The Asım Kocabıyık Foundation for Culture and Education
Mr. Asım Kocabıyık has continually stressed the importance of education for Turkey to develop and reach the sophisticated cultural level of other contemporary countries. For many years he has supported the growth of the cultural and educational life of our nation both through personal efforts as well as via financing from Borusan. Accordingly, a decision was made in 1992 to establish the Asım Kocabıyık Foundation for Culture and Education for the purpose of strengthening these efforts to promote and improve education and cultural development in Turkey.
Since its inception the Foundation has provided nonbinding scholarships for students from disadvantaged families through donations originating from the Kocabıyık family and the Borusan Group of companies.
The most important projects of the Foundation to
date are the Borusan Asım Kocabıyık
Anatolian Technical High School in Beylikdüzü
district of İstanbul, the Borusan Otomotiv
Zehra Nurhan Kocabıyık Primary School in
Avcılar, İstanbul, the Kocaeli University
Hereke Campus Dormitory and Vocational College, the
Asım and Nurhan Kocabıyık Instructors’
Residence in the Avcılar district of İstanbul,
the restoration of the library belonging to the Faculty
of Economy at İstanbul University and the Gemlik
Sunipek Asım Kocabıyık Vocational School
Campus located at Uludağ University in Gemlik.
The Asım Kocabıyık Foundation for
Culture and Education believes that quality education
is the key to becoming a modern society. Consequently,
in 2007, the Foundation embarked on the construction
of necessary buildings for the Faculty of Law at the
Gemlik Sunipek Asım Kocabıyık Campus
in Gemlik. The non-profit organization has taken the
initial steps to convert the Sunipek factory, which
was originally opened for operation by Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk on February 1, 1938, into a campus for
higher education. The administrative building of the
Office of the Dean of Students was completed in 2007
and the education building is scheduled to be finished
by the spring of 2008.
This complex, encompassing a total area 4,694 m2, will house the Faculty of Law. The Office of the Dean of Students’ building amounts to 752 m2, while the education building will cover an area of 3,942 m2. An actual courtroom where live cases can be tried is also being built into the structure. The education building will include five classrooms, a computer lab, three rooms for teachers, two libraries, a conference room, a meeting room and a lounge room for students. The building will also be equipped with elevators and other measures to facilitate mobility for disabled students. The building for the Dean of Students includes offices for the dean and the deputy dean, twelve administrative offices, two offices for assistants, a conference room and an archives room.
Other notable projects that were implemented during 2007 include the restoration process of the Borusan Elementary School in Gemlik, which focused on strengthening the building to protect against earthquakes, painting of both the interior and exterior, renewing the window frames. The purchase of all the necessary laboratory equipment for the Kocaeli University Asım Kocabıyık Vocational College and renewing the coating of two floors in the conservatory of the Mimar Sinan University were also important projects for the Foundation in 2007.
With the aim of improving the quality of education
and awareness of the parents the Asım Kocabıyık
Foundation for Culture and Education started a joint
project with the National Education Board of İstanbul’s
Avcılar district. The scope of this venture has
involved the publication of 30,000 copies of a book
entitled “The Education of Parents on Aggressiveness,
Violence and Feelings of Guilt Among Children and
Youth.” Started in just the last few months
of 2007, this initiative has already reached 8,000
parents through its educational seminars.
Another education project in the Avcılar district is aimed at the teachers of the area schools and is expected to continue for six more terms. The first stage of the scheme, a seminar entitled “Developing Areas of Specialization in Service”, was completed in November of 2007 and involved the participation of 1,099 teachers.
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