Disiplinlerarası Tasarım Stüdyosu - Güz '25
(BA4148 - Interdisciplinary Problem Solving)
The 11th Interdisciplinary Design Studio, conducted during the Fall semester of the 2025–2026 academic year, brought together students from diverse disciplines on a shared creative platform, focusing on collective thinking and production processes around the theme “Sharing METU,” determined in celebration of Middle East Technical University’s 70th anniversary.
Throughout the studio, a design thinking approach was placed at the core of the process. Supported by workshops, seminars, and contributions from faculty members across different disciplines, the program enabled students to develop multi-perspective ways of thinking. Within this structure, participants not only produced design solutions but also reflected on notions of sharing, collaboration, and interdisciplinary interaction, reinterpreting METU’s cultural and academic heritage through innovative ideas.
The resulting projects, with their creative approaches centered on shared campus spaces, knowledge production practices, and a strong sense of community, compellingly demonstrated the interdisciplinary design studio’s potential as a space for learning, exploration, and collective production.
HORIZON
Bahadır Sarıhan - Burhan Özdemir - Duru Gündoğan - Hakan Arıcı - Umut Derin - Yasin Engin
Hocam App is a mentorship application that brings together METU students and METU alumni from around the world on a single digital platform. By transferring METU’s distinctive culture of “hocamlık” into a digital environment, the application aims to make alumni–student interaction more accessible and sustainable. Students are matched one-on-one with alumni based on criteria such as their interests, career goals, desired institutions, and countries they wish to work in, enabling them to receive direct, experience-based answers to their questions. Designed exclusively for this type of interaction, the platform clearly differentiates itself from general professional networking services. Currently tested and fully functional, Hocam App seeks to strengthen intergenerational knowledge transfer, reduce uncertainty, and create a global networking space for the METU community.
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MAHİMAHİ
Ali Murat Karaosmanoğlu - Batuhan Erdoğan - Duru Doğdu - Mehmet Kala - Minel Koç - Sude Bay
Komşu ODTÜ is a project that aims to establish a relationship based on trust and mutual learning between individuals aged 50–65 living around the campus and METU students. Through monthly in-person events supported by a digital application and social media, the project creates a warm interaction environment inspired by the “Hocam” culture. The events include introductory gatherings, student club performances, workshops, and shared meals accompanied by conversation. The easy-to-use mobile application features event registrations, communication tools, digital literacy content, and an AI-powered question-and-answer function titled “My Grandchild at METU.” By removing the invisible boundaries between the campus and its surrounding neighborhoods, the project seeks to transform METU into an accessible and inclusive space of community and neighborliness.
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RACOOM
Aslınur Gayretli - Ayşe Şevval Demir - Emre Hatipli - Seren Erenoğlu - Sıla Eyler - Teoman Gönenç - Yiğit Demir
FORESPHERE is an experience-oriented system project that approaches the METU Forest as a lived, evolving, and transformative environment. Within the scope of the project, a pilot forest route of approximately 2.5 km has been designed, starting from the campus mosque. Along this route, forest furniture elements are placed to enable visitors to experience the forest in a multi-dimensional way. Forest kits provided to visitors make the experience safer and more accessible, while organized events encourage repeated visits to the forest. The project’s digital interface offers supportive functions such as route and event tracking, as well as emergency access features. FORESPHERE is a holistic experiential system that aims to strengthen the relationship between people and the METU Forest.
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IDEACREW
Aybüke Nur Erkuş - Ayşe Deniz Acar - Can Özaslangöz - Emirkan Vural - Özgür Demirhan - Uğur Ceylan
AllDayMETU is a digital platform designed to reduce decision fatigue caused by the overwhelming number of choices in campus life. The project aims to make it easier to navigate events, student clubs, food and beverage options, and social spaces at Middle East Technical University. The platform is built around three core principles: discovery through smart filters, verification through student-generated reviews, and access to transparent, uncensored information. By bringing all campus opportunities together in a single, curated interface, AllDayMETU reduces cognitive load, strengthens trust, and supports a sense of belonging. AllDayMETU is a METU digital experience project that seeks to offer a more focused and connected campus experience.
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MAVERICKS
Furkan Yılmaz - İdil Dicle Kayhan - İlknur Türk - Mehmet Emin Gül - Oğuz Kağan Güven - Ömer Toker
RING is an experience-oriented board game designed to help prospective university students experience Middle East Technical University not only through its academic profile but also through its campus life. By enabling players to explore campus life step by step, the game transforms the university from a “black box” into a tangible and understandable experience. As players move between campus gates, they make choices across academic, social, sports, and experiential domains, encountering realistic decisions related to time management, balance, and prioritization. The goal is not to finish the game as quickly as possible, but to explore the campus consciously and thoughtfully. Unlike passive information tools, RING offers active participation, helping reduce stress during the university selection process and supporting applicants in making more informed decisions.
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SALT
Beyza Doğar - Zeynep Sena Ulutürk - Ayşen Öztürk - Şerife Sümeyye Balcı - Deniz Hasan Turan - Berfin Akdemir
HOBB is a web-based platform designed to help new students coming to Middle East Technical University from different cities build social connections and adapt more easily to campus life. The platform allows students to create events without pressure, browse ongoing activities, and join or leave at their own pace. By offering social spaces at varying scales—from club meetups to small coffee gatherings—HOBB helps students choose environments that suit them through features such as a live gallery and crowd density indicators. In addition, social participation can be tracked through past and upcoming events, as well as a personal “activity score.” Developed by students, HOBB aims to strengthen a sense of belonging and connection on campus through its flexible and accessible structure.
