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September 29, 2026 - GTU Office of Press and Public Relations — GTU inspired young people with its strong academic staff, student societies, and interdisciplinary workshops as a project partner at the science festival held in Çayırova.
The “Science in My Roots” Science Festival, organized by the Çayırova District Directorate of National Education under the TÜBİTAK 4007 Science Festivals Support Program and implemented with Gebze Technical University (GTU), Çayırova District Governorate, and Çayırova Municipality as project partners, began with an opening ceremony held at the Prof. Dr. Necmettin Erbakan Cultural Center.
Held from September 17 to 19 under the motto “From Seed to Oak, Toward the Future With Science,” the festival’s opening ceremony was attended by Çayırova District Governor Ahmet Önal, Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Hasan Soba, Çayırova Mayor Bünyamin Çiftçi, GTU Vice-Rector Prof. Mahmut Durmuş, Gebze Chamber of Commerce President Abdurrahman Arslantaş, heads of public institutions, representatives of political parties, school administrators, academics, teachers, and numerous students.
The first day of the festival, led by Oğuzhan Uzun, PhD, with GTU Assoc. Prof. Fatma Karaoğlu-Ceyhan serving as the project expert, began with a science show conducted by the Kocaeli Science Center. Following the show, senior officials and participants visited the workshops set up in the event area and received information about the scientific studies and activities being carried out. Over the course of three days, participants took part in 24 different workshops, science shows, competitions, games, talks, and theater activities.
"Our Roots Reach Into the Past, Our Branches Into the Future" Delivering the opening speech of the event, GTU Vice-Rector Prof. Mahmut Durmuş emphasized the importance of the festival and highlighted the university’s “social impact” mission. Drawing attention to the vision of the Century of Türkiye, Prof. Durmuş stated:
"We are representatives of a powerful heritage whose roots have shaped our civilization and guided science. However, roots are not meant to remain only in the past; they are meant to extend their branches toward the future and high technology. The educational approach we are building in line with the vision of the Century of Türkiye aims to raise generations that combine the inspiration they draw from their roots with today’s artificial intelligence, robotic coding, and fundamental sciences."
Stating that Gebze Technical University is not an institution confined within laboratory walls, Prof. Durmuş said, "As one of Türkiye’s leading research universities, our university considers disseminating knowledge throughout society one of its fundamental responsibilities, with its advanced technology laboratories, strong academic staff, R&D infrastructure, and technopark ecosystem. We know very well that the sense of curiosity instilled at an early age will turn into groundbreaking projects tomorrow. The 24 workshops, science shows, and talks held here today will each be a seed that opens new horizons in the minds of the children of Çayırova." He also stated that collaborations with local administrations would continue with determination.
Strong Academic Staff and Interdisciplinary Workshops At the festival, GTU took part on the ground not only through representation at the administrative level but also with a broad team of researchers. Assoc. Prof. Fatma Karaoğlu-Ceyhan served as the project expert, while the workshops were led by Assoc. Prof. Gülden Gün-Polat from the Department of Mathematics, Prof. Yelda Özden-Çiftçi from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Ayşen Orhan-Erkovan, PhD, from the Department of Chemistry, and Research Assistant Başak Karakaş from the Institute of Artificial Intelligence. Aişe Ünlü, PhD, from the Department of Chemistry also contributed to the project as a speaker through her talk.
Throughout the festival, GTU academics and students provided hands-on workshop support in 10 different fields, including mathematics, chemistry, biology, music, art, geometry, theater, space and aviation, physics, and electronics, introducing children to the fun and productive aspects of science.
Outstanding Solidarity From More Than 30 Student Volunteers and Societies Throughout the event, more than 30 GTU students from almost every department actively served as guides and volunteers, supporting the implementation of the workshops.
In addition, the Music and Arts Society, Robotics and Automation Society, Aerospace Society, Fine Arts Society, Theater Society, and Chemistry Society, all operating within the university, added dynamism to the festival through their stands and activities.
The event, implemented with Çayırova District Governorate, Çayırova Municipality, Çayırova District Directorate of National Education, and TÜBİTAK as partners, aimed to convey GTU’s scientific expertise and social impact vision to younger generations. |
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