Department of Engineering Sciences

Hello, I am the head of the Engineering Sciences Department, Associate Professors Gökhan Çaylı. I graduated from Istanbul University, Department of Chemistry in 1997. The department is currently a part of Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa. The subjects that I am interested in are the synthesis of petroleum substitute monomers and polymers from renewable sources. My master's and doctorate studies focused on these subjects. I am currently working as the head of the Department of Engineering Sciences. I like interdisciplinary studies. I am extremely happy to work in a place where fundamental sciences meet engineering. Our department was established in 2011 to conduct interdisciplinary studies. The aim here is to bring together fundamental sciences and engineering sciences. Istanbul University - Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Engineering consists of 14 departments. It was established as a unit that brings together 13 engineering departments and fundamental sciences. You can conduct all types of interdisciplinary studies you can think of here. You can graduate by studying the fundamental sciences such as Mathematics and Physics, Chemistry, Biology and complete your master's and doctoral studies in engineering sciences. You have the chance to collaborate with other engineers within our university, like Environmental Engineers, Civil Engineers, Mining Engineers. Since our department is an interdisciplinary department, students who take our compulsory courses can complete elective courses in different fields according to what they want for their careers. As compulsory courses, we have engineering-related ones such as Engineering Mathematics, Differential Equations, and applied courses such as Smart Textile Materials or Ballistic Fabrics, Composite Materials. Depending on what the students want, they can take whichever courses they like. The important thing here is that the student, together with his advisor, should make a plan according their career plans and prepare the course list from the very beginning. Our department has an engineering science laboratory. We mainly work on material and polymer characterization and the related fields. Like I said before, if the students want to get involved in interdisciplinary studies, like in the fields of physics, chemistry, or complete their graduate studies, they can work in these laboratories if their advisor is from the related department. It is possible for us to use the entire laboratory infrastructure in the engineering faculty as a department. Since we provide graduate and doctorate education and we are an interdisciplinary department, our students generally carry on with their studies with TUBITAK projects or university-supported projects instead of internships. For example, we are working on smart fabrics for a TUBITAK project with our graduate students. The student also gains experience by conducting a project. This provides a great experience for the student and turns into an advantage in the industry.
Let me talk a bit about our international affairs. Almost all of our professors in our department have international connections, especially in Europe and America. If a student wants to pursue an academic career, intends to continue and his teacher is satisfied, the teacher can vouch for the student. This way, the student can go abroad for his doctorate study with a provided scholarship from TUBITAK or under the support of the research group on the opposite side. In the case of the United States, doctoral education in America takes about 5 years depending on accreditation. There are universities that recognize institutions in Turkey. When they apply for universities that recognizes us, they accept their master's degree and can enrol in the 3-year long doctorate program. If the student goes to a university that does not accept it, they enrol in a master’s program again and continue their academic career with additional experience. Besides pursuing an academic career, they can work for the industry, especially in research and development, as a very valuable employees after completing their doctorate education. Since the department is an interdisciplinary department, we accept students from various engineering fields. Students can take courses in the fields they want to develop in and for their planned careers. Developing themselves under the supervision of advisors, they become valuable employees in either academic or industrial fields. For example; A student studying at the Textile Engineering Department can do a master's or doctorate study in our department on Smart Textile Materials. They can receive support from Electrical and Electronics Engineering for these master’s and doctorate studies. In this way, although there is no chance to do a master's degree or doctorate in Electrical-Electronics Engineering, they come to our department and improve their skills by taking advantage of the professors and the opportunities of that department. They can either pursue an academic career or work in companies that produce high-tech or Smart Textile Materials by forging ahead in the industry. My advice to students who will choose our department is that they should pursue their dreams, read a lot, dream and ask what “I can do” to make those dreams come true, and plan a career accordingly. They will be more successful. I recommend this department to students from outside of Istanbul. It’s great, in terms of the commute and social activities. I highly recommend you check out the view. Please come here to see where the lake meets the sea. The lake and the sea are very close to each other. You cannot find such a view anywhere else. The view is as lovely as the views from the bosphorus. The commute here is easy. You can go anywhere you want by metrobus. When you get on the metrobus in Avcılar, you can be in Kadıköy in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and in Mecidiyeköy in 45 minutes. Don't be afraid of transportation. The social areas of our university are quite diverse. I recommend you take a look at the Student Culture Center. The Sport Sciences Faculty is on our campus. There are many facilities that students who want to get involved in sports can make use of. I recommend our university to everyone, and I would like to welcome all our friends.