At the sixth edition of the Future Communicators Competition organized this year by the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), Üsküdar Communication students won one first place and one second place award.
This year, 884 students from 76 universities applied with 790 projects to the sixth edition of the Future Communicators Competition organized by TRT. The award ceremony, broadcast live on TRT2 on the evening of November 20, announced the top three winners. Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication Public Relations Department students Zeynep Şahin, Nilay Soysev, and Rozerin Özbay won the first prize with their project named ‘Güneşten Haber Var’ (News from the Sun), prepared under the mentorship of Asst. Prof. Dr. Nihal Toros Ntapiapis, in the Website Branch of the Internet Publishing Category. Dilber Dural and Ece İnci from the Public Relations Department of Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication received the second prize with their project named ‘Uzmanlar Çevrim İçi Çocuk İstismarına Dikkat Çekiyor’ (Experts Draw Attention to Online Child Abuse), prepared under the mentorship of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gül Esra Atalay, in the Internet News Branch of the News Publishing Category.
Pınar Kandemir: “Youth is the most important contributing group for us”
The works competing in the Internet Website Branch of the Internet Publishing Category were evaluated by a jury consisting of Yusuf Özhan, Hakan Söğüt, Levent Erden, İsmail Halis, Hakkı Alkan, and Arda Kutsal. Pınar Kandemir, Head of TRT Education and Research Department, who took the stage to present awards to the students who placed in the Internet Website Branch at the ceremony, said: “I wish everyone a good evening. This is our sixth year in the competition. This competition is one of the events that contribute most to this sector. It is an event where we invite young people to the stage as our prospective colleagues, trying to integrate them into the sector today, without waiting for tomorrow, and to involve them in this field without discouraging them. In this sense, the vision of our General Manager İbrahim Eren is undoubtedly very important. Not only in this competition, but in many TRT events, I can say that young people are the most important contributing group for us. In this regard, we attach great importance to their visions, their perspectives on the sector, and the contributions they will make and have made to communication. We learn a lot from them. This year, we expanded the Future Communicators Competition, extending it throughout the week. Next year, much bigger surprises await our young friends. We will include not only communicators but also friends interested in communication from all other fields in this competition. We will organize a major week where communication is discussed. We are planning a wonderful event. This year, despite the Corona conditions, we still organized a very successful Communicators’ Week. The Internet Category is also very important for us. It is an area where TRT closely follows all trends and leads the way. We are witnessing an immense transformation, a digitalization. We are within this transformation and are its actors. In this regard, the contribution of young people, especially in this area, is very valuable to us. We eagerly await their contributions and vision. As I said, we learn a lot from them. I am also excitedly waiting for the results of the competition. I don’t know who came in first either; we will find out together here now.”
Üsküdar Communication wins first prize in the Internet Website Branch
In the Internet Website Branch, Zeynep Şahin, Nilay Soysev, and Rozerin Özbay from Üsküdar University won first place with their project “Güneşten Haber Var”; Yasin Muhammet Yavuz from Atatürk University won second place with his project “Doğrulayanlar”; and Murat Ahmet Dönmez and Muzaffer Kılcı from İstanbul Medipol University won third place with their project “Medrese”. Zeynep Şahin, a student from the Public Relations Department of Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication, who took the stage to receive the first place award on behalf of her team, said: “First of all, I wish everyone a good evening. I would like to thank my teammates and my family very much. I extend my sincere thanks to my advisor Nihal Toros, who never withheld her support and was always by our side. Endless thanks also to the TRT family for giving us this opportunity.”
Faruk Demirel: “Students are doing tremendous work”
At the award ceremony organized by TRT, another award for Üsküdar Communication was given in the Internet News Branch. The works competing in the Internet News Branch of the News Publishing Category were evaluated by a jury consisting of Bora Bayraktar, Ahmet Görmez, Ercan Gürses, Ersin Çelik, Mete Çubukçu, and İbrahim Altay. Faruk Demirel, Editor-in-Chief of Haber Global, who took the stage to present awards to the students who placed in the Internet News Branch at the ceremony, said: “Previously, as television broadcasters, we were rivals, competing with each other. Now we are also competing in internet journalism. Therefore, I congratulate all my friends who are dedicated to internet journalism and put effort into this field. They are doing tremendous work.”
Üsküdar Communication placed second in the Internet News Branch
In the Internet News Branch, Zafer Yılmaz from Hacettepe University won first place with his project “Dünyanın ‘Engin’ Hayranları, Türkiye’nin ‘Akyürek’li Elçileri” (The World’s ‘Engin’ Fans, Turkey’s ‘Akyürek’ Ambassadors); Dilber Dural and Ece İnci from Üsküdar University won second place with their project “Uzmanlar Çevrim İçi Çocuk İstismarına Dikkat Çekiyor” (Experts Draw Attention to Online Child Abuse); and Azize Zehra Yıldırım from Selçuk University won third place with her project “Meskenin Trafiği Yaşar’a Emanet” (Yaşar is Entrusted with the Traffic of the Residence). Dilber Dural, a student from the Public Relations Department of Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication, who took the stage to receive the second place award, said: “I wish everyone a good evening. I am very happy and very proud right now. First of all, I would like to thank my dear project partner Ece İnci, who unfortunately cannot be here due to the pandemic, my advisor professors Gül Esra Atalay and Selin Maden, and my beloved family who are always by my side, never withhold their support, and put up with me.”
33 Awards Given in 11 Categories
The Future Communicators Competition Award Ceremony concluded after the announcement of 33 awards in 11 categories.