The ‘Google Developer Groups on Campus’ Club, operating under the Directorate of Health, Culture and Sports (SKS) of Üsküdar Üniversitesi, organized an “Artificial Intelligence Workshop and Summit” within the scope of the Ministry of Youth and Sports UNIDES program. Various sessions and practical workshops were held during the three-day program. Academicians, industry representatives, and students met on the same stage at the summit.
The summit, held at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Central Campus Nermin Tarhan Conference Hall, was attended by academicians, industry representatives, club members, and numerous students, including Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Türker Tekin Ergüzel, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Prof. Dr. Osman Çerezci, and Club Advisor, Dr. Öğr. Üyesi (Lecturer) Kristin Surpuhi Benli from the Software Engineering (English) Department.
End-to-end artificial intelligence education…
In the workshops held on the first day of the event, participants experienced an end-to-end learning journey, starting from the fundamentals of artificial intelligence to data analysis, modeling, and model evaluation processes. Theoretical knowledge was put into practice through hands-on activities throughout the day.
Prof. Dr. Osman Çerezci: “We developed a system that can predict electromagnetic radiation levels with high accuracy”
Speaking at the summit, Prof. Dr. Osman Çerezci, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, drew attention to the aspects of artificial intelligence that provide social benefit and shared an example from his academic work.
Çerezci spoke about a study on predicting electromagnetic pollution using machine learning; “We developed a system that can estimate the electromagnetic radiation level a citizen is exposed to with high accuracy, without making measurements, using only environmental parameters. We want to gradually expand this system. Measuring electromagnetic radiation levels is a very important factor.” he said.
Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Kristin Surpuhi Benli: “Those who do not know how to use artificial intelligence will face serious difficulties”
Speaking at the summit, Club Advisor Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Kristin Surpuhi Benli drew attention to the rapid transformation artificial intelligence has undergone in the last year. Benli said; “Artificial intelligence is no longer just a decision support mechanism; it has become a structure directly involved in decision-making processes. Individuals and institutions that do not know how to use artificial intelligence will face serious difficulties in the future.”
Benli also emphasized that the summit was not just a listening event but an opportunity to question, think, and establish connections.
Ebrar Emine Demircioğlu: “Learning by just listening is not enough”
Ebrar Emine Demircioğlu, President of the Google Developer Groups on Campus Üsküdar Üniversitesi Club, spoke at the program and addressed the main purpose of the event. Demircioğlu said; “We believe that learning artificial intelligence by just listening is not enough. True learning happens by applying, making mistakes, and staying active in the process. For this reason, we designed a program where participants would directly produce.”
Demircioğlu stated that throughout the three days, code was written, data was worked with, and ideas developed in teams were transformed into concrete machine learning projects. She also noted that this process could be an important step in the students' career journeys.
Many topics were covered
During the three-day Artificial Intelligence Workshop and Summit, many topics were covered, such as artificial intelligence agents, data engineering, artificial intelligence applications in the defense industry, and human-machine interaction.
The event concluded by enabling participants to acquire both technical knowledge and establish academic and sectoral connections.
Reporter: Beyzanur Tanrıverdi