He left medical school to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a pilot.

While studying at the medical faculty of a university in Izmir, fourth-year student Serkan Deniz transferred horizontally to the Pilotage Program at Eskişehir Technical University (ESTÜ) to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a pilot. He stated, “After finishing my first year in the medical faculty, I realized that it was not for me; I decided that I wanted to fly and become a pilot more.” Currently studying at ESTÜ, Serkan Deniz initially started his higher education at a medical faculty in a university in Izmir. After studying in the faculty for two years, Deniz realized that the field he was in did not appeal to him. The young student, who has dreamed of being a pilot since childhood, made his first step towards his true desired profession by transferring to the ESTÜ Pilotage Program. Learning all the intricacies of piloting at the only university in the world with an international airport, Serkan Deniz faced difficulties at first but quickly adapted to the program. As the young pilot candidate expands his knowledge every day with the quality education he receives at ESTÜ, the Dean of the Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences, Prof. Dr. Cem Çetek, expressed pride in the preference of good students for their institution.

“I always wanted to fly and experience the feeling of being free in the sky”
Fourth-year university student Serkan Deniz, who transferred to the Pilotage Department of Eskişehir Technical University (ESTÜ) while in the second year at the Izmir Dokuz Eylul University Medical Faculty, said, “I initially went to medical school by my family’s and my own choice. I wanted to be a doctor. But I always had a desire to be a pilot inside me. I always wanted to fly and experience the feeling of being free in the sky. After finishing my first year in medical school, I decided that it was not for me; I wanted to fly and become a pilot more. I talked to my family about this and transferred to ESTÜ. We have very qualified instructors for our ground classes in the pilotage program, so they provided us with excellent training on those subjects. However, there was also the fact that I faced some challenges because I came from medical school, which is a huge profession on its own. You need to have a lot of knowledge. Coming here from there, this is a program that requires a very different knowledge base and personality traits as a different sector, so I initially struggled a bit, but I quickly adapted afterward.”

“ESTÜ holds the title of the only university in the world with an international airport”
Continuing by stating that they are taught not only how to fly but also receive quality education at Eskişehir Technical University, Deniz said, “Our university does not just provide us with knowledge. It also teaches what a pilot should be like in terms of personality traits. They provide information on how a pilot should plan their life. In fact, we receive education here that is not only theoretical or flight-based but also life-based. Every day we have short briefings around 08:00 in the early morning. Accordingly, we need to plan ourselves for school around 07:00, have our meal around 06:30, and come to school in that way. The responsibility that our school gives us helps us a lot when we transition to airlines because there is the same system in airlines as well. You have a lot of responsibilities, and you need to plan to fulfill them. Your life is always happening within a plan. Being a pilot already requires this. I think I will step into my professional life advantageously because I am receiving this education at this school. ESTÜ holds the title of the only university in the world with an international airport. Just saying this already shows how rooted and quality education our university provides. It has been training pilots for about 35 years. It is already frequently mentioned in the aviation community. Our greatest fortune is that our university is a state university. Since it is a state university, education is free, and our instructors teach us how to become the best pilots in this school.”

“It is a pride for good students to choose ESTÜ”
Prof. Dr. Cem Çetek, Dean of the Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences at ESTÜ, expressed pride that good students who left the medical faculty chose them, stating, “Piloting is the visible part of the job. Unfortunately, we have 5 quotas. Therefore, we have departments that can offer our other successful students career opportunities and job satisfaction that are just as beautiful as piloting. Our students in programs such as air traffic control, aircraft, airframe and engine, aviation electrical-electronics, or aviation management have been employed very quickly and are currently in really good places. Aviation is already a developing sector in Turkey. I believe that we will provide all of our students with very good career opportunities. For this reason, I would like successful students not to limit their ideas only to piloting but to also consider other programs. Next week, we will have our special aptitude exams for air traffic control. I recommend that they examine those without missing them.