This article was created based on a report from Abdulkadir Guvel, Chapter Chair of Dokuz Eylul University Student Branch Chapter

The students of Dokuz Eylul University’s student branch chapter in Izmir, Turkey have all gathered in a darkened classroom with the country’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, watching over them from a picture on the wall. Projected beside him is a program that will unleash the students’ creativity and prepare them for the future.

The students, all of whom are studying software development, have come for a series of lessons on Photoshop as a part of the student branch chapter’s “Course Weeks.” The Photoshop class teaches the students to make posters and business cards, and seeks to make technology engaging and fun.

Earlier Course Weeks focused on Game Maker, Web Design, Java, and Android with Kotlin. The trainers, who come from among the students, introduce their peers to the bi-weekly topics and give them a firm foundation in the week’s skill.

Tailored Classes

The trainers attempt to tailor their courses to the needs and the knowledge level of the participants. For instance, the course on web design included a number of students from outside the computer engineering department, so the trainers began with HTML and CSS, with a brief introduction to Firebase. The participants then made changes to a ready-made site template to give them more knowledge about what code was working in the background of websites. By the end of the class, the participants were able to design their own simple website based on the skills they had learned.

The participants’ skill level varies from beginner to advanced. Abdulkadir Guvel, chapter chair and one of the trainers, noted, “We haven’t received any criticism about the training—other than a desire for them to last longer and cover more advanced material.”

In an effort to support the more advanced students, who want to dig deep into the topics as they prepare for their futures in the field, the chapter offered a class on Java. The course allowed students to increase their skills in coding and algorithm development. They worked on data structures, loops, arrays, methods and OOP topics. Abdulkadir pointed out that, even though the training lasted only three days (one day each week for three weeks), the number of people showing up for the class grew each time.

The Future of Course Weeks

Since the Course Weeks have been such a hit at the university, the chapter is working on new programs. In the coming weeks, the group will move into learning about cyber security, first through general presentations, and then by some simple application development. So if you are a student at Dokuz Eylul University, look for advertisements about the program. You can also contact Adbulkadir at abdulkadir.guvel@ieee.org.

And if you are a chapter looking to recreate this project, Dokuz Eylul University Student Branch Chapter can help you begin by providing their experience and advice. For advice, contact Abdulkadir.

The Dokuz Eylul University Student Branch Chapter was formed in March 2017 and has been rapidly developing into a very active chapter.