Author: wwwtdi

DTS- FALL ’25

DTS- FALL ’25

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.

METU SOCIAL SCIENCES WINTER SCHOOL X DESIGN FACTORY

METU SOCIAL SCIENCES WINTER SCHOOL X DESIGN FACTORY

ODTÜ Tasarım Fabrikası instructors Prof. Dr. Arzu Gönenç Sorguç and Dr. Serkan Alkan delivered a Design Thinking course to high school students within the scope of the ODTÜ Social Sciences Winter School. Throughout the course, students developed creative solutions to real-world problems using a human-centered approach; they had the opportunity to test and refine their ideas through prototyping. Conducted through both individual and team-based activities, the process strengthened students’ critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaborative production skills.

A Collaboration between ODTÜ Design Factory and RÜZGEM

A Collaboration between ODTÜ Design Factory and RÜZGEM

METU Design Factory and METUWIND (Center For Wind Energy Research) successfully completed the modeling and fabrication processes for wind tunnel testing through a collaborative effort. With an interdisciplinary approach, we continue to research, design, and produce together.

EEN SG Cultural & Creative Industries Meeting 2025 & METUCrea Matchmaking Event

EEN SG Cultural & Creative Industries Meeting 2025 & METUCrea Matchmaking Event

As an active member of the EEN Sector Group Cultural & Creative Industries and co-chair of the Study Group, we were delighted to host the EEN SG Cultural & Creative Industries Meeting 2025, alongside the METUCrea Matchmaking Event, bringing together creative professionals, innovators, researchers, and ecosystem actors from across Europe.The meeting also served as a dissemination platform for CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment), where its principles, commitments, and ongoing activities were presented and discussed with key stakeholders from the cultural and creative industries.

A big thank you to all speakers, partners, and participants for making this event such a valuable and inspiring experience.

Looking forward to new collaborations ahead!

METU Design Factory × TUSAŞ | Design Thinking Workshops

METU Design Factory × TUSAŞ | Design Thinking Workshops

As METU Design Factory, we successfully completed a two-phase Design Thinking workshop series in collaboration with TUSAŞ, a leading company in the aerospace industry, on November 18–19 and 25–26. Conducted with two different groups, the workshops provided a highly productive and engaging environment centered on collaboration and shared learning.

Throughout the process, participants demonstrated strong motivation, open-mindedness, and active engagement, enabling an in-depth exploration of user-centered problem definition, rapid prototyping, and creative solution development. The outcomes highlighted the value of interdisciplinary collaboration and the potential of design thinking approaches within high-technology and aerospace-driven contexts.

We would like to thank the TUSAŞ team for their valuable contributions and collaboration throughout this inspiring and rewarding process.

EIT Tech2X: Technology for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Excellence

EIT Tech2X: Technology for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Excellence

The TECH2X project aims to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship capacity in higher education, foster new deep-tech talent, and support the transition towards the 4th Generation University model.

The project encourages collaboration, networking, and practice-based learning to develop scalable and impactful approaches to innovation and entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on climate and mobility.

The consortium brings together universities, an innovation hub and accelerator, and a world-leading research organisation, combining expertise in business, technology, and design to address societal challenges and advance deep-tech entrepreneurship.

Main objectives of TECH2X include:

  • Designing and delivering new education and training programmes on tech-driven innovation.
  • Establishing structures to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship capacity.
  • Supporting students and researchers in creating and developing new ventures.
  • Expanding networks and ecosystem connections.
  • Sharing success stories and best practices.

Within the project, the METU Design Factory represents Middle East Technical University. With its expertise in interdisciplinary innovation and prototyping, it contributes by designing and piloting new courses for students and researchers, supporting deep-tech innovation activities, and leading ecosystem mapping efforts to connect stakeholders and strengthen innovation pathways.

Project website: https://www.tech2x.eu/

Partners

Fundación Esade (ESADE-URL) (Lead Partner)

Spain

Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna

Italy

Middle East Technical University

Türkiye

Hochschule Mannheim

Germany

ORGANISATION EUROPEENNE POUR LA RECHERCHE NUCLEAIRE (CERN)

Switzerland

ALMACUBE srl

Italy

Project Timeline

Funding

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

CoARA CI-KPI: Qualitative KPIs Tailored for Creative Industries: A Pilot Study on Film-Making, Wearables, and Game Development

CoARA CI-KPI: Qualitative KPIs Tailored for Creative Industries: A Pilot Study on Film-Making, Wearables, and Game Development

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have emerged as essential tools for evaluating organizational and project-based performance across various industries. An increasing amount of research emphasizes the necessity of shifting from conventional, quantitative, and financially oriented measurements to more process-oriented and context-sensitive methods.

The implementation of KPIs in a range of industries, such as manufacturing, education, healthcare, construction, government, and e-commerce, is examined by Setiawan and Purba (2020) in a thorough analysis of 50 peer-reviewed publications published between 2011 and 2020. According to their findings, the complexity of performance in today’s dynamic, information-based environments cannot be adequately captured by traditional performance measures, which place a strong emphasis on financial and accounting indicators. In order to enable the meaningful application of KPI-based evaluation frameworks, they instead support the adoption of process-oriented organizational structures with clearly defined and standardized procedures.

KPIs are crucial for tracking project success across several dimensions, including cost, time, quality, and stakeholder engagement, according to Maina and Adamu (2022), who support this viewpoint. Their research emphasizes how crucial it is becoming to customize KPIs to the unique objectives, context, and value systems of each project, especially in intricate or multidisciplinary fields. They contend that in order to provide a complete picture of success, effective KPIs must consider both observable results and intangible contributions.
Building on these discoveries, the current project, which is part of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) framework, suggests creating a new set of qualitative KPIs that are specifically intended to assess R&D activities in the creative industries, with a focus on wearable technology, game development, and filmmaking. By promoting qualitative, context-sensitive performance evaluation that captures innovation, societal relevance, and creative excellence, this initiative aims to replace strict, metric-driven evaluation systems.

Supported by the Middle East Technical University’s (METU) extensive research infrastructure encompassing more than 2,000 faculty members and 37 research centers, this project aims to set a precedent for a more inclusive, fair, and interdisciplinary research evaluation environment.

Funding

ECITE: Emergence of Creative Industries and Transformation of the Economy of Gaming, Wearables, and New Generation Film Production

ECITE: Emergence of Creative Industries and Transformation of the Economy of Gaming, Wearables, and New Generation Film Production

The ECITE project is co-financed by the European Union and the Republic of Türkiye, with Middle East Technical University (METU) as the beneficiary. The project aims to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of Türkiye’s creative industries—focusing on gaming, wearable technologies, and next-generation filmmaking—by supporting entrepreneurs, SMEs, freelancers, and spin-offs.

The consortium brings together academic and research centers, innovation hubs, and sectoral stakeholders to combine expertise in technology, design, and creative industries. Together, they address the transformation needs of the creative economy and foster innovation and entrepreneurship in these fast-growing fields.

Main goals of ECITE include:

  • Establishing METU Crea, a sectoral hub uniting creative industries under one platform.
  • Providing targeted services to strengthen entrepreneurs, SMEs, and freelancers.
  • Boosting R&D and sectoral strategies through METU’s ecosystem (Design Factory, GISAM, ATOM).
  • Creating new opportunities for training, mentoring, and networking.
  • Supporting the integration of creative industries into manufacturing and service sectors to increase competitiveness.

Within ECITE, METU Design Factory plays a central role by leading interdisciplinary innovation and sectoral collaboration, while working closely with GISAM (film and media) and ATOM (gaming and animation) to ensure impact across the creative industries.

Project Website: https://metucrea.com/

Funding

Design Factory at METU Engineering Summer School

Design Factory at METU Engineering Summer School

As part of the Engineering Summer School organized by Middle East Technical University for high school students, the course titled “BIYOESIN 101: Nature-Inspired Designs” was successfully completed after an intensive and creative two-day educational program. Drawing inspiration from structures and systems in nature, the course introduced high school students to the innovative and inspiring world of engineering.

Held at the METU Design Factory under the coordination of Faculty of Architecture professor Prof. Dr. Arzu Gönenç Sorguç and the Design Factory team, the course allowed participants to explore nature-inspired design principles and apply them to develop creative solutions to engineering problems.

During the hands-on sessions, students developed their own designs based on claws, joints, bones, and skeletal systems found in nature. Using 3D printers, they turned their ideas into physical prototypes. At the end of the course, a competition was held among these designs under the theme of “maximum load-bearing capacity.” The competition provided both fun and educational moments.

The “BIYOESIN 101” course not only increased young participants’ interest in engineering and design but also helped them enhance their teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

DT4VET: Educating Designerly Thinkers for Vocational Education and Training: Design Thinking Tool for Educators

DT4VET: Educating Designerly Thinkers for Vocational Education and Training: Design Thinking Tool for Educators

The transitions in the global economy, the use of digital technologies in the realm of work and the development of new types of entrepreneurship are changing the profile of jobs.

These changes pose a major challenge to the systems of initial vocational education and training (IVET).
Regarding issues in the IVET system (slowness in updating curricula; the governance models, and sector-specific characteristics), DT4VET aims to pursue a strategy apt to make the IVET system reflective and active in addressing the ever-changing skills demands of the labor market.

The field requires REFLECTIVE Educators: Open to take initiatives responsively; skilled to determine problems and produce solutions; skilled to revise/improve critically their teaching methods/contents even beyond the expectations of the market.

Project Website: http://dt4vet.etu.edu.tr/

DT4VET aims to change the PRAXIS of vocational education. It aims to shift the mindset, values, the practices of people who are educating the future qualified and the entrepreneurial workforce of Europe.

DT4VET considers DESIGN THINKING (DT) as a key method/process to trigger reflective practices in educators. The DT method addresses simultaneously most of the transversal skills, such as the ability to think creatively and critically, take initiative, and work collaboratively for common goals and entrepreneurship competences in a systemic/holistic approach.

The main GOAL of DT4VET is to enhance the transversal skills and entrepreneurship competences of educators teaching at vocational-technical high schools by devising “DT4VET Toolkit” and “DT4VET online training module” that implement “design thinking” into the training of educators.

DT4VET, as a trilateral partnership of 7 partners from 4 countries.

Project Partners

TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Turkey

ODTÜ Design Factory, Turkey

VAMK, Finland

Scuola Nazionale Servizi, Italy

ITB University of Bremen, Germany

Ministry of National Education, Turkey

Ankara Chamber of Industry Vocational and Technical High School, Turkey

Project Timeline

Funding

This project is funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union. However, European Commission and Turkish National Agency cannot be held responsi­ble for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.