The first lecture of the year at TED Üsküdar from Prof. Deniz Ülke Kaynak…

Prof. Deniz Ülke Kaynak, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Üsküdar University, gave the '2026-2027 Academic Year First Lecture' at TED Üsküdar College. Kaynak, emphasizing the importance of a sense of belonging and the understanding of solidarity and justice gained through sports, also highlighted technological developments, stating that artificial intelligence, if not used correctly, could negatively impact human creative capacity. Emphasizing that young people should develop their own talents, Kaynak concluded his speech by drawing attention to the freedom to choose how we stand against life, inviting young people to add meaning to their lives.  

Prof. Deniz Ülke Kaynak, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Üsküdar University, who himself graduated from TED Ankara College in 1982, addressed young people at the start of the new academic year. 

“We live in a world of infinite connections”

In the program, which attracted strong interest from students as well as academics and administrators, Prof. Deniz Ülke Kaynak drew attention to the importance of a sense of belonging. Kaynak said; “What we call TED is an identity, a sense of belonging, and one of the most important things in today's world. Because we live in a world of infinite connections, but we don't have many bonds left behind. Connection and bond are very different things. A connection can be an instant relationship, a chat, or sharing an emotion with someone you don't know, but a bond is an identity where you feel you are part of a family and experience solidarity, making you more resilient against life's difficulties. That's why you will see that being a TED member will provide you with a very important advantage in the future. As your elders, we will try to pave your way. Because we know that you will leave this school with certain values, and as the bearers of that sense of belonging, you will own these values. You will dedicate yourselves to developing them and, as a result, you will expand our family. You are the new soldiers, our new generation, of our torch to be passed on to future generations.” he stated.

“Sports provided us with significant life experience”

Explaining how his journey began, Kaynak said; “TED College places great importance and value on sports. I was an athlete, I also played handball, but essentially I was a basketball player. All my teammates from my basketball years are still my friends today. People I am still with and in solidarity with. Sports provided us with significant life experience. When we lost, getting up and starting again the next day, respecting our opponent, and competing within ethical rules was the meaning of life for us. When we won, we learned not to demean our opponent and not to overstate victory. Because we knew that today's winner could be tomorrow's loser. When the referee was unfair or our opponent competed under disadvantaged conditions, we learned that coming first in such a competition would not make us happy. We relied on justice and solidarity. We believed that victory was something achieved without humiliating or saddening the other side. From my perspective, victory meant learning to share good days with others and ensuring that a success I achieved would not become a burden on me in later days.” he said.

“The identity of the Republic of Türkiye is an identity of victory”

Stating that living by dwelling on the past is unhealthy, Kaynak said; “When you look at the identity of the Republic of Türkiye as an identity of victory, you see this: We do not have an ideology built upon the loss of the Ottoman Empire. The Republic of Türkiye is not a state built on the mourning and trauma of the Ottoman Empire. On the contrary, we have a narrative of victory established with the Lausanne Treaty and the War of Independence, and our narrative begins with victory. Do you know the difference? When you experience trauma and enter a mourning process, you become past-oriented. When you lose a loved one, you remember the beautiful days you spent with them, talk about them, and mourn. But then you have to move on from there. The next day, you have to go to school, to work. If you cannot move on, an unhealthy situation called prolonged grief begins. Living only by dwelling on the past, without hopes, plans, and dreams for the future, can eventually turn unhealthy.” he said.

“We interpret the world through the values of the era in which we grew up”

Emphasizing the importance of understanding and interpreting the world correctly, Kaynak said; “Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is not just a legendary figure built on ideological grounds. He is a very intelligent statesman who understands the world and knows what is what. Today, if you don't know what's what in the world, you cannot understand the purpose of your education or comprehend the world you live in. Like a lion, you need to see where the ground is shifting. Your mothers and fathers may not always know what the world is like today. Forgive them in this sense, and forgive us too. Because we interpret the world through the values of the era in which we grew up. Your task is not to be angry with them, but to patiently explain how the world is changing. When you do this, they can help you more easily. Looking back from today, we see how correctly and strategically a movement made 100 years ago was carried out. Statements like 'The Turkish nation is noble, the Turkish nation is hardworking, one Turk is worth the world' are not bombastic. They are ideas put forth to enable a society that had been destroyed, traumatized, humiliated, and defined as the 'sick man' to mobilize again and regain its self-confidence.” he stated.

Our creative intelligence decreased by 11% with artificial intelligence! 

Addressing the transformative power of artificial intelligence, Kaynak said; “A joint study by MIT and Stanford shows that human creative intelligence has decreased by 11 percent since the advent of artificial intelligence in our lives. Don't underestimate this. If this emerging technological product is not used correctly, it can increasingly dull us and even make us unhealthy. Global defense spending is currently 3 trillion dollars. The cost of mental health problems to the world was 5 trillion dollars two years ago. This figure does not include diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and dementia. We are talking about mental problems such as anxiety disorders, unhappiness, depression, and attention issues. According to the same report by Brookings, this cost is expected to reach 16 trillion dollars by 2030. Then we have to talk about what's happening to us. We must understand what we are becoming and see that the information given to us can also contribute to the construction of something.” he stated.

“Develop your own talents well”

Offering important advice to young people, Kaynak said; “You are at an advantage. We don't yet fully know how this new civilization will take shape. Even though I follow things closely, many things still seem like Chinese to me. The experiences of those before you will not provide them the same advantage this time. You are the first builders of this new world. We could reach a point where an 18-year-old can become more valuable than a 60-year-old. Therefore, develop your own talents well. Don't surrender to artificial intelligence, learn to use it. Don't give up on your creative intelligence, and manage your time yourselves. Regulate it yourselves, don't let it take over you. Another important issue is information. Don't believe every piece of information. There is an incredibly contaminated information environment. Always filter information through your own mind and acquire multifaceted knowledge. Don't settle for ideological narratives coming from a single side. You say, 'We are in the footsteps of our Ancestor.' What a generation following Atatürk's footsteps should do is not to think of leaving their country when a difficulty arises. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk said, 'They shall go as they came,' and began his struggle when he was your age. He stayed in his country, worked and struggled for his country. Those who follow in his footsteps should also be willing to work and fight for their country in the face of difficulties they encounter.” he said.

“How we choose to stand against life is our choice”

Emphasizing the necessity of adding meaning to life, Kaynak said; “The meaning of life is an important thing. There was a man named Viktor Frankl. Frankl, a psychologist, lived in concentration camps and lost his wife, mother, and most of his family there. Viktor Frankl has a very nice quote about the meaning of life. I would like this to be your life motto. One day in Auschwitz, among people who had been starved for days, someone found a small piece of bread and shared it with those next to him. Despite being very weak himself, he did not keep the bread for himself but divided it equally. Frankl says he saw this there: We may not be able to choose everything that happens to us. All kinds of evil may come into our lives, but no one can take away our freedom to choose how we stand in the face of what happens to us. How we choose to stand against life is our choice. And this is the way to add meaning to life.” he concluded.

At the end of the program, Nevzat Kulaberoğlu, Founding General Manager of TED Üsküdar College, presented a plaque of appreciation and flowers to Prof. Deniz Ülke Kaynak.