decisions of their lives about which department to study and which university to choose. This decision, which will be made by young people who have taken the university exam today, will affect their whole lives from now on. This decision is not just a decision to study at a university. They will also determine what kind of life they will build for themselves and their families in the future, what kind of business life they will have with their chosen profession. Üsküdar University Rector Prof. Nazife Güngör made important suggestions to support the preference processes of candidate students to place all these on the right preference ground.
"Let them try to understand their profession by asking questions that they can get to know themselves better"
Prof. Nazife Güngör advised the students who are just at the beginning of the preference marathon to question themselves very well and said that "Our university candidates should examine what they can do, what they can enjoy it, their interests, the subjects they will be interested in, the professions they love, the work and lifestyle they love. Let them think about what kind of future they are imagining. First of all, let them ask themselves questions about their abilities, potentials, interests, tastes, feelings of pleasure, work and profession by asking them questions that they can get to know themselves better. According to that, let them decide on a field. Secondly, let them analyze in which universities they study this field or department will be suitable for them. When deciding which university to study, they should definitely enter the web pages of the universities and examine the academic staff and the CVs of these academicians. They should definitely get information about the academic achievements of academics in the country and abroad."
"Question that the university you choose will carry you to which extent on the international level"
Pointing out that another point in university preference is the connection with international platforms, Güngör said that "The overseas opportunities of the university that students will choose are very important. We now live in a globalizing world. None of us are within the borders of a particular country. Therefore, they should review the strategies of universities in terms of opening up to the world, benefiting from all the opportunities of the global world, doing business in the global world and setting a global vision. In the new world order, the opportunity for universities to act at the international level is a distinguishing factor.".
"Understand the Erasmus and internship opportunities offered well"
Talking about the Erasmus and overseas internship opportunities offered by the university while future university students making their choices, Güngör said that "It is important that the institutions and organizations that are the science and application partners of your university are present in your preferences because internship and job opportunities in the same group and sister organizations for practice and application make a difference in the education of students. On the other hand, it is also very important to have some important cooperation abroad and exchange programs in different countries. Even after completing the undergraduate education, master's and doctoral education is a detail that seems distant at the moment but should not be forgotten.".
"Do not forget to ask about the social opportunities that will make you happy besides the production of science"
Pointing out that students spend 2 to 6 years on university education and that the best years of youth are spent at the university, Prof. Güngör stated and also emphasized the importance of social life at the university. that "The location of the university where the students will study, the preference scholarships offered and the social opportunities are also determining factors. We want these years to be both productive and enjoyable. We are trying to provide an efficient education and training in a good scientific environment and a beautiful social environment. We produce science, we do education, but we are also social beings. Therefore, our social life should be enjoyable. For this reason, the diversity of student clubs is important for the meaningful life of the university. Students prepare for real life by carrying out various activities and social responsibility projects in these clubs. For example, Türkiye unfortunately experienced an earthquake disaster this year. Around 25 students from our university went to the earthquake zone with their professors and tried to give support to the people there for a week by providing them with clothing and food. It may have been a bad experience, but being with our citizens who were victims of the earthquake was also very meaningful for our students.".
"We aim for young people who want to prepare their future with an idealistic perspective"
Rector Prof. Nazife Güngör, who also drew attention to Üsküdar University's student education perspective, said that "The primary mission of a university should be to raise people with highly developed professional and humanoid qualities for the world of the future. The primary task of academics and universities is to take responsibility for better humanity. For this reason, we aim at young people who make rational decisions by thinking about themselves and their future, that is, who do not only want to have a university degree or whatever, but who want to get a really important diploma, educate themselves and prepare for their future with an idealistic perspective.".
"We should focus on tomorrow from today"
Underlining that students should make their choices by making sure that they will receive a very qualified education in a pleasant socio-cultural environment and that they will be prepared for the world of the future, Güngör said that "We are talking about being ready not only for today but also for the world of the future. As in every field, we should focus on the future of education from today. We attach great importance to the emphasis on the future. When we say the world of the future, we think of technological developments, new openings in science, genetics, artificial intelligence and digital based on science. Let them search for universities that have completed their preliminary actions for the branches of science of the future. Since the future will be built on the shoulders of young people, then young people need to walk confidently into the future. Change can only happen with quality brains. At this point, they should definitely have information about the R&D and research application centers of the universities they will prefer because the fact that our students are entrepreneurs and project makers, that they look at discovery with sympathy and that their curiosity is supported brings new scientific discoveries. Therefore, let them take all this into consideration. Let them list the universities where they will spend time in their laboratories and libraries according to their interests and produce plenty of projects.".
“They should follow their heart under the control by their minds”
Üsküdar University Rector Prof. Nazife Güngör completed her remarks with these suggestions to the candidates as follows:
"Candidate students should question themselves very well. Let them be rational, listen to the voice of their hearts, follow their hearts. What is their excitement? What are their desires? What is their enthusiasm? What could possibly make them happy? What kind of work, what kind of department? Let them go where their hearts will take them, but they must be under the control of their minds. In other words, it is the mind that will guide them on the journey, and the heart that will excite them. So, let them have a field that they will love, that they will be excited about, but that there is also a field and a department that will prepare them strongly for the future.".
Prof. Nazife Güngör recommended the career test to those who are still undecided about their field and invited the candidates to the promotion and preference days of Üsküdar University between July 20 and August 8.
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)