A total of 11.478 schools, with an increase about 88% compared to the previous year’s applications, applied to the 2017-2018 Call of TUBITAK’s Science Fairs Support Programme. Prof. Hasan Mandal, President of TUBITAK, stated that the seeds of future scientists are scattered around through these fairs and said: “The seeds scattered to the soil today will surely bear fruit in the future.”
Prof. Mandal mentioned that the distance covered by science and technology determines the potential of a country to become a leader in the world and expressed that Turkey, with its young population, has a great potential in this aspect.
Prof. Mandal emphasized that children should be introduced to science from an early age and regarding this, the Science Fairs Support Programme, which has been carried out by TUBITAK ın cooperation with the Ministry of Education since 2013, is important in this regard. He explained that Science Fairs Support Programme aims at spreading science and science culture, increasing its relevance with daily life, facilitating the adoption of studies in this field by the new generation and creating new environments and facilities for students to make projects. Prof. Mandal stated that with this programme, fairs in which the projects of 5th-12th grade students take place are supported. He said: “With TUBITAK Science Fairs Support Programme, our students are experiencing the pleasure of studying by 'seeing, touching, understanding, perceiving and practicing' instead of an education system based on rote-learning. In this way, students are encouraged to conduct research on the topics that they have identified their interests in.”
“Seeds of Future Scientists Are Scattered Around Through These Fairs”
Prof. Mandal stated that within the framework of the Science Fairs Support Programme, 5.000 TL of grants are given to the schools and 250 TL of grants are awarded to the teachers who undertake the project. He said: “A total of 11.478 schools, with an increase about 88% compared to the previous year’s applications, applied to the 2017-2018 Call of TUBITAK’s Science Fairs Support Programme. As a result of the evaluations, it was decided to support 9.854 of the 230.818 applications that were submitted by these schools.” Prof. Mandal expressed that “The value of hundreds of thousands of children being in some way in contact with science will be better understood over the years. The seeds of future scientists are scattered around through these fairs, and science gets popular among children through the science fairs. Today the seeds scattered to the soil today will surely bear fruit in the future. Many of these children are going to make scientific works that will burst us with pride both in our country and in the world.”
20.04.2018