Strategic Visit from Canada to Istanbul Gelisim University: Strengthening International Collaboration Between UFV and IGU

Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU), in line with its vision for internationalization, hosted an important meeting to foster academic cooperation. On October 7, 2025, Daryl Smith, representative of the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), one of Canada’s distinguished higher education institutions, visited IGU. The visit marked a strategic step toward strengthening academic and cultural ties between the two universities.

On September 29, 2025, Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU) hosted delegations from Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power (ZJWEU), one of China's leading technical universities, and Djuanda University (UNIDA) from Indonesia.

On September 25, 2025, Vice Coordinator Duygu CAN and Assistant Specialist Yaren ERGENÇ from the International Exchange and Cooperation Office participated in the Erasmus+ Higher Education KA131 Mobility Project Management Meeting held at Gazi University in Ankara.

Within the scope of Erasmus+, we have added another bilateral agreement to our existing ones through the efforts of İstanbul Gelişim Vocational School Computer Programming Lecturer İpek Ebru Karaçay, who established an agreement with the University of Granada in Spain.

On September 10, 2025, the Rector of Andijan State Technical Institute, one of Uzbekistan’s higher education institutions, together with his delegation, visited our university in order to strengthen bilateral cooperation and develop joint projects.

As part of our university’s ongoing efforts toward internationalization, a new Erasmus+ agreement has been signed with Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, a prominent institution in Portugal. The foundations of this collaboration were laid during the NAFSA 2025 fair, where our university was represented by Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Necmettin Maraşlı and IECO Coordinator Alisa Usubova.

The collaboration, which was initiated at the NAFSA 2025 fair, where our university was represented by Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Necmettin Maraşlı and IECO Coordinator Alisa Usubova, has been formalized with the signing of a new Erasmus+ agreement with Paris Catholic University. This agreement will make student and staff exchanges possible, contributing significantly to our internationalization efforts.

The results of the 2025 Erasmus+ KA131 Higher Education Student and Staff Mobility Project applications have been announced. According to the announced results, Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU) has been awarded a total grant of 384,020 Euros. This amount represents the highest KA131 budget the university has received to date. The grant obtained is not only a concrete result of the university’s efforts in line with its internationalization vision but also marks an important milestone in offering more opportunities and support in the field of student and staff mobility.

On July 14, 2025, a delegation from the University of Hilla, one of our partner universities in Iraq, visited our university to reinforce and strengthen bilateral cooperation. As part of this visit, the delegation met with our university's Rector Prof. Dr. Bahri ŞAHİN, Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Necmettin MARAŞLI and Prof. Dr. Nuri KURUOĞLU, as well as representatives from IECO and the International Office.

Ece Nur Yüksel, Specialist at Istanbul Gelişim University IECO, visited our partner institution, Università degli Studi di Firenze – Scuola di Psicologia, located in Florence, Italy between June 16-20, 2025, as part of the Erasmus+ Staff Mobility for Training program.