The university is pleased to announce the recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Awards for the 2022-2023 academic year. Özlem Karsu, Erdal Onar, Cem Tekin and Funda Şenova Tunalı were chosen for demonstrating outstanding teaching abilities and for contributing to students’ academic and intellectual development. Please see 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award recipients’ statements below. Ms. Şenova Tunalı passed away in April and is being presented with the award posthumously. Her statement was excerpted from the statement she wrote for her award nomination file.
Özlem Karsu, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering
I am truly honored to receive this award and would like to thank the many current and past students I have had the chance to teach and supervise. I would also like to thank my colleagues and especially Prof. Bahar Yetiş, Prof. Selim Aktürk and Dr. Taghi Khaniyev for nominating and supporting me. I give special thanks to my students for their outpouring support and for putting in the time and effort to write the detailed nomination letters that have made me feel fortunate.
One of the things I love about Bilkent is the potential and capability of the students. I feel extremely lucky to have met, taught and supervised my students, each of whom has had a great appetite for learning and improvement. They have added a lot to my career development, and we have conducted valuable research together. Seeing the students I’ve taught or supervised becoming excellent practitioners and researchers with great achievements fills me with pride.
I have first-hand experience on the extent to which a good instructor can influence one’s life. Any success that I have had in my career would not have been possible without the contributions of the many amazing professors and teachers I had as a student, as well as my colleagues at Bilkent University, from whom I’ve learned a lot. I have had the chance to work with and observe inspiring instructors. I believe that there are multiple ways to teach effectively, and we each have our individual styles.
I see teaching as a two-way exchange and a task that we perform with the students. So, as I strive to do my part as well as possible, I always aim to motivate the students to do their best as well.
I feel grateful for my students’ appreciation of my efforts and thank them once again for making teaching a fun and fulfilling experience for me.
Erdal Onar, Faculty of Law
I am deeply honored to be one of the recipients of the Bilkent University Distinguished Teaching Awards. I would like to thank my colleagues and all my past and present students who have taken the time to write support letters. At the end of each academic year, I give my students a farewell speech that concludes with an English saying I think to be of great value: “If something is worth doing, it is worth doing it well.” I have tried to adopt this attitude, and I have tried to do my best in teaching. And I consider myself lucky because my capable students have done their best with commendable vigour as well. With my 53-year-long career, and as someone who has worked in numerous universities, I say confidently that teaching has become an irreplacable part of my life. It has been most fulfilling thanks to the students I have had the privilege to teach. I am deeply moved to have received this award with such support, and I cannot think of a better way to conclude a precious chapter of my life. Once again I would like to thank all of the Bilkent family.
Cem Tekin, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
I am deeply honored and humbled to receive the Bilkent University Distinguished Teaching Award for 2023. This award means a lot to me because it reflects the feedback and appreciation of my students, who are the reason why I love teaching. Teaching is a powerful way to inspire and empower students to pursue their dreams and make a positive difference in the world.
According to my teaching philosophy, the most significant merit of a successful teacher is explaining the core material by persuading students to raise and answer critical questions about the fundamentals of the subject. This approach will lead to a deep understanding of the subject by the students and the development of critical and creative thinking skills, which will turn the students into successful and productive engineers, scientists and academics. In my opinion, a professor’s contribution to society is not limited to brilliant research but, most importantly, related to preparing new generations of individuals to innovate and employ their skills effectively in broad areas of engineering, research and science.
I want to sincerely thank the students who wrote reference letters for me and the EE Department Teaching Award Committee for nominating me for this prestigious recognition. I also want to thank our dean, department chair and the colleagues in our department for providing a productive and collaborative teaching environment. It is a privilege to work with such a talented and dedicated group of colleagues who share a passion for teaching and research.
Funda Şenova Tunalı, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, Department of Communication and Design
Funda Şenova Tunalı, who passed away on April 30, will always be remembered by her students, colleagues, and the Bilkent community.
To be nominated for the “Distinguished Teaching Award” is a great honor. After receiving this nomination, I decided to delve into the reasons and my motivations for teaching. My major is graphic design; hence, the majority of my life is focused on creative problem-solving activities. Apart from designing, I have another passion, which is teaching. It gives me great pleasure and satisfaction to be in dialogue with, share thoughts, and speculate on possible innovative design solutions with the students.
Teaching and designing are two major disciplines that are alive and contribute to the everyday life of both the designer and people. By trying to teach students to design, I am not only aiming to teach them design principles but also work ethics, honest design, responsibility, respectful interactions, creative problem-solving and active and open dialogue. I am grateful for this nomination because it helped me to review the teaching philosophy that I am trying to improve on a daily basis. Both teaching and learning are active and ever-changing pursuits. I am happy to have the opportunity to act on them.
