Education bridge from Izmir to the Netherlands

Izmir University of Economics (IEU) Faculty of Business, which is a member of the IBSEN summer school program that includes some of the world’s leading universities, provided an experience in the Netherlands for three of its students. Students Kerem Kavruk, Nihan Karaküçük, and Ali Erdoğan Olguner received training for two weeks at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in the city of The Hague, Netherlands. They learned the latest techniques in the business world, met numerous students and faculty from approximately 15 countries, and gained invaluable international experience. The students, who experienced the joy of meeting new cultures and making friends, also improved their foreign language skills to a higher level.

Third-year Business Administration student Nihan Karaküçük, who stated that it was her first time traveling abroad alone, expressed that she felt more confident and open-minded. Karaküçük said, “I believe that the education I received in the Netherlands will greatly contribute to my future professional life and also broaden my perspective. This two-week process, where we prepared presentations through group work every day, was truly challenging but a wonderful experience. Although I struggled a bit in the first days, after getting used to it, I thought, ‘I’m glad to be here.’”

Third-year Economics student Kerem Kavruk mentioned that the summer school particularly provided significant contributions in terms of intercultural interaction and gaining experiences in the international business world. He stated, “The content of the two-week program consisted of new techniques used in business life and the sector. All the instructors at the summer school were not academics working at the university. Some were experienced business people working in private companies. These individuals explained how they used new techniques in their business lives. They even taught us these techniques and supervised us. The summer school also enriched us culturally. There were Koreans, Czechs, and French people there. Thanks to the summer school, we exchanged cultures and benefited from the experiences of many experienced business people from different countries.”

Fourth-year Business Administration student Ali Erdoğan Olguner expressed that the program in the Netherlands contributed significantly to improving his foreign language skills, saying, “Thanks to the summer school, I further improved my English. We also got to know many different cultures. Listening to the experiences of speakers from various sectors with international experience was beneficial for us. Whenever we learned something new, there was immediately a practical application in the next class. We worked in groups and had the chance to put what we had learned into practice. We were given different regions to work on. We conducted interviews with the local populations of the neighborhoods we were assigned and tried to produce solutions to the region’s problems as part of the project. On the other hand, the city was beautiful. The school set aside a day for a trip and took us to explore Amsterdam. It was quite enjoyable for us.”

IEU Faculty of Business Dean Prof. Dr. Burcu Güneri Çangarlı emphasized that the faculty is a member of the IBSEN summer school network, which includes universities from many countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Canada, the USA, Finland, the Netherlands, France, and Italy, stating, “As a faculty, we attach great importance to international collaborations and work to develop the opportunities we offer our students. We do not settle for providing quality education; we also take steps to open our students to the international arena. We have great confidence in our students and believe they will succeed anywhere in the world. Being part of IBSEN is a great example of the steps we are taking internationally. Our students went to the Netherlands and had a very beneficial and successful two-week experience. I congratulate them.”