250th Anniversary Graduation Enthusiasm at ITU

ITU’s undergraduate and postgraduate graduates of the 2022-2023 academic year, in which ITU is celebrating its 250th anniversary, experienced the enthusiasm of the graduation ceremony held on the evening of June 23rd at Ayazağa Campus.

Istanbul Technical University (ITU) 250^th Anniversary undergraduate and postgraduate graduation ceremony was held on 23 June 2023 at ITU Ayazağa Campus. In the exuberant ceremony held at the ITU Stadium, a total of 3,195 students, of whom 2,524 were undergraduate students and 671 were postgraduate students, successfully graduated and received their diplomas. Undergraduate and postgraduate students who graduated from ITU in the 2022-2023 academic year shared their happiness with their families, friends, loved ones and professors who attended the ceremony.

Emphasis on “Women Engineers” on June 23

Our Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu started his speech addressed at the graduates and their families by reminding that June 23^rd is the International Women in Engineering Day. Our Rector emphasized the historical role of ITU, particularly in relation to this day, with the words “In the history of the Republic, our first women engineers such as Altan Edige and Sabiha Gürayman graduated from ITU and started to serve the country. ITU’s leadership in this field continues today. Almost half of our academics are women.”

ITU’s proud rise in the world

Prof. Dr. Koyuncu referred to the successful ranking results ITU has achieved recently and pointed out that ITU ranked first in Türkiye and 108^th in the world in the field of engineering and technology. He also pointed out that it ranked 58^th in the world in the general ranking of UN Sustainable Development Goals and in the top 10 in “quality education” and “decent work and economic growth”. Prof. Dr. Koyuncu also gave the good news that there will be new success news that will make ITU members proud in the coming days.

Our Rector also told the graduates at the ceremony about the inspiring story of Prof. Dr. İhsan Ketin, an ITU scientist who left an unforgettable mark on the history of Türkiye and the world in the field of geosciences. Prof. Dr. Koyuncu also touched upon the special significance of the 2023 graduates being the graduates of the 250^th Anniversary.

Graduation enthusiasm extended to brotherly Azerbaijan

The graduation ceremonies of Baku State University and Azerbaijan Technical University, which are among the top universities in Azerbaijan, coinciding with the same date and time, were projected on the giant screen set up on the stage at the ITU Stadium with a joint live connection.

The joy of the graduating students in Azerbaijan united with the enthusiasm of ITU students and grew even more. Baku State University Rector Prof. Dr. Elçin Babayev and Azerbaijan Technical University Rector Prof. Dr. Vilayet Valiyev each made a speech. Prof. Dr. Babayev said, “Dear brothers and sisters, we sincerely congratulate you with our 6,000 graduates here. Together we will further strengthen the Turkic world,” while Prof. Dr. Valiyev said, “Our young people will show great courage in Azerbaijan and Türkiye walking on the same path in the future as they do today.”

Medals for ITU’s top students

Presidency Communications Director Fahrettin Altun attended the ceremony due to his son’s graduation. Miraç Şamil Yiğit (Electronics Engineering Program), who graduated with an average of 4.00, made valedictory speech on behalf of the ITU 250^th Anniversary Postgraduate Graduates, and Arda Barış Gözcü (Economics), who graduated with an average of 3.99, made valedictory speech on behalf of undergraduate graduates. ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Koyuncu presented medals to the top students.

Caps in the air after the oath

Students who experienced the pride of graduation and faculty members, who had contributed a great deal to bring them to this day, were invited to the stage for taking photos. Each faculty went on the stage separately and took a souvenir photo. The ceremony ended with the oath taken by the students with our Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Şule Itır Satoğlu and cap throwing.

Click to access ITU 250^th Anniversary undergraduate and postgraduate graduation ceremony album.

Click to watch the ceremony.