OMU hosts HEZARFEN Training Camp for future aerospace and technology leaders

The third HEZARFEN Defense, Aviation and Space Technologies Training Camp, organized this year with the educational partnership of Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU), hosted successful young people from across Türkiye in Samsun. The third edition of the training, led by Samsun İlkadım Aziz Atik Science High School, which pioneered the realization of the organization, was held.

The camp, organized in partnership with Samsun İlkadım Aziz Atik Science High School and Samsun Metropolitan Municipality, and with SAS Grup as the main sponsor, brought together 70 talented students from 58 different schools in 22 provinces. Through OMU Continuing Education Center (OMÜSEM), distinguished students from Türkiye’s top 50 science high schools and all science high schools in Samsun received 30 hours of Fixed-Wing UAV Basic Training and Flight Program, as well as TRIZ training. Following the theoretical training, 15 hours of which were completed online, the young participants worked in laboratories until late at night and prepared 10 aircraft for flight.

From the vision of “We cannot do it” to “We do it best”

“We broke the perception of ‘we cannot do it’ in our own generation and reached the point of saying ‘we can do it.’ The point you should express is not ‘we can do it’; your goal must definitely be ‘we do it best,’” said Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Çetin Kurnaz, expressing that young people will undertake important roles in the defense industry, aviation, and space technologies in the future.

“Fields such as aerospace, mechanical engineering, electronics, and software now work together. You are the ones who will shape these fields in the future,” Kurnaz said, thanking Samsun İlkadım Aziz Atik Science High School, the Provincial Directorate of National Education, and all stakeholders who contributed to the realization of the camp.

Special thanks to Aziz Atik Science High School

Referring to the importance of the integrated work of engineering disciplines such as aerospace, mechanical engineering, electronics, and software within this ecosystem, Prof. Dr. Kurnaz stated that young people will have a voice from these podiums 20 years from now. Drawing attention to the sustainability of this visionary project, Kurnaz said, “This gathering is very important and valuable. In this sense, I would especially like to thank Samsun İlkadım Aziz Atik Science High School, our Provincial Directorate of National Education, and all our stakeholders, especially our teacher Sadullah, who initiated and supported this process.”

The future candidates for aerospace, mechanical, electronics, and software engineering completed a successful camp process in the academic atmosphere offered by the OMU campus and with the technology spark ignited by İlkadım Aziz Atik Science High School, gaining not only theoretical knowledge but also the self-confidence to build Türkiye’s future.