Turkish institute imparts flying lessons to students

By Ramazan Kaya

Kayseri, Turkey (AA) - An Ethiopian student, realized his dream of playing with flying machines as part of a scientific project arranged by the Yunus Emre Institute, a non-profit organization established by the Turkish government in 2007.

Under the Scientific and Academic Cooperation of Turkey Project (TABIP), 14 students from nine different countries, worked with model planes, helicopters and drones.

They received training and lessons from aviation experts, for over two weeks at the Istanbul Technical University and Erciyes University.

The group hailing from the U.S., China, the U.K., Germany, Malaysia, Morocco, Ethiopia, Syria and Brunei also visited the Turkey Drone Championship at the TEKNOFEST festival, in Nevsehir, Urgup in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey.

Anadolu Agency is a communication partner of this festival.

Tensae Alemayehu, 20, a mechanical engineering student at the Mekelle University in Ethiopia, said working with flying machines was his childhood dream.

“My dreams were realized, thanks to the TABIP project. I had an incredible experiences here. I am going to share it back in my country, what I have learnt here. I worked with drones to model airplanes,” he added.

He said the program and the things, he saw here has increased his admiration for Turkey.

Furkan Koca, an expert at the TABIP, said the students were selected after an elaborate process. He said the most successful students of nine countries were ultimately accepted to undertake the project.

“Some of them have not seen any drones or airplanes. By introducing them to these technologies in Turkey, we encouraged them to share their experiences in their own countries, when they return,” Koca said.