We have extended our already packed list of activities with the return of our popular Green Breakfasts. From May onwards we will have an extensive line-up of breakfast events that will give extraordinary perspectives on the topics of sustainability and  innovation.

Next to our Green Breakfasts, NIHA is organizing other events that might be of interest to you:

•  On the 22nd of May Jan Rath, professor of Urban sociology at the University of Amsterdam will enlighten us on the economic transformation taking place for small businesses. Title: From mom-and-pop shops to cool boutiques? An expert from Ankara will elucidate on the Turkish situation (to be confirmed).
• On the 23rd of May, the second seminar of many to follow on Early Childhood Development will take place in the conference room at NIHA. Topic: Music and Children’s books.
• The 25th of May is highlighted on our calendar with an International Brokerage Event scheduled to take place in Istanbul. Scientists in the field of Nano-, Bio- and Space Technology together with Business Representatives from the Manufacturing and Process Technology sectors will have a matchmaking session with representatives of Tübitak, the scientific and technological research council of Turkey.
• June 5th will be an important date on the NIHA calendar when award-winning writer and NIHA founder Erik-Jan Zürcher will lecture a history seminar in the NIHA conference room.
• On June 6^th NIHA organizes a screening of the movie “Liefdeswinter” (Love winter) by Dutch Turkish film maker Gülşah Doǧan followed by a discussion. An award winning story about love, surviving two cultures and time.
• The 13th of June offers us an athletic diversion from our professional day-to-day activities with the European Cup thriller The Netherlands versus Germany, screened live in the lavish NIHA-garden. A small surcharge will apply for food and drinks.
• Art will make an appearance on our schedule on the 15th of June with the opening of an exhibition. Four Dutch artists (Theo de Feyter, Maarten Welbergen, Joanna Quispel and Bram Stoof) will show their paintings in an exhibition called “Painting Capitals –Ankara–Amsterdam”.

More events and information about our ever growing event schedule can be found on our website: www.nihankara.org

A new Education Market Information Factsheet,  published as part of the focus year on Turkey, shows that Turkish students are very eager to study abroad.

The Factsheet, compiled by Nuffic and the Netherlands Institute for Higher Education in Ankara (NIHA), describes the latest developments in Turkish higher education and  the Turkish labour market.

To read more: http://www.nuffic.nl/international-organizations/news-events/news-archive/2012/april/new-factsheet-outlines-turkish-education-market

NIHA, the Netherlands Institute for Higher Education in Ankara (www.nihankara.org) will organize two mountain trips this summer: one for students, teachers and representatives of Higher Education Institutes and one which is open to everybody.

Trip

After a train journey (either from Istanbul or Ankara)  through Turkey’s landscape, the participants will visit Erzurum and climb the Kaçkar. Then they will cross over to the Black Sea coast. Optionally, participants can go rafting in the Firtina River near Ayder. The trip will continue along the Black Sea coast across the tea region, near the Georgian border and then across the mountains to Doğubayazit, where the Ishakpasa Palace will be visited. The trip will then continue to climb the legendary Ararat. Afterwards the famous city Ani at the border of Armenia will be visited, before participants board the train in Kars to return.

This trip can also be used as an opportunity to meet with (potential) Turkish partners, as an extra conference carriage can be added to the train. Also companies who want to put their flag on the top can use this as a media and PR event.

For Higher Education

This trip will start in Istanbul and take place from 15 to 31 August. The educational institutes (both Turkish and Dutch) can send 1 or 2 students or employees to this trip, These representatives will put the flag of their education institute on the top of both the Kaçkar (3937m) and the legendary Ararat (5165m), in North-east Turkey. NIHA will take care of the media coverage and a photo exhibition of this trip in the Netherlands and Turkey.

For everybody

Between 2 and 17 August a trip open to everybody will start from Ankara. This group will consist of 18 Turkish and 18 Dutch participants.

Everybody who wants to join one of these groups is welcome. For more information or to subscribe, visit our website: www.nihankara.org

During a study week  from 4 – 11 November 2012 in Ankara, teachers and students from several Dutch and Turkish conservatories will work together to prepare a performance for kids of a Kindergarten in Akyurtlar, a socially underdeveloped neighborhood in Ankara. After this performance,  the result of this collaboration will be carried out  in other original and innovative performances for a broader audience later this year.

The performances are part of the NIHA-project  ‘Music and MEMO’, financed by the Dutch Ministry of Education. The MEMO Foundation plays a major role in this. They bring performance art to young children in order to stimulate their development in a playful way,  increase their world and enrich their lives.

In this project a selection of students will play compositions from the 17^th century – when the Turkish Dutch relation started. The compositions consist of Baroque and Osmanli Palace music. To maximize the interaction and knowledge exchange between the Dutch and Turkish Conservatory students, as much  as possible instruments will be used. Also the music will be complemented by dance.

Involved parties: NIHA, Royal Conservatory of The Hague,  Codarts Dance Academy Rotterdam, Gazi University State Conservatory for Turkish Music in Ankara, Hacettepe University- Ballet Academy in Ankara, Foundation MEMO and Sevda Cenap And Music Foundation in Ankara.

Every year, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) organizes a Brokerage Event related to various themes of the European collaboration programme FP7. This programme encourages the collaboration in research among the EU-countries and other partner countries.

The topics for 2012 are:
• Nanotechnology
• Biotechnology
• Space technology
• Manufacturing and Process Technologies

Because these topics are closely linked to the Dutch key-sector policy, the Netherlands Institute for Higher Education in Ankara (NIHA) will be the co-organiser for Dutch participants.  The event will focus on creating interactions and common ground between the fields of research, education, industry and society in order to apply knowledge in social and economical interaction. The aim is that interactions made during the Brokerage Event can lead to broad-based projects in which advanced science and innovative businesses can work together.

Event
We would like to invite you, also on behalf of TÜBİTAK, to take part in the Turkey Enabling Technologies 2012- International Brokerage Event on 25 May 2012.  If you are interested, you can read more about the program on our website. You are kindly invited for informal drinks afterwards to get acquainted with the other participants.

If you have any question or to subscribe please contact our projectmanager: Emine Torun – Ekincioğlu.

Four Dutch impressionists: Theo de Feyter, Maarten Welbergen, Joanna Quispel and Bram Stoof will visit Ankara in June 2012 to paint various scenes of the city. The paintings will be part of an exhibition ‘Painters painting Capitals – Ankara – Amsterdam’ which will be held in both capitals. On 15 June the exhibition will be opened in the NIHA building at the Koza Sokak in Ankara.

All painters already have experience in painting in Turkey. Last year an exhibition “Valleys, Rocks and Caves-Four Dutch artists in Cappadocia” was opened in the presence of the Dutch ambassador at the NIHA building. This exhibition showed their four distinctive styles. The ‘Painters painting Capitals’ will also show four different perspectives of Ankara and Amsterdam.

This event is a part of NIHA’s ‘thematic weeks’ concept for which NIHA has reserved its VET-premises in Ankara (office in Kahraman Kadın Sokağı) where participants of these weeks can also reside. Thematic weeks aim to create a basis for exchanging knowledge and ideas about selected themes. Participants consist of Dutch and Turkish journalists/writers, scientists, (visual) artists and other experts (depending on the theme). The objective of this interdisciplinary approach is that their cooperation will lead to interesting discussions, ideas, more knowledge about each other and hence more collaboration. Everybody who is interested in setting up a thematic week is invited to contact us.

NIHAnkara
Netherlands Institute for Higher Education
Koza Sokak, 111, 06700 G.O.P. Ankara, Turkey
Phone: +90 (312) 437 33 47
Fax: +90 (312) 437 33 42
Web: www.nihankara.org

The recruitment of internship places and interns comprises one of NIHA’s core businesses. Internships help students with personal development and provide them with the opportunity to learn valuable skills and apply their knowledge in real world environments. Besides the already existing internship possibilities, we have a range of new internship positions at the following organisations:

• Petroleum Affairs, Ministry of Energy, Ankara
• Akdeniz University Faculty of Engineering, department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Antalya
• Pine Bay Holiday Resort Hotel, Kuşadası-Aydın
• Dedeman Hotel, İstanbul
• Sütaş Group, Bursa

Since April 2011, we have placed interns in the following organisations:

• USAK (International Strategic Research Organisation), Ankara
• ITO (Istanbul Chamber of Commerce),  Istanbul
• Dedeman Hotel,  Istanbul
• AON insurance, Istanbul
• Ministry for EU Affairs , Ankara
• Netherlands Agricultural and Business Support Office, Izmir

For more information, check our website or contact our internship coordinator Melek Yücel Salur.

The study visit to the Netherlands, comprising an important part of the ECD Diploma Course Turkey, offered by NIHA in cooperation with Sardes and ICDI since 2009, took place between September 25th and October 1st. The programma consisted of visits to various organisations and institutions portraying best practices in ECD related topics ranging from children’s museums, libraries, (open-air) playgrounds, musical performances for children and research.

The programme, using Amsterdam as base camp, included a MEMO (Memorable Moments)-performance to preschoolers and kindergarteners with a short tour around Kinkerbuurtschool (so-called ‘Brede School’) and preschool including an Q&A session with teachers and (Turkish)
parents in Amsterdam, a visit to De Evenaar- School for Special Education, working with Marte Meo method in Nieuwegein, Sardes Educational Services in Utrecht, Leiden University, Faculty of Social Sciences- Centre for Child and Family Studies where a lecture was given by Prof. Judi Mesman, Hortus Botanicus- the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands, where a historical link between the Netherlands and Turkey was presented, National Museum of Antiquities and Child Right’s House/ICDI in Leiden, De Marne- day care centre with nature playground in Amstelveen, Public Library Amsterdam (OBA) with special attention to the children’s section, followed
by a visit to the Science Museum NEMO, the petting zoo Kinderboerderij Westerpark and the nature playground Het Woeste Westen in Amsterdam.

During these visits the participants were also given the opportunity to present and fine-tune their project proposals and essays with each other and various Dutch experts and counterparts during a bazaar and match making meeting. The ECD training programme will be concluded in Ankara on 16-18 November 2011 with various lectures and the certificate ceremony.

See the following link for a fun and (a literally) sunshine-filled photoalbum of the study visit: FB PHOTOALBUM ECD

As part of the celebration of the 400^th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and Turkey in 2012, NIHA, in cooperation with the Turkish Republic State railways (TCDD), is planning to arrange a series of activities in Turkish long distance trains. Also it will offer as a platform for Dutch and Turkish institutions and companies to organise their own activities. NIHA will work out the idea of the interested party and plan and organise the activity from beginning to the end.

Main goals are:

• To make the NL-TR friendship more visible in Turkey
• To create a link between several stand-alone activities
• To show NL guests different parts of the country and bring activities to other parts of TR, other than the 3 big cities
• To offer a perfect platform for meeting and conferencing with (possible) counterparts and partners in Turkey without losing valuable time, whilst making use of an original, inspirational and sustainable way of travelling

The feasibility of the concept was tested during a pilot-run which took place between July 28th and August 1st 2011 during a trip to the Cappadocia region. During this trip meetings were held with stakeholders, consisting of 40 officials from the Netherlands and Belgian Embassies, Turkish government and Dutch and Turkish NGO’s, to merge different initiatives, plans and programs in order to strengthen and provide a boost to our activities for a memorable 2012.

The trip was evaluated ‘excellent’ to ‘very nice’ by all participants. More information on the train, the concepts we offer and an impression of the train trip made in July can be found on: our website.

The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ankara, Turkey offers the opportunity for a Dutch speaking student to fulfill an internship from 1 February to 30 June 2012 at the department Press and Cultural Affairs. For more information read this document (only available in Dutch).