Genetics and Bioengineering

I'm Professor Yalçın Kaya, I am the Head of the Department of Genetics and Bioengineering at Trakya University. I have been continuing my academic life here since 2014 when we established our department. The department began its academic life in 2015-2016 by recruiting its first students. Our department has been operating for 7 years and our Genetic Engineering Department continues its studies in the fields of Plant Genetic Engineering, Animal Genetic Engineering, Human Genetic Engineering, Nanotechnology and Bioengineering and Biomaterials. Since our primary courses are in the Faculty of Engineering, we have basic courses in the field of Engineering during the first 2 semesters. Then, students complete their courses in the last period in order to specialize in the field of their choosing, with optional courses given by our faculty members in 4 basic fields that include Human Genetic Engineering, Plant Genetic Engineering, Animal Genetic Engineering, and Nanotechnology and Biomaterials. Our laboratories include the Molecular Biology and Molecular Biotechnology Laboratory, which we are currently in, and the Molecular Agricultural Diagnostics laboratory, for which we receive support from the Development Agency. We have a Biomaterials laboratory and a Cell Culture laboratory. We have about 5 laboratories. We have professors working on Plant Genetic Engineering related to the research areas and areas of expertise of our faculty members, and we also have professors working on Molecular Biology and Molecular Genetic engineering. In this way, we continue to work in these laboratories, both as student laboratories and as research laboratories, within the framework of their fields of expertise. Internships in Engineering Faculties are 2 semesters in duration. Again, within the framework of Trakya University Internship Regulation, our students complete their internship in 20 working days in the 3rd semester and 20 working days in the 4th semester. An important thing about internship is that our students prepare themselves for their future professional life. Our students find employment in different Research and Development laboratories, Research and Development companies, pharmaceutical companies, etc. Of course, we also give graduation projects to the 3rd and 4th year students to prepare them beforehand. Students also complete these projects and continue their work by presenting these projects to TÜBİTAK and the Scientific Research Office. In this way, we prepare them for future their life where they can carry out practical work.
Our department has bilateral agreements on Erasmus with universities such as the University of Salerno, University of Naples, a medical university in Austria and University of Constanta. Our students can continue their studies in any of these universities by either doing an internship or carry out work with the framework of the mutual Erasmus program. Our department is one of the most active departments in terms of organizations and international events. Every year, one or two international organizations are held by our department in our university, Our students participate in these organizations by either presenting or by organizing the events. These organizations have a high number of participants. We also have a student community called the Trakya University Genetics and Biotechnology Club. This group organizes seminars at least 4-5 times a year, and we continue our work by inviting experts from Turkey and abroad. In addition, we organize Genetics and Biotechnology Days within the framework of our student community. Students present their seminars on Seminar Days and their graduation projects on Graduation Project Days. Again, our education continues within the framework of TÜBİTAK 4005 activities and projects. Both our faculty members and students are actively involved in these. When our students graduate from the department, they can find jobs in research clinics, in vitro fertilization centers, seed companies operating in the field of plant breeding and genetics, which are already in the market in the field of Genetic Engineering and Bioengineering, and in companies working in this field academically in universities. Our department is open to students who want to develop themselves in the field of Genetics and Bioengineering and who want to work in this field. Our academic staff is very competent in this regard. It consists of faculty members who are experts in their fields. Our current laboratories also carry out many international projects, TÜBİTAK projects and similar projects. A good research and development structure and a strong infrastructure are available in our department. In this context, we have faculty members with a background in both Plant Genetic Engineering, Animal Genetic Engineering, Human Genetic Engineering, Nanotechnology and Biomaterials. Again, we have laboratories that we have created specifically for this. For students coming from outside of our university, our dormitory capacities have increased considerably recently. Edirne is the gateway of our university and our corridor to Europe. I think that students should choose it for its security, nature and peace. Again, there are many opportunities for students in our university and campus, both in terms of 24/7 library and transportation to other places in Istanbul. In this respect, I think that Edirne and Trakya University will be a good place for students. We welcome all our students to Trakya University, Department of Genetics and Bioengineering and wish them success in their exams.