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ASELSAN Academy Graduate Education Program
ASELSAN Academy Graduate Education Program

GRADUATE PROGRAM

ASELSAN launched ASELSAN Academy, the fourth generation university model, with the aim of taking the cooperation between industry and academia one step further. ASELSAN Academy, a first in Turkey, continues to develop and expand every year based on the principles of open innovation, co-development and sustainable cooperation.

The ASELSAN Academy Graduate Education Program was established in 2017 under the auspices of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) with the partnership of Gazi University, Gebze Technical University, Istanbul Technical University and Middle East Technical University. Hacettepe University was also included in the program in 2024.

This program, which offers ASELSAN employees the opportunity to study for their master's and doctorate degrees without leaving the campus, is carried out according to the regulations and rules of each university and the student receives his/her diploma from the relevant university. Considering time efficiency and close cooperation, courses are given at ASELSAN campuses and ASELSAN laboratories are made available for thesis studies. In this system, students choose their thesis topics in accordance with their projects at ASELSAN and take graduate courses that enable them to specialize in their field of study. Employees, whose academic competence increases thanks to the program, take part in defence projects and accelerate the nationalization and successful completion of critical technologies in the defence industry. This model has brought a different dimension to the university-industry cooperation that ASELSAN has been pioneering in our country for years.

The number of students in the program, which includes Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Engineering departments of stakeholder universities, has increased exponentially over the years, and the first graduates were given at the end of the 2019-2020 Academic Year.

In addition, the Artificial Intelligence Master's Program, which was designed as an interdisciplinary program in line with the academic needs of our country in priority areas and the demands of the public, private sector and industry, was opened in the 2023-2024 Spring semester in cooperation with ASELSAN Academy and Gebze Technical University (GTU) Computer Engineering Department for our employees who want to use data science in ASELSAN projects. This collaboration aims to enable ASELSAN employees to use artificial intelligence technology more effectively in the projects carried out. In this way, the ASELSAN Academy program has ceased to be a program that appeals only to the five departments within the scope of the program, and the Artificial Intelligence Master's Program has started to be preferred by ASELSAN employees who graduated from fields such as Statistics, Law, Mathematics, Business Administration and Industrial Engineering.

Advantages and Outcomes of the Program

ASELSAN Academy operates at ASELSAN campuses as the Outer Campus of Universities, preparing the ground for academic and industrial cooperation. While the common course pool offered within the scope of the program supports interdisciplinary knowledge sharing, it focuses on thesis studies related to the project. By providing extensive laboratory facilities for academics and researchers, the program contributes to innovative technologies. The program encourages sustainable technological development in the defence industry through an open innovation approach.

Support Mechanisms

The ASELSAN Integrated Roadmap guides the topics of graduate theses and ensures product-oriented research. In this process, thanks to the research priorities determined, both the success rate is increased and the sectoral impact of the results generated is strengthened.

The Open Innovation model increases knowledge sharing between the university and the company by creating an interdisciplinary culture with a common course pool. Mutual access to university and company laboratories is provided, and each thesis is considered as an example of a research project.

Industry-Focused Courses are added to the curriculum by the company's expert staff, providing students with hands-on experience. These courses are designed to strengthen the link between theory and practice and provide students with industry-specific knowledge.

Co-advisors from the industry directly contribute to thesis studies and employees with doctoral degrees support academic collaboration in this process. The culture of collaboration and co-creation is strengthened with the participation of experienced employees.

Technology Mentoring is conducted by engineers with more than 10 years of experience, providing guidance on setting technology goals and overcoming challenges. This process aims to increase the alignment of thesis work with industrial requirements.

Academic Mentoring closely monitors graduate thesis work and facilitates this process. Academics are encouraged to interact with departments within the company in relation to their thesis topics, thus directly contributing to the research process. It also supports the organization and development of the course pool and strengthens the academic dimension of university-company cooperation. In this context, mentoring both increases the scientific value of theses and allows them to be aligned with industrial application areas.

Seed Project Support, In addition to the support provided from the project budgets for the use of ASELSAN's existing infrastructures and contribution to the projects carried out in the graduate theses carried out at ASELSAN Academy, a new resource opportunity was defined under the name of TOHUM Project Support in order to meet the infrastructure and other expenses that may be needed specifically for the thesis.

Academic Talks, ASELSAN Academy organizes Academic Talks with the contributions of academicians experienced in their fields on topics that will shape the development of technology. These organizations are open to the entire company and provide a platform for sharing technological developments and exchanging information.