Two prestigious awards from Finnish President Sauli NIINISTÖ

Prof. Dr. Alpay Er, our Industrial Design Department Head at the Faculty of Architecture and Design, is bestowed with "Suomen Leijonan I luokan ritarimerkki" (Knight, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland) by President of Finland, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of bilateral relations and cooperation between Finland and Turkey in the field of design.

Also, Ms. Ülkü Gürsoy, our Social Events Coordinator, is recognized with "Suomen Vatkoisen Ruusun ansioristi" (Cross of Merit of the Order of the White Rose of Finland) by the President of Finland for her contributions to the development of bilateral relations between the two countries through educational, environmental, and peace projects and her outstanding achievements and services in the Finland-based Environmental Online (“ENO”) Project.

This year only three persons from Turkey have been honored with these highly prestigious Finnish awards. Özyeğin University has thus become new home to two of Finland’s most distinguished honors thanks to the outstanding achievements of Prof. Dr. Alpay Er and Ms. Ülkü Gürsoy.

Prof. Dr. Alpay Er and Ms. Ülkü Gürsoy will be receiving their awards from Ms. Paivi KAIRAMO, Ambassador of Finland, during a ceremony to be held in Istanbul on September 21, 2017 in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Finland’s Declaration of Independence.