Gül Gizem Aytekin, a senior student at the Department of Journalism in the Faculty of Communication at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, was awarded first place in the social category at the R&D Project Market. Aytekin shed light on the integration process of international students at the university with her thesis project titled “Social Adaptation Process of International Students with the Example of the Faculty of Communication at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University”.

The “İzzet Baysal Virtual Museum” project developed by the Communication Workshop of the Faculty of Communication also attracted great attention at the event and was awarded an Honorable Mention. The project, which brings together the life story of İzzet Baysal, the founder of the university, and his contributions to the fields of education and health with technology, attracted attention with its interactive structure.

The virtual museum, which uses augmented reality and artificial intelligence technologies, aims to bring İzzet Baysal’s services to a wide audience by bringing them to life in a digital environment. The project, which aims to preserve his contributions in the fields of education and health and to pass them on to future generations, was appreciated for both its technological infrastructure and its vision of social contribution.

The virtual museum team competing in the social category consisted of: Berkay Özdemir, Sevilay Beyza Yamalı, Asim Dursunov, Mehmet Emin Rehan, Nursena Derin, Cem Baran Sökmen, Aziz Akhmetov, Nurdaulet Nurmagambet, Berkay Özdemir, Sevilay Beyza Yamalı and Gül Gizem Aytekin. The project was led by Lecturer Bahar Akbulak.