EELISA and ITU Shared the Grief over the Earthquake

European Engineering Learning Innovation and Science Alliance (EELISA), of which ITU is one of the founding members, mourns the losses of ITU students and the whole society affected by the earthquake disaster.

Istanbul Technical University (ITU) shares the grief over its losses while it continues the collaboration for those affected by the earthquake with EELISA partner universities. In memory of those affected by the earthquake and the casualties, EELISA members declared a one-day mourning on their campuses in various European countries on 27 February and observed a moment of silence.

EELISA partners declared their support for ITU to contribute to technical studies in order to mitigate the effects of the earthquake disaster that occurred in Kahramanmaraş on 6 February, to heal the wounds and to share their grief over those affected by the earthquake.

EELISA held a meeting with ITU about the earthquake

ITU Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu talked about the efforts of Istanbul Technical University from the first moment of the natural disaster in his online presentation to the EELISA Board of Directors on 22 February. All activities, from in-kind and cash aid organizations to blood donation campaigns and efforts to inform the public about the earthquake, were brought up at the meeting.

ITU's EELISA partners, European universities, discussed what can be done to meet the urgent needs of ITU students in distress and to support ITU. After the meeting, EELISA issued a statement expressing solidarity with the members of the ITU Family and the whole community affected by the earthquake. A call for support was made to heal the wounds of the earthquake and to rapidly repair the damaged infrastructure.

Declaration of mourning and silence from EELISA

As a reflection of EELISA's solidarity with ITU, university flags on campuses were flown at half-mast. All EELISA member campuses, schools and faculties declared mourning on 27 February. A minute's silence was held to commemorate those who lost their lives in the earthquake and to express their wishes for a rapid recovery of those wounded.

Joint work of BME, one of ITU's EELISA partners, in Hatay

Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) faculty members joined ITU’s research team and examined the buildings damaged in the earthquake in Hatay between 13-17 February. Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail Dabanlı and Res. Asst. Ceyhun Erman conducted a joint study with BME experts. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Attila László Joó, Assoc. Prof. Dr. István Krisztián Völgyi, Asst. Prof. Dr. Tamás Ther and PhD student Pál Ther from BME participated in the technical research study, which also aimed to create a safe environment for search and rescue operations.

ITU Faculty of Civil Engineering member Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail Dabanlı emphasized that the work they carried out with BME experts emphasized the significance of the EELISA partnership.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Joó from BME Faculty of Civil Engineering explained the cooperation during the research in Hatay within the scope of EELISA: “We are carrying out a joint support study with Istanbul Technical University. We aim to assess the damage to the buildings, provide expert opinion on the condition of the remaining infrastructural objects and participate in securing the site of the deeper excavation and rescue works and the immediate surroundings of the ruins.”