The III. International 21st Century Education Research Congress has started at MAKÜ

The III. International 21st Century Education Research Congress, organized in collaboration with Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ) and Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, began with a magnificent opening ceremony. The opening of the congress was united with art through a musical performance by the ‘Çilden Çello Topluluğu’.

Lasting three days and featuring 9 conferences, 1 panel, 1 interview, 3 workshops, and a concert, the opening speech of the congress was delivered by MAKÜ Faculty of Education Dean Prof. Dr. Firdevs Savi Çakar. She stated that this year's congress theme is “Sustainability and Research-Oriented Teacher Education,” emphasizing the importance of addressing sustainability in education with its environmental, economic, and social dimensions. Prof. Dr. Çakar highlighted the critical nature of equipping teachers with interdisciplinary skills and developing a research-based teacher education approach for the future of education systems.

Academic richness and cultural activities together

The congress, which will last three days, includes 9 conferences, 1 panel, 1 interview, 3 workshops, and a concert. Approximately 450 participants will present 155 scientific studies in face-to-face and online sessions throughout the congress. At the end of the first day, the program will be enlivened with a music concert at 21:00. The events spread over the weekend draw attention with their intense academic content.

Emphasis on 60 years of educational heritage

Prof. Dr. Çakar, in her speech, recalled that the MAKÜ Faculty of Education has a 60-year history with the foundation of the girls' teacher school established in 1965, stating, “We are proud to train graduates who lead the educational community while maintaining our mission of training qualified teachers.” She emphasized the societal leadership role of teaching by recalling the words of Head Teacher Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, “The saviors of nations are only and solely teachers.”

Support from Alanya

Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University Faculty of Education Dean Prof. Dr. Mustafa Uslu also spoke at the opening, expressing his satisfaction in being part of such a collaboration. Uslu stated that he believes the congress will make valuable contributions to scientific production.

Rector Dalgar: “We are no longer alone in classrooms”

MAKÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar, in his speech, emphasized the digital transformation in education, stating that AI-supported systems have now entered students' lives and that these technologies need to be meaningfully integrated into educational processes. “In the past, teachers were the very source of knowledge, but today students are faced with countless digital content. As educators, we must renew ourselves,” said Dalgar, drawing attention to the new classroom dynamics shaped by educational technologies.

Rector Dalgar also announced that MAKÜ ranked 35th in Turkey in the list of universities in Asia and stated that the Faculty of Education made a significant contribution to this success.

International scientists gathered at the congress

At the congress, Prof. Dr. Gelengül Haktanır from Ankara University, Prof. Dr. Halil Yurdagül from Hacettepe University, Prof. Dr. Şebnem Orhan from Gazi University, and Prof. Dr. Ali Yıldırım from Sweden's University of Gothenburg participated in face-to-face sessions.

Online sessions were contributed by Assoc. Prof. Katriina Maaranen from Finland (University of Helsinki), Prof. Hilde Apdahl from Norway (Ostfold University College), Maria Aström from Sweden (University of Gothenburg), Assoc. Prof. Alexander Cuenca from the USA (Indiana University, Bloomington), Prof. Dr. Handan Deveci and Prof. Dr. Aras Bozkurt from Anadolu University, and Assoc. Prof. Serkan Denizli from Ege University.