ITU Co-Learning Lab 2025
“Crowdsourcing for co-creation of knowledge with a lifelong learning perspective”
ITU Co-Learning Lab (ITU-CLL), as an incubator of pedagogical innovation, aims to foster the exchange, experimentation and use of innovative pedagogies and transform the outputs of graduate research studies into learning experiences that target all the members of the ITU ecosystem including also the alums.
ITU Co-Learning Lab will allow the authors of the extended abstracts to
- Publish in a digital proceeding after a peer review process
- Get short-term mobility fund for sharing good practices at international level
- Share good practices with the international academic community at different platforms including also the EELISA European University
- Get support from ITU Centre for Excellence in Education to transform good practices into seasonal schools targeting international learners
General Information and Important Dates
- Date: 1-2 October 2025
- Place: ITU Ayazağa Campus
- Language: Turkish and English
- Format: Hybrid
- Deadline for the submission of abstracts: September 5, 2025
- Deadline for attendee registration: September 26, 2025
- Announcement of accepted abstracts: September 12, 2025
- Announcement of detailed program: September 24, 2025
Expected Outcomes
- Dissemination of good practices within ITU and beyond, through ITU’s international networks such as EELISA European University, European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI), European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER), and Top International managers in Engineering (T.I.M.E. Association).
- Identification of good practices relating to learning and teaching approaches, activities and tools that implement innovative pedagogies.
Section 1: Current Trends in Education
Section 1 aims to provide spaces and resources for showcasing, exchanging and discussing innovative teaching and learning approaches, activities and tools which will be identified and disseminated as good practices within the ITU ecosystem.
Section 2: From Theses to Learning Stations
Section 2 aims to transform research studies of graduate students into innovative learning experiences for students, academics and the broader ITU community, establishing a strong linkage between education and research.
Both sections are designed to put into practice to enhance the quality of learning and teaching within the higher education ecosystem through crowdsourcing for co-creation of knowledge with a lifelong learning mindset.
- Good practices refer to individual approaches, activities, methods, techniques and tools that consistently produce better results through experience and research in positively changing student attitudes or students’ academic behavior.
- Co-creation of knowledge refers to “a collaborative process where students and instructors work together to design and implement educational experiences, valuing the input of all participants, encouraging active participation, and enhancing learning through shared responsibility and diverse perspectives.”
- Crowdsourcing refers to “participative engagement of learners and tutors who collaboratively share work, information, or opinions to leverage collective intelligence and diverse perspectives”.
- Lifelong learning refers to the “continuous, self-motivated pursuit of knowledge and skills for personal or professional development. It involves a proactive approach to learning, embracing curiosity, adaptability, and a commitment to growth and improvement throughout one’s life”.
Authors of extended abstracts are expected to explain the linkage of their proposals to various activity areas of the ITU Center for Excellence in Education including but are not limited to:
- New teaching and learning approaches and techniques
- Project-based learning
- Active learning approaches and techniques
- Collaborative learning
- Use of new technologies in education
- Artificial intelligence (AI) in education
- Gamification in education
- Distance education
- Assessment and evaluation approaches and techniques
- Systemic thinking in education
- Improvement of educational skills
- Educational psychology
- Improvement of soft skills
- Future trends in education
- Motivation techniques in education
- Inclusive practices in education
- Research methodology and methods
- Integration of research and teaching
- Industrial experience sharing
- Syllabus design
- Classroom management
- Academic orientation
- Lifelong learning
Content and Program
ITU Co-Learning Lab is designed as a two-day activity. The first day unfolds in Section 1 and Section 2.
• Morning session, focusing on section 1 (Current Trends in Education), brings observable implications of current trends in higher education for innovative pedagogies and enables exchange of good practices by ITU academics from different disciplines.
• Afternoon session, focusing on section 2 (From Theses to Learning Stations), aims at translating graduate theses into learning experiences through innovative pedagogies.
Day 1 – October 1, 2025
Morning Session: Current Trends in Education
Target group: ITU Academics and all members of the ITU Community
Aim: Introduction and exchange of GOOD PRACTICES on innovative pedagogies to ITU academic community to observe, experiment and evaluate with changes in the way we learn, particularly with the development and use of innovative teaching and learning practices based on active learning approaches. Through sharing good practices, ITU members can learn from one another –co-learn and co-create- about what works well in the learning and teaching practices, understand what can be replicated in different learning environments and what can be scaled up to improve the quality of learning and teaching experiences in ITU.
Method:
- Submission of extended abstracts
- Selection of good practices through peer review
- Presentation for each accepted extended abstract
- Q&A / discussion session following each presentation
Afternoon Session: From Thesis to Learning Stations
Target group: ITU Academics and all members of the ITU Community
Aim: Translation of outcomes from graduate theses to innovative educational experiences (Learning Stations) that target ITU students, academics and the members of the alumni network to support research-based learning practices at institutional level. The authors of theses which have been completed within the past 5 years are the primary target group of Section 2 along with the advisors of theses.
Method:
- Submission of extended abstracts
- Selection of thesis-based learning proposals through peer review
- Presentation for each accepted extended abstract
- Q&A / discussion session following each presentation
Day 2 – October 2, 2025
LEARNING STATION MODEL – How to design innovative learning experiences through co-learning?
Target Group: Authors of Extended Abstracts from day 1
- Training of Trainers on Learning Station model
- Q&A / discussion session
- Kick-off session on Learning Station design
First Day
October 1, 2025, Wednesday
ITU Ayazağa Campus
| 09.00 – 10.00 | Registration / Coffee & Snacks |
| 10.00 – 11.00 | 1. Welcome & Keynote speech 2. Context & framework (ITU CEE) |
| 11.00 – 13.00 | Morning Session: Current Trends in Education |
| 13.00 – 14.00 | Lunch break |
| 14.00 – 15.45 | Afternoon Session: Current Trends in Education From Thesis to Learning Station |
| 15.45 – 16.00 | Q&A and Discussion |
Second Day
October 2, 2025, Thursday
ITU Ayazağa Campus
| 09.00 – 09.30 | Registration / Coffee & Snacks |
| 09.30 – 10.45 | ToT: Learning Station Model |
| 10.45 – 11.00 | Coffee Break |
| 11.00 – 12.30 | Kick-off session on Learning Station design |
Scientific Committee
| Name Surname | Institution |
|---|---|
| Ayşe Kılıç (PhD) | Eindhoven School of Education, ESA Teacher Support and Quality Assurance Central team, (Eindhoven University of Technology) |
| Balazs Nagy Vince (PhD) | Department of Mechatronics, Optics and Engineering Informatics (Budapest University of Technology and Economics) President (European Society for Engineering Education – SEFI) |
| Fatih Eren (PhD) | Department of Urban and Regional Planning (Istanbul Technical University) |
| Onur Behzat Tokdemir (PhD) | Depratment of Civil Engineering (Istanbul Technical University) |
| Scott Strachan (PhD) | Principal Teaching Fellow, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering and Centre for Sustainable Development (University of Strathclyde) |
| Thibaut Skrzypek (PhD) | Head of International Projects (École des Ponts ParisTech) |
| Yılmaz Akkaya (PhD) | Depratment of Civil Engineering (Istanbul Technical University) |
| Yuki Kaneko (PhD) | Foundations Development Directorate, (Sabancı University) |
Organization Committee
| Name Surname | Institution |
|---|---|
| Emrah Acar | Department of Architecture Director, ITU Centre for Excellence in Education (Istanbul Technical University) Board Member, European Society for Engieneting Education – SEFI) |
| Semra Ahmetolan | Department of Mathematics Vice Director, ITU Centre for Excellence in Education (Istanbul Technical University) |
| Merve Çalımlı Akgün | ITU Centre for Excellence in Education (Istanbul Technical University) |
| Emine Görgül | Department of Interior Architecture (Istanbul Technical University) |
| Hale İlkçakın | ITU Centre for Excellence in Education (Istanbul Technical University) |
| Hazal Taşdemir | ITU Centre for Excellence in Education (Istanbul Technical University) |
| Mehmet Aksu | ITU Centre for Excellence in Education (Istanbul Technical University) |
| Onur Ferhanoğlu | Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering Vice Dean, ITU Graduate School (Istanbul Technical University) |