Submitted by ccig on
Submitted by ccig on
Annual Lake Eymir Tree Planting Festival, which led to the creation of the ODTÜ forest, took place on Sunday, 3 November 2013 with a record number of 14,000 participants. Residents of Ankara joined our students, graduates and staff for the event. Alumni Clubs from Ankara, Bursa, Istanbul, Kayseri, Eskişehir and Ege also joined us at Lake Eymir.
Submitted by ccig on
"This problem that interests engineers will at the same time lead the development of new treatment methods for heart surgeons."
Assist. Prof. Dr. Serdar Göktepe
Submitted by ccig on
Submitted by ccig on
Alongside its adherence to the universal values, Middle East Technical University has always responded with the utmost sensitivity to the needs and interests of the society and the country, and has used its academic resources and facilities for this purpose. Over the past twenty years, METU has been responsibly exhibiting a hearty and earnest approach towards the controversial Anatolian Boulevard project, and by taking into account the needs of the citizens of Ankara, has been entirely consistent in overseeing the public interest. The METU Protective Development Plan, prepared by METU and submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning for approval, was also an outcome of the aforementioned approach. However, METU has recently been exposed to an unlawful intervention in a rather offensive way while waiting, in full respect for institutions and individuals, for the conflict to be legally resolved.
Destroying a portion of the fences around the university in a night-raid, the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality road construction teams and machinery broke into the METU Campus on Friday, October 18th, the last day of the Feast of Sacrifice, at around 21.15 pm. Without any consultation, the highway project was launched as a fait accompli, before the expiration of the period for filing an appeal against the approved plan, and more than 3,000 trees on the university land were removed in the same night. This cannot be a well-intentioned act; more accurately, this is an instance of unlawfulness. By this offensive act disregarding the rights of METU as well as the regulations by law, the aforementioned METU Protective Development Plan has been put at risk and, the credibility of the relevant institutions has been damaged. We have lost trust and confidence in those institutions that displayed such an unacceptable attitude, and cannot any more expect that they will act lawfully and in sincerity in future relations.
We condemn the illegal night-time raid launched by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality on our campus. Against this injustice and unlawfulness, the METU Senate has decided to bring the matter to court of justice without delay and pursue the matter to the full extent.
With its long tradition of sense of responsibility towards the public, METU will follow the legal path of pursuing and protecting its rights in this issue. Along with the justice-seeking process, Middle East Technical University, with its students, staff and alumni, as well as with all nature lovers, will initiate a massive tree-planting campaign to restore the METU forest, the lungs of Ankara, by planting tens of trees for each tree wiped out from the METU land.
23.10.2013
Submitted by ccig on
12th METU International Republic Cup, the biggest and most prestigious dance tournament of Turkey, which is organizated by our university's Dance Sport Club, will be held on October 26, 2013 at METU Sports Hall.
The event, which acts under the auspices of World Dance Sport Federation since 2009, will draw more than 200 athletes of different age groups representing 20 different nations. The competitions will be judged by 9 internationally licenced adjudicators.
The initial rounds between 9 am-5 pm will be followed by a spectacular evening program which will start at 7 pm. During the gala program, the audience will have chance to watch 16 couples who are listed among the top 100 dance athletes of the world. HOYTUR, the folkloric dance group of the municipality of Cankaya, will also perform a impressive show. The evening program will be webcasted live via ODTU.TV.
The tickets for the event can be obtained from the ticket desk at METU Carsi or ticket office at METU Cultural and Convention Center. There will also be a ticket desk at the METU Sports Center on the competition day.
We welcome all our students, personnel and alumni to METU Sports Center on Saturday, October 26, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of foundation of Turkish Republic together with many guests from all over the world.
For detailed information about the event, please visit www.metuopen.com.
Submitted by ccig on
This statement is considered necessary in response to the popular concern of staff, press and the general public about the violation of our campus by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality on the night of the 18th October 2013.
On the 2nd October 2013, ODTÜ was notified by fax that the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning had approved the Plan of Conservation and Development. However, the Plan which was not attached to the fax was only received on Friday, 11th October 2013. The Plan proposed by ODTÜ had apparently been changed in several ways by the authorities, contrary to the statements released earlier to the press. Under the regulations, ODTÜ had until the 4th November 2013 to file any objections.
On the same day the university received the Plan (11th October), we contacted the Ministry, Municipality and state authorities to notify them of our intention to object to the Plan, and asked them not to initiate action during the legal appeals period. Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) Acting Director of Technical Services and the Director of Development and Urban Planning both verbally assured us that they would not start action without contacting the university. The same day, we also notified the ABB in writing that we would not want any action before the end of the legal appeals process.
Despite these assurances, an unexpected night operation was initiated by the ABB on Friday, 18th October 2013 without waiting for the end of the appeals process. At 21:15, ABB heavy construction machinery, construction teams and personnel entered the campus without consent and began tearing down our hedges in the 100. Yıl Öğretmenler Bulvarı area. The university security personnel warned them not to violate the campus and attempted to stop them. However, they failed in their efforts against the trucks, heavy machinery and municipality personnel.
The local 10 Nisan Police Station was notified several times by phone regarding the violation of the campus and the unlawful removal of trees that are ODTÜ property. A written appeal was also made. However, the Police did not take action or accept the written appeal. The unlawful procedure was simultaneously communicated to the Municipality Construction Team Chief, who likewise refused to accept a written notification.
Written appeals were also made to the Ankara governor's office, the Provincial Police Directorate and the ABB for the action to be stopped. The governor was personally contacted by phone to notify him of the violation and ask him to bring it to an end. However, the Municipality teams remained on campus until 06.30 a.m.
On the morning of the 19th October, we saw that all of the 3,000 trees on the route inside our campus had been destroyed. Of these, 600 pines were to be transplanted. We were not informed about how these were removed, but it is clearly not possible to transplant 600 trees overnight.
ODTÜ has contributed with good will towards a legal solution of the road construction issue. In response, our campus was raided at night without waiting for the end of the legal process regarding the Plan of Conservation and Development; construction was started illegitimately; and the trees which are university property were destroyed.
We will take all legal action necessary against this violation. Our university strongly condemns this attitude that in no way complies with well-intentioned and responsible public administration.
19.10.2013
Submitted by ccig on
We invite you to the ODTÜ Graduate Programs Information Days on October 31st and November 1st , 2013.
For two days, you will have the chance to be informed of our graduate programs and get to know the alternative paths within which you can specialize during your career. We look forward to meeting you at the ODTÜ Graduate Programs Information Days where you will be greeted by more than 40 master and PhD programs and become acquainted with new opportunities regarding the professional and academic life.
Details:
Date: October 31st – November 1st , 2013
Place: Culture and Convention Centre
Time: 15.00-20.00
All our students are invited to the event.
Participators:
Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences
Graduate School of Social Sciences
Graduate School of Applied Mathematics
Graduate School of Marine Sciences
Graduate School of Informatics
METU Northern Cyprus Campus
Submitted by ccig on
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) of the UK published their 2013 ranking of “World's Top 800 Universities” at http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2013. This year's ranking saw ODTÜ rise to the 431-440 band, up from the 451-500 band of last year.
In the QS 2013 list, Bilkent University is ranked in the 431-440 band, Boğaziçi University in the 461-470 band, Koç and Sabancı Universities in the 501-550 band, İTÜ in the 551-600 band, Hacettepe University in the 601-650 band, İstanbul University in the 651-700 band, and Çukurova University in the 701-800 band.
Rankings by Faculty Areas
ODTÜ is ranked higher than any other Turkish university in all the areas of education and research we are involved in.
QS published separate 2013 university rankings in 5 different faculty areas as well. Listing world's top 400 universities, the ranking is based on survey data on the following set of indicators obtained from world renowned academics and employers: “academic reputation and employer reputation”, “citations per paper”, “number of staff members per student” and “international student-academic staff ratio”.
The 5 faculty areas listed by QS and the ranking of Turkish universities are as follows (http://www.topuniversities.com/faculty-rankings):
Engineering and Technology – The only Turkish university listed among the top 200 universities in all faculty areas, ODTÜ ranked 177 in the area of Engineering and Technology. The ranking of other Turkish universities in this area is as follows: İTÜ-209; Boğaziçi University-291; Bilkent University-301.
Arts and Humanities – Ranking 295, ODTÜ is the only Turkish university in the top 400.
Natural Sciences – Being the best placed Turkish university, ODTÜ ranked 251 in this faculty area, followed by İTÜ (298).
Social Sciences and Management – ODTÜ ranked 294, best place among Turkish universities, followed by Bilkent (297) and Boğaziçi Universities (344).
Life Sciences and Medicine – As ODTÜ does not have a medical school, we were not ranked in this faculty area. The Turkish universities listed in this area were İstanbul (328) and Hacettepe (377) Universities.
I would like to congratulate our academic and administrative staff, graduates, and students, and extend my heartfelt thanks to everybody who contributed to our success.
Prof. Ahmet Acar
Submitted by ccig on
November 3, 2013, EYMİR LAKE
Activity Program
11:00 : Tree Planting
12:00-13:00 : Snack offer and access to festival area
13:15 : Cumhuriyet Run
14:00 : Rowing Race (ODTÜ Rowing Team)
15:00 : Award Ceremony
Whole day shows from student clubs
Private cars will be parked at Eymir Lake entrance gates between 07.00-19.00 hours during the day of the event. Access to festival area from the gates will be provided by bus services.
Access to festival area will be provided by bus services at 10:00 from ODTÜKENT, Rectorate Building and Dormitory areas on campus and from Tunus and Sıhhiye stops at the city center. Access to these areas will be provided again by bus services at 16:00 at the end of the day.
Any changes on the program will be announced.
