Chevening in Turkey News Bulletin
July 2013
HEADLINES Like our new Chevening in Turkey Facebook Page!-Help us promote the Chevening Programme in Turkey by liking our new Facebook page and by sharing it among the potential candidates!
Twitter List!- We have a new twitter list! A twitter list will help you all to connect better as a group of Cheveners on twitter. If you want to be added to the list, please give Declan Byrne your twitter handle from Declan.Byrne@fco.gov.uk . You can also subscribe to the list using the link: https://twitter.com/cheveningfco/chevening-scholars
Mentoring the scholars? – Having selected our scholars, we would like to invite our alumni to mentor our brand new Chevening scholars in terms of academics, professional areas, life in the UK etc. Just let us know if you would like to become a mentor and we will match you! Alumni Video! - Watch our alumni video on YouTube! We encourage you to shoot videos with your friends about your Chevening experience. Just let us know and we will give you the support! http://youtu.be/BdIsmyT3PXI Alumni on Social Media! Want to keep in touch with the Chevening alumni in Turkey online? Then, we invite you to join! http://groups.google.com/group/cheveningalumniturkey http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Chevening-Scholars-Alumni-Turkey-4978809/about http://www.facebook.com/groups/cheveningturkey/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/cheveningcommunity/
FAREWELL RECEPTION FOR 2012/2013 SCHOLARS! CHEVENING FAREWELL EVENT HELD! - FCO Minister Hugo Swire hosted a reception to say farewell to the 2012/2013 Chevening Scholars! An estimated 400 people attended the event on Tuesday 23 July with scholars from over 90 countries together with Chevening partners including BAE Systems, HSBC and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Mr Swire congratulated all of the scholars on their accomplishments while studying in the UK and wished them every success in the future. He said:
„As tomorrow‟s leaders we are confident that you have what it takes to contribute greatly to both your home countries and to Britain. You should be proud of what you have achieved.‟ Turkish scholars also attended and marked the end of their amazing year! More info and photos of the event can be found on twitter @cheveningfco
NEWS FROM THE ALUMNI NETWORK Video/Photo Competition for the 30th anniversary of Chevening! - As part of the 30th Anniversary celebrations, we are launching a 60-second video competition, and a photo competition, both of which are open to all Chevening Scholars and alumni. You can find out more at www.chevening.org/30thanniversay. Don‟t forget to submit your entry before the closing date of 31 August 2013! ‘Last photo taken without a mobile phone!’
Seref Balsak, Chevening alumnus who studied at Manchester Business School has entered the competition with the photo on the left! The photo is taken in 1996, with the Turkish Cheveners,
who skipped the class in Manchester and took this photo as a memory. He named the photo as „the last photo to be taken without a mobile phone‟! Success story of an alumnus- Yurter Ozcan, a Chevening alumnus studied at SOAS on Middle Eastern Politics, has been appointed as the Republican People‟s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi CHP) Representative to the US Office! The representative office of CHP to the United States has started its functions in Washington D.C. on 1 July 2013. CHP representative office has been established under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) following the completion of the application process with the US Department of Justice. We congratulate Mr Ozcan for his success! Alumnus Blogging about London! ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life’- Hande Guler, who studied at Strathclyde University with the Chevening scholarship, blogs about life in London (only in Turkish) and gives details of where to see, eat, drink, shop etc. Don‟t forget to read London before you go from a Chevener‟s eyes! http://www.londrayolcusu.blogspot.com/ Watch a Video of our alumnus- Ali Ercan Ozgur tells about his Chevening experience! Watch his video to learn more about his experience at the Birmingham University!
UPCOMING EVENTS... Pre-Departure Event for Scholars! –As we are approaching the time that our scholars will leave to the UK, we will organize a pre departure event for them with the participation of the alumni and staff. The event will take place in early September, right before they leave for the UK. Photos of the event will be on our next newsletter! Regional Chevening Conference in Jordan! - The British Embassy Amman is organizing a Regional Chevening Conference with the participation of the Syrian, Lebanese, Iraqi and Turkish alumni with the aim of building professional networks and starting communication on a regional level. 10 Turkish alumni will also attend the conference in November and will hold a session on Turkey. Red Lion Club Events! – The Red Lion Club located inside the British Embassy compound in Ankara, offers monthly events for its members such as quiz night, band night, darts, Friday night BBQ and several sporting fixtures such as rugby and football. Our alumni can become a member- if you want to do so, please get in touch with the Chevening Officer Chevening.InTurkey@fco.gov.uk to learn about the procedure. More social events? - We encourage our alumni to organize more social events at the RLC or any other pubs. You can also promote the event in our groups on social media!
MEET AN ALUMNUS: CEYHUN GOCENOGLU Ceyhun Gocenoglu studied Corporate Governance and Ethics at Birkbeck College, University of London. Having worked for the British Council, he is also very much familiar with the Chevening Programme! He tells about his professional life-read to learn more about him! „My interest in social development and private sector has its roots in AIESEC – an international youth organization - with a UNDP funded project aiming to organize capacity building activities for young entrepreneurs in Southeast of Turkey. I followed on my interest by graduating from the MSc degree on Corporate Governance and Ethics at Birkbeck College, University of London.‟ In order to put what I had studied and preached into practice, upon my return to Turkey, I became actively involved on the establishment of Corporate Social Responsibility Association of Turkey as the founding General Secretary. During this time, I had the privilege to be the co-author of Turkey‟s first CSR baseline report, which pictured the CSR environment and a possible road map for Turkey. From 2007 to 2010, I worked at British Council Turkey as Business Relations manager, I designed and implemented with different program components to create a better business environment for the UK and Turkish private sectors through utilizing social responsibility, vocational education and corporate volunteering. My experience in telecommunications industry from 2010 to 2013, I had a chance to implement my knowledge in a different setting and perform projects on the areas of digital literacy, creative industries, sustainability and NGO relations. Currently, I am working at IBM Turkey as the Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs Manager, leading and implementing IBMs global programs and strategy in Turkey. Hopefully, I will also finalise my PhD program on public relations at the end of 2013. Without the Chevening experience, I would never to be working on such an exciting area to contribute to social development while serving companies to develop their stakeholder engagement. You can get my updates through twitter @gocenoglu If you want to contribute to the alumni profile section on the website, please let us know from Chevening.InTurkey@fco.gov.uk
SPENDING 1 YEAR IN CAMBRIDGE AS A CHEVENING SCHOLAR- PINAR GUZEL
‘If you are looking for the best way to experience the UK in academic and social terms and if you want to be a part of one of the most prestigious international student communities, you should not miss what Chevening Scholarship has to offer!’ Having completed her study at the Cambridge University, Pinar Guzel talks about her experience in the UK as a Chevening scholar. What she wrote about the UK is influencing for everyone who would like to apply for the Chevening scholarships! „My year in Cambridge has been a long-awaited dream coming true and absolutely one of the most rewarding achievements in my career. Being a student at one of the world‟s top universities and taking part in the first cohort of the brand-new “Master of Corporate Law” Programme at the University of Cambridge has been more than satisfying for me in terms of both academic knowledge and social networking opportunities. On top of that unprecedented experience, I felt even luckier because of all the benefits and support generously provided by the Chevening Scholarship Secretariat throughout my study.‟ To exchange ideas and to develop a deeper knowledge on legal matters of the modern world with a selection of students from all over the world at the University of Cambridge has been an incredible experience that I will definitely benefit from for the rest of my life. Moreover, I could have not imagined meeting in person world-famous academics at some occasion almost every day as an ordinary matter like I did in Cambridge. I do not doubt that the new vision I gained on global legal issues during my time in the UK as well as this academic inspiration I felt in Cambridge will move me forward in my professional and academic life in the future. Likewise, socializing in British, and in particular, Cambridge style according to unique, hundreds-of-years old traditions during these 9 months has also contributed to the richness of my UK experience and opened the doors to a brand-new social community for me. Visiting London and other parts of the UK within the framework of my study and in my free time allowed me to enjoy a wonderful mixture of art, history and fun, as well as building and deepening long-lasting friendships. I felt like a member of the great Chevening community from my first interaction with fellow Cheveners at our meeting until the very end of my UK experience and I have no doubt that being a part of the
Chevening alumni will provide us more opportunities at social and professional level in the future. If you are looking for the best way to experience the UK in academic and social terms and if you want to be a part of one of the most prestigious international student communities, you should not miss what Chevening Scholarship has to offer!â€&#x;
Questions or Comments? E-mail us at Chevening.InTurkey@fco.gov.uk For more information on the Chevening Programme in Turkey, visit our website www.chevening.org/turkey Read our previous newsletter: http://www.chevening.org/turkey/alumni_turkey/news_bulletin_march13 Follow Chevening Programme on @cheveningfco Follow UK in Turkey on @ukinturkey and http://www.facebook.com/#!/ukinturkey