Help to the international student

weski
Mon, 24 Apr 2006 23:19:11 +0000

I ran across the following story - please note the Turkish University connections:

Turkish Cadets on American University Training Ship
June 17, 2005

SUNY Students Sail Home to Istanbul from the Bronx

Seventeen Turkish maritime cadets will arrive in Istanbul on June 17 aboard the Empire State VI, the 17,000-ton, 565-foot training vessel of the State University of New York’s Maritime College. Coming from Belgium on the first leg of their summer sea term, the Turkish cadets will introduce their American classmates to Istanbul before departing on June 20 for Çeşme. They later sail to the ports of Palma, Mallorca, and Lisbon before returning to New York.

The Turkish Maritime Cadets are part of a dual diploma program between Istanbul Technical University and SUNY Maritime, the oldest and largest state maritime college in the United States.

“International experience is extraordinarily valuable for our students,” said State University of New York Chancellor John R. Ryan. “SUNY’s dual diploma program provides students with the opportunity to learn other languages and understand other cultures, which will give them a real advantage as they pursue their careers in all sectors of the global economy.”

Professor Dr. Osman Kamil Sağ, founding dean of the ITU Maritime Faculty, said, “By sailing together aboard the Empire State VI and studying together as cadets in the regiment at SUNY Maritime’s campus at Fort Schuyler, New York, the cadets will broaden their knowledge of each other’s countries.

“The United States and Turkey have long been steadfast partners in NATO. Our Turkish and American cadets will form lifelong personal and professional relationships that are the very basic and indispensable ingredients of good relations between our countries. We are very proud to welcome the Empire State VI as she arrives in Istanbul.”

The dual-diploma program is administered by a Turkish university and a partner State University campus. After successfully completing all required coursework, the degree recipient will receive two diplomas – one from each institution. No student will receive the degree or either of the diplomas without satisfying the academic requirements of the dual diploma joint program.

Demand by Turkish students in the dual diploma program has been very strong. Two hundred sixty two students enrolled in dual degree programs in the fall of 2003, the first year of the program. More than 3,300 Turkish students applied for the program.

The Turkish Council of Higher Education data for the fall 2004 shows that 500 Turkish students are now placed in the dual diploma programs.

In addition to the Maritime College, Binghamton University, and the College at New Paltz have Turkish students enrolled in the dual diploma program studying on campus. The University at Buffalo expects students on campus in the fall of 2005 and the College at Cortland anticipates enrolling students in 2006.

The State University of New York and the Turkish Council of Higher Education offer ten dual diploma programs in six subject areas: business, economics, global and international affairs, information systems and technology, marine engineering and marine transportation and management engineering.

The 65-day summer sea term gives cadets firsthand experience of the maritime responsibilities they will face in their careers. For the cadets enrolled in the dual diploma program, their undergraduate education will be partly at ITU and partly at SUNY Maritime, where they participate in all academic and regimental activities. At the end of their training, they will receive diplomas from both universities under this unique program. An additional thirty ITU students will report to SUNY Maritime in Fall 2005.

Also with the cadets aboard the Empire State VI will be ITU’s Captain Tanzer Satır, who joined the cadets at SUNY Maritime from December through May; SUNY Maritime’s Commandant of Cadets, Captain Richard Smith; and SUNY Maritime Provost, Dr. William Gehring.