The year 2019 is the anniversary of two important developments in the industrial design education history of Turkey; in this year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first industrial design course in our country and the 40th anniversary of the foundation of our department. The celebration events started with the opening speeches of Güven Arif Sargın, Şuayip Çavuşlar and Gülay Hasdoğan. Afterwards, Mehmet Asatekin, Tevfik Balcıoğlu, Ali Günöven, Maryse E. Posenear Erkip, Hasan Saltık, Önder Şenyapılı Refik Toksöz and Canan E. Ünlü shared their thoughts and experiences about METU from the perspective of educators on a panel moderated by Fatma Korkut.

Later on, graduates from various years Neslihan Kaya (1985), Şükriye Özcan (1985), H. Alpay Er (1988), Benan Kapucu (1988), Guita Farivarsadri (1989), Özlem Yalım (1995), Beyza Doğan (2009) and Muzaffer Koçer (2009) shared their own stories and comments about being a METU graduate from their point of view on a panel moderated by Gülay Hasdoğan.

Besides the panels, in the context of 50/40 years of Industrial Design Education at METU events, exhibitions were held in several places of Faculty of Architecture. “Between Modernization Aspirations and Political Instability: Foundations of ID Education at METU, 1950s-1970s” exhibition was presented at Dean’s Exhibition Hall. The exhibition included important events that have taken place since the foundation of METU and had an impact on the maturation of the department. “METU Industrial Design: Impact and Influence” presentation put together some facts, figures and charts generated from our database of alumni, proudly showcasing the national and international influence and impact of the Department.

A selection of undergraduate and graduate design projects was also displayed during the celebration events. Participants’ center of attention was the poster installation that consisted of the names of our department’s alumni. Students and alumni who participated in the event had fun by taking photos in front of their names.

Expectations for the future of design were written on the board next to the poster. Those who participated had a chance to recall their memories by looking through the past and present photos about the department as a part of the Kubbealtı Exhibition. Photos of the 50/40 events can be reached via this link.