On September 5, the governor of Antalya province, Munir Karaloglu, met with the rector of the Academy of Tourism in Antalya, Zafer Bikkenoglu, in the governorate of Antalya. The meeting participants discussed key activity directions and prospects for the development of the Academy of Tourism in the 2020–2021 academic year.
Educational tourism development
Zafer Bikkenoglu sees first priority in the development of educational tourism at the Academy in Antalya. The university has developed and successfully implemented unique educational projects for schoolchildren, students and teachers.
The rector noted that the activity of educational tourism is leading for the Academy. Since 2009, students from different countries received education at the academy. Today, most students are representatives of Russia, Turkey and the CIS countries, including students from Africa, Asia (particularly Pakistan, India, Iran). The university is conducting work aimed at expanding the geography of students and the teaching staff of the university.
The governor welcomed the Academy’s endeavours in this direction and noted that he was ready to support the initiatives of the rector Zafer Bikkenoglu.
Summer camp for children
During the conversation with the governor, the rector of the Academy mentioned successfully implemented project – the Olympus summer camp for children. Over the last few years from June to September, it has been collecting the multinational composition of students at the Academy’s modern campus site. The camp program is very intense: children participate in creative contests, play sports, learn the basics of tourism and go camping, learn English and Turkish, swim, get acquainted with the sights of the Antalya coast and make new friends.
The geography of the participants of this project is expanding every year, and in 2020 the Academy is getting ready to host a group of children from Germany.
Refresher training for teachers
Zafer Bikkenoglu introduced Governor Munir Karaloglu another direction in the field of educational tourism – refresher training courses for university and college teachers organized by the Academy of Tourism. This practice was introduced recently – in 2018, but has already proved itself well. During the courses, teachers acquire new theoretical and practical knowledge, share experience with colleagues from different countries and spend great time on the Mediterranean coast.
International Knowledge Olympiad in Antalya
Holding the 11th International Olympiad of Knowledge in Antalya, which has been taking place for 10 years during the school autumn holidays at the Academy of Tourism, was an important topic of the meeting. The uniqueness of this event is that schoolchildren and students from Russia, Turkey and the CIS countries have the opportunity to test their knowledge in 11 subjects at once, as well as make new friends and have fun on the Mediterranean coast.
The governor expressed confidence that this year the composition of the Olympiad will be expanded by Turkish schoolchildren, as in 2019 Turkey switched to a new training regime: two academic semesters replaced the quarters, and the holidays of Turkish schoolchildren now coincide with the Russian ones.
According to the rector of the Academy of Tourism, at least 800 people are expected to attend the event this year. The Governor of Antalya announced the initiative for the participation of the guests of the Olympiad in the march held on October 29 in Antalya and dedicated to the national holiday of Turkey – Republic Day.
Expanding the scope of cooperation
The governor offered Zafer Bikkenoglu the idea of cooperation between the Academy of Tourism and one of the leading universities in Antalya – Bilim University, since the latter has many years of experience in teaching students from different countries, and the faculty members of this university include tutors from 19 countries.
During the meeting, the governor of Antalya telephoned the rector of the University of Bilim, Professor Ismail Yuksek and outlined a proposal for cooperation between universities. In future, the leaders of the Academy of Tourism and Bilim University will hold a business meeting where they will be able to discuss international projects in detail.
At the end of the meeting, Rector Zafer Bikkenoglu thanked the Governor of Antalya for his interest in the educational projects of the Academy of Tourism in Antalya and the support provided in their implementation.
