Gdańsk Tech at fairs in Turkey | Gdańsk University of Technology

In mid-April, the International Relations Office represented the university at the International Education Fairs Turkey (IEFT) in Istambul.

IEFT is a series of events organized in various cities of Turkey since 2001. In 2022, educational fairs under IEFT brand were held in Ankara (April 10), Izmir (April 12) and Istambul (April 14-17). Before the pandemic, about 20,000 people visited each of these events.

Gdańsk University of Technology was a part of the "Study in Poland" representation organized by the Perspektywy Foundation. Apart from Gdańsk Tech, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Collegium Civitas and the Graduate School for Social Research also presented their educational offer. Some universities, such as Częstochowa University of Technology or Lublin University of Technology, decided to provide only promotional materials for the fairs. Lazarski University, Warsaw School of Information Technology and several other private universities decided to exhibit separately, apart from the Study in Poland project.

Turkey's potential

Turkey is a very promising market when it comes to the possibility of attracting international students. In a country with over 80 million citizens and a large percentage of young people aged 15-24, there are fewer than 200 universities (for comparison: there are over 400 universities in Poland, where less than 40 mln people live). An insufficient university selection is one of the reasons why approximately 100,000 Turks decide to study abroad every year [source: ieft.net].

Among international students who undertake paid studies in English in Poland, students from Turkey are the second (after students from India) group of students. In the academic year of 2019/2020, there were over 2,200 of Turkish students in Poland [source: perspektywy.pl].

Interest in studies at Gdańsk Tech

Students and their parents, who met the representatives of Gdańsk Tech at the Istambul fairs, were most interested in second-cycle studies in such fields as: IT, management, civil engineering and mechanical engineering. A large number of students were also interested in student exchanges under the Erasmus+ program. There were many questions about the summer schools preparing for studying specific fields and also about English language courses.

Everyone who visited Gdańsk Tech at the fairs received information materials, including recruitment leaflets and small promotional gifts.

Offline fairs are back

After two years of international promotion held mainly through online events, the calendars of universities are filling up with stationery, live meetings again. This is good news - the possibility of a face-to-face meeting gives greater opportunities to present the educational offer and, above all, to build relationships with candidates and their parents.

Bearing in mind that Turkey is a promising market in terms of attracting international students, it is definitely worth regularly appearing at fairs and other educational events organized there, and thus consistently building Gdańsk Tech brand among potential candidates for studies.

see photos from fairs in Istambul