Signing ceremony was held for the Samsung Innovation Campus training program!  

The signing ceremony for the "Samsung Innovation Campus" training program, implemented by Samsung together with the United Nations Development Program, Istanbul Technical University and the Informatics Foundation of Turkey, was held with the participation of Samsung Electronics Turkey President DaeHyun Kim, UNDP Turkey Resident Representative Claudio Tomasi, ITU Rector Mehmet Karaca and TBV Secretary General Çağdaş Ergin. Thanks to 240 hours of free training, students will benefit from the right to enter the competition with applied projects, career counseling support, all the necessary equipment for projects and mentor guidance.

Shaping the future today with its products and services, Samsung Electronics continues to work rapidly within the scope of its global corporate citizenship vision. In cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and the Informatics Foundation of Turkey (TBV), the "Samsung Innovation Campus" training program has officially started. Samsung Electronics Turkey President DaeHyun Kim, UNDP Turkey Resident Representative Claudio Tomasi, ITU Rector Mehmet Karaca and TBV Secretary General Çağdaş Ergin attended the signing ceremony held at ITU.

This training program at ITU aims to raise a generation equipped with future-oriented skills by providing young people with a practical understanding of the technologies that will shape their future. The training program, given within the scope of the mission of raising problem solvers equipped with the skills of the future worldwide, aims to contribute to enriching the world's inclusive and sustainable growth by raising new talents.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, DaeHyun Kim, President of Samsung Electronics Turkey, said: "As Samsung, we are pleased to continue our social responsibility activities in Turkey with another one. We are aware that quality education lies at the foundation of a successful future. This cooperation we have signed today is therefore of great importance for us. We aim to support young talents with this new training project, the content of which we have reshaped to focus entirely on software, coding, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. At the end of the 3-month trainings, our young people will have the opportunity to equip themselves with practical projects in the light of Samsung's comprehensive curriculum, UNDP's international development knowledge, the sectoral experience of the Informatics Foundation of Turkey and the vast knowledge of ITU education staff. Of course, everything is not just about lectures. Conversations will be held under the leadership of technology experts, and we will introduce students to the meaning of success with live examples. In these trainings, we will provide students with career counseling support as well as all the necessary equipment for them to make projects."

Speaking at the signing ceremony, UNDP Turkey Resident Representative Claudio Tomasi said: "In order to fully realize the social transformation potential of the digital economy, the young generations need to be empowered. This project will not only prepare young people to be the pioneers of the 4th Industrial Revolution, but will also enable them to become instruments of sustainable development by encouraging them to work towards the Global Goals."

ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Karaca also emphasized the importance of providing these trainings at ITU in line with its mission as an educational institution that enables innovation and supports entrepreneurship. Noting that the production and export of new generation technologies is key to Turkey's development, Rector Karaca made the following assessments: "With the trainings to be given under the leadership of ITU's expert education staff, our students will gain a new vision and have the opportunity to develop themselves in the field of information technologies with the support of all stakeholders in line with the new generation university approach.  I hope that the ideas that will shape Turkey's future mission, guide its innovation and enable it to become a world country that exports technology will emerge with these trainings."

Speaking at the signing ceremony, TBV Secretary General Çağdaş Ergin said: "Digital transformation, which will drastically change all institutions and processes, will create enormous opportunities for society as well as economies. As the Informatics Foundation of Turkey, we believe that it is important for Turkey to utilize this opportunity with a dedicated and serial planning to increase its welfare level. Informatics Foundation of Turkey believes that this project, which will be realized with Samsung, UNDP and ITU, will serve the goal of supporting the supply of qualified labor force by increasing digital skills, which is the first and undoubtedly the most important step for Turkey to make an economic leap."

Intensive application from students for the training program

While more than 4 thousand applications were made for participation in the training, students were evaluated on 5 basic criteria: having basic STEM knowledge, having programming knowledge, having programming experience, having an interest in a program and having a career goal. As a result of the evaluations made after thousands of applications, 25 students will receive trainings to be coordinated by ITU IT Department experts at the Ayazağa campus of Istanbul Technical University (ITU). 160 hours of the 240 hours of free trainings will be given as lectures and 80 hours as applications and projects. At the end of the 3-month trainings, students will have the right to enter the competition with applied projects, career counseling support, all the necessary equipment for the project and mentor guidance. Students will also receive a certificate. The first topic of the training program, which aims to equip young people between the ages of 18 and 25 with critical and technical skills, will be the Internet of Things. Students will also receive "Career Counseling Training". In this course, which will consist of 5 courses, trainings will be given on topics such as self-assessment, job search, as well as resume preparation and interview. The program will continue to recruit students with new applications in the future.