Work Experience Meeting with Firms at AGU "Career Kitchen"

"Career Kitchen-Meeting with Firms", a Work Experience (Internship) Fair, was organized by the Abdullah Gül University (AGU) The Dean of Students Office. At the fair, students got the chance of meeting with managers of the leading firms in the business world.

20 firms in total, among which were Rönesans Holding, TAV Construction, Nokia, Kuantag, Kolaysoft, KOSGEB, Labris, Yataş, Argos Yapı, Türk Telekom, Kayserigaz, joined the "Career Kitchen-Meeting with Firms" event on the Sümer Campus.

At the fair firms set up their stands, informed students about work experience and opportunities and received their applications.

Panels were held within the scope of the fair and students were informed on topics such as the place of internship in career planning, techniques for writing better CVs and what to pay attention in business life.

At the one-day fair, two panels entitled "Place of Internship in Career Planing" and "While Stepping Into Business Life" were held.

Zeynep Tuğçe Çiftçibaşı Güç, AGU Youth Factory Coordinator, moderated the "Place of Internship in Career Planing" panel.

Rector Prof. Sabuncuoğlu spoke at the opening of the panel and reminded that they organized this event so that students could learn about business life at university and get support from firms for work experience and finding jobs after graduation.

Stressing that universities and firms need to meet more often, Prof. Sabuncuoğlu said: "One of the basic problems that firms face today is keeping qualified and eligible people. Universities and firms should meet more often so that universities can plan their education programs, curricula and extra-curricular activities along with cultural, artistic and other social events in accordance with the qualifications needed by firms, especially by defining competence-based features well.

Asst. Prof. Hande Gürel, Dean of Students, informed about the Non-Academic Transcript, exclusive to AGU, which includes basic competences developed by students during their university life.

Panelists also stressed many times during their speech that they look for individuals who have developed some basic competences and pointed out the importance of such a document.

Youth Faculty Coordinator Zeynep Tuğçe Çiftçibaşı Güç informed about the opportunities awaiting firms and AGU students in the process of work experience if Erasmus resources were evaluated well.

Panelists Mehmet Umut Gökbulut, Founder of Kolaysoft, Yılmaz Tohumoğlu, Assistant Regional Director of Türk Telekom, Hatice Berk, Human Resources Director at Kayseri Gaz, Aslı Özbay from Argos Yapı and Assoc. Dr. Çağrı Güngör, Founder of Akademi Ar-Ge, talked with students about professional life and their own experience.

Duing the interactive panel session, speakers answered students' questions and informed about career planing, how to choose the right firm for work experience, what to do to increase work experience efficiently.

Prof. Bülent Yılmaz, Head of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, moderated the "While Stepping Into Business Life" panel in which Dr. Onur Tokdemir, Project Management Director at Rönesans Holding, Ahmet Özbekler, KOSGEB Provincial Director, Assoc. Prof. Vedat Akgün, General Director at Kuantag Inc, Hüseyin Gören, Nokia R&D Manager, and Esin Algan, Labris HR Director were participants.

In this panel, speakers talked about how to write CVs, talk and behave in job interviews.

The Career and Work Experience Fair, the first of which was organized under the name of "Workplace Experience Info Day" last year and the second of which is "Career Kitchen-Meeting with Firms" this year, will continue with the participation of more firms every year.