The “Project Final Sitting” and “Design Contest” of MOBİGEN (Project on Raising Youth Employment in the Furniture Sector) supported within the scope of the Programme to Promote Youth Employment in Investment Sectors with the financial aid of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, Department for European Union and Projects Coordination Instrument For Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) financed by the Republic of Turkey and European Union, applied by Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) have been conducted.
Vice Rector Prof. Mehmet Kuran, Assistant to Rector Prof. Hüsnü Demirsoy, Samsun Chamber of Commerce and Industry Assistant Secretary General Necmi Alıç, academicians, sector representatives, trainees and students attended the event held at OMU Atatürk Congress and Culture Center (AKM).
After the Turkish National Anthem and stand in silence Vice Rector Prof. Mehmet Kuran took the stage and mentioned the importance of employment and continued “While on one side we have a sector that cannot find employee we have on the other side job seeking youngsters. The main reason for this is the existence of youth who do not possess the qualifications or skills demanded by the industrial sector. The MOBİGEN project aims to ease the employment of our youth from various disciplines educating and equipping them with the aforementioned qualifications and skills.”
Pointing out that we should benefit more from such European Union (EU) funds, Vice Rector Kuran said that OMU is trying to do its part duly in this frame. In his speech, Prof. Kuran stated that such projects should arouse not only with scientific researches in basic fields but also as civil society initiatives in the framework of raising the labor force required by the industry. Stressing that the understanding of a university in our country has begun to change in the last years, Prof. Mehmet Kuran continued “Universities should go beyond just being institutions providing education and conducting research within their own shells. Higher education institutions in Turkey must change shells basically. Thus, it is a must that the innovation and entrepreneurship sides of universities develop-be developed in this means. It is vital that higher education sets a goal in this direction in a country like us which is more open to development. YÖK (the Higher Education Council of Turkey) began taking steps in this direction. In short, we have to adapt to this change, and our university is also experiencing this change and transformation.
Conducting the closing presentation of the programme, Asst. Prof. Sema Arıman said that among the special goals of the MOBİGEN Project are; to equip unemployed young graduates with genuine and modern design skills, to provide them new employment opportunities and to ensure the continuity in means of meeting the original design needs of the sector keeping alive the cooperation between university and industry.
Stating that original and modern furniture design trainings focused on technology were provided for 8 months, including 6 months theoretical (720 hours) and 2 months applied lectures, within the project, Asst. Prof. Arıman shared the following details about the project: “Seven education modules and software especially used in the furniture sector compatible to the Ministry of National Education (MEB) were selected within these trainings. Students carried out their applied trainings at companies active in the furniture sector, open to innovative ideas, possess cooperative culture and wishing to make designs. Furthermore, a “Design Center” was established within OMU-TEKNOPARK to meet the design needs of the industrialists within the scope of the project and to ensure the continuity of the project after the project is finalized. It leaps out as an important service for the companies active in our region that the infrastructure studies of the very first design center in the Black Sea Region aimed at the furniture sector was completed at OMU-TEKNOPARK. Aside from that, a “graduate tracking system” was developed to track students and monitor and continue their employment statuses. The system was named as “Remain Employed by Designing” (TİKA). Moreover, MEB certificates were given to 20 trainees. Thus we aimed at paving the way of the professional life of the youth and creating qualified personnel input to the economy”.
Project Coordinator Arıman also stated in her presentation that MOBİGEN, which is developed and conducted creating cooperation among university, non-governmental organization and industry, is supported with a budget of 222.000 Euros, started on 01 February 2016 and will end on 28 February 2017.
Furniture Associations Federation President Ahmet Güleç took the stage in his presentation “The Importance of Design in the Furniture Sector and Globalization of the Turkish Furniture” and underlined that design is a must for furniture. He pointed out that Turkey progressed in the perception quality in the furniture sector and that projects like MOBİGEN are key projects in this frame. Stating that MOBİGEN will be an example project for Turkey, President Güleç continued saying “Design is the soul of the furniture sector. We are a sector where there is intense labour. We have an entrepreneur team able to analyze the world well. The export destinations of Turkey diversified from north to south, west to east. This means Germany, France, USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Turkmenistan and many other countries are among those destinations. Turkey possesses great potential, and we have to uncover that.”
Stating that despite all these positive data, Turkey as a country is still lacking in means of both R&D spendings and revealing of endorsement and potential in the furniture sector, Güleç said “Conducting such projects as long term projects and carrying on the path without giving up are among important criteria. With these projects we will come to know each other and speak the same language. We have to bring in these young and talented people to the sector in order for Turkey to globalize in the furniture sector. For, we lose these potential creative people to other sectors”.
The project team of MOBİGEN, where in total 20 young trainees from different departments received training, consists of; Project Coordinator Asst. Prof. Sema Arıman and Asst. Prof. Aydemir Güralp from the Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Asst. Prof. İsmail İşeri from the Faculty of Engineering and Asst. Prof. Hatice Muti from the Civil Aviation College.
After the cocktail held after the speeches and presentation, awards were presented to the highest ranking students in the design competition. Müge Bal ranked top, Sefa Dündar second and Davut Gül third. The programme ended after souvenir photos.
Please click here for details about the MOBİGEN project.
LISTEN