American Councils, in partnership with Ankara University and the Turkish and Foreign Languages Research and Application Center (T MER), hosted its second opening reception ceremony for the Turkish Flagship Center.
At the opening, Dr. M. Ertan G kmen, Associate Professor of Korean at Ankara University and T MER Director, and Dr. Patricia Zody, Flagship Program Manager at American Councils, exchanged brief speeches expressing appreciation for the partnership between Ankara University and American Councils. Both Drs. G kmen and Zody underscored the value of developing and expanding opportunities for American students to study the Turkish language in Turkey.
During the ceremony, two Turkish Overseas Flagship students delivered impromptu speeches in Turkish during the reception, thus demonstrating the success they achieved during their first months on a program. Dr. Zody and Gennady Babankov, Flagship Senior Program Officer, thanked Dr. Abd lkadir G rer, Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Head of the Department of Turkish Language and Literature at Ankara University, and Dr. G kmen for their roles in establishing and developing the Turkish Overseas Flagship program in Ankara by presenting them with appreciation gifts.
Cultural Affairs Officer Katherine Van de Vate from the US Embassy in Ankara and Karissa Huntington, Program Manager for Field Operations and Programs at American Councils, and local staff also attended. The reception symbolized an important step in strengthening relationships between American Councils and its academic partners in Turkey.
The Turkish Overseas Flagship Center offers resources and learning space for Flagship students to pursue advanced language proficiency in Turkish, a skillset that will differentiate them from their classmates as the world seeks a new generation of global professionals that possess overseas experience and multilingual capabilities.
The Language Flagship Program (Flagship) is an innovative program overseen by the National Security Education Program (NSEP) that is designed to transform US undergraduates into highly proficient foreign language speakers. Flagship enrolls hundreds of students from disciplines including business, health, engineering, and the social sciences in programs designed to deliver rigorous language training combined with a meaningful overseas experience. Graduates from this program command Superior level proficiency in one of many languages critical to US competitiveness and security, such as Turkish, giving them a competitive edge amongst a new generation of global professionals.
Learn more about the Turkish Flagship Overseas Program.