Our Department of Physical Education;
Pursuant to Article 47/a of Law No. 2547 of the Council of Higher Education;
pursuant to the decision adopted under Article 15 of the meeting of the Yıldız Technical University Senate held on October 7, 1983 (Meeting No. 13), in accordance with Article 13 Article 13 of the Academic Organization Regulations, the Department was established in 1983 as an academic unit under the Rectorate, with Prof. Dr. Raif DURAK serving as its first Department Chair.
The Department of Physical Education carries out its activities on behalf of Yıldız Technical University at the Sports Facilities located on our university’s Davutpaşa Campus. Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. E. Mehmet ÖZKAN, together with Department Vice Chair and Instructor Çetin Erdem SONAL, and instructors Şener GÜNAY, Selim AKBIYIK, and Gülsüm SONAL—a total of four faculty members—at the Sports Facilities located on our university’s Davutpaşa Campus.
Together with our student athletes, who are trained by the faculty members of the Department of Physical Education at Yıldız Technical University, our university has achieved numerous accolades across many sports disciplines from the past to the present, including Turkish Championships, Super League Championships, various national rankings (such as 2nd and 3rd place in Turkey), group first-place finishes, and many other accolades; our university will continue this tradition in future academic years as well.
At our university, which consists primarily of departments offering education in technical fields such as engineering, our Department of Physical Education has organized on-campus activities for academic and administrative staff as well as students every academic year. Additionally, the department has participated in competitions organized by private organizations and the Turkish University Sports Federation in various sports disciplines As a result of these competitions, our university has not only secured top placements and won trophies in nearly every discipline for both men’s and women’s teams but has also contributed to the organization by hosting indoor sports competitions on campus.
In an evaluation conducted by the Turkish University Sports Federation based on competition participation and rankings achieved, our university ranks among the top 30 out of approximately 210 universities in Turkey. Considering that this ranking includes universities with sports academies as well as private foundation universities that offer scholarships to athletes, it cannot be denied that this ranking represents a tremendous achievement.
At the beginning of each academic year, our department holds tryouts in virtually every sport to identify student-athletes who will represent our university. Additionally, another round of selection is conducted by reviewing the Athlete Information Form filled out during university registration. Confident students from every faculty and department at our university participate in these tryouts. Among our selection criteria, in addition to athletic ability, possessing good character and demonstrating behavior befitting our university are among the top priorities. Student-athletes who pass the selection process are trained by the relevant sports coaches to prepare for competitions and represent our university when the time comes.