BISLA student visit in Istanbul Kültur University

BISLA in Istanbul:

There are those academic trips that stay in your memory not only because of lectures and meetings, but because of the conversations in cafés, spontaneous debates during walks through the city, shared meals, laughter, and simply discovering the world together. This was exactly one of those trips.

Last week, our BISLA students met with had the opportunity to spend time at Istanbul Kultur University — attending classes, meeting students and colleagues, exchanging perspectives, and experiencing Istanbul beyond the tourist postcards.

What I enjoyed most was watching friendships and discussions continue long after the classrooms were empty: over Turkish coffee, on ferries between Europe and Asia, and during evening conversations about politics, identity, culture, and the future.

At BISLA , we deeply value these international encounters because liberal arts education is not only about reading books — it is also about learning to understand people, societies, and different ways of seeing the world.

I am especially happy that BISLA students can experience this international environment through our exchange and cooperation programmes with universities such as University College Maastricht and Tilburg University in the Netherlands, Charles University in Prague, Freiburg University in Germany, Universidad de Navarra in Spain, International Christian University in Tokyo, FLAME University in India, Lingnan University in Hong Kong or Antioch College in Ohio — and hopefully, in the future, also through a lasting partnership with Istanbul Kultur University.

And personally, this visit had an additional layer of meaning for me — returning to IKU, where I taught for many years, now together with BISLA students, felt a little like connecting different chapters of life.

Heartfelt thanks to Nebile Korucu Gumusoglu, Mensur Akgün for helping make this possible and Ahmet Erturk and Serif Yuksel for their valuable contributions.

– Sylvia Tiryaki