Turkey’s first university in Ankara held its first NFT study program

Senior officials from Turkey’s presidential administration and Culture Ministry were present at the inauguration of the course, according to a report in the Hürriyet daily.

We are happy to teach about NFT, but our students are happier than we are,” said Necdet Ünüvar, rector of the university, in a speech opening the class. The “Introduction to NFT” course is taught by Buğra Ayan.

Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Özgül Özkan Yavuz and Ali Taha Koç, head of the Turkish Presidency’s Digital Transformation Office, were among the guests at the course’s opening lecture.

During the accompanying ceremony, Yavuz stated:

We believe that NFT will activate artistic creativity, skills and talents among young people. The step Ankara University has taken by expanding awareness of NFT is very important.

The deputy minister added that she is eager to see the results at the end of the academic term. Likewise, she also revealed that all the NFT works produced by the participating students can be presented in a future exhibition.

In turn, Ali Taha Koç, head of the Turkish Presidency’s Digital Transformation Office,announced that his office is working on many other digital projects.

 “Don’t think that NFT is only about technology. There is also a legal dimension of NFT that will make us look at how it will affect our business styles,” he emphasized.

Ali Taha Koç, head of the Turkish Presidency’s Digital Transformation Office, reported that his department is now trying to coin a Turkish term for NFT and urged course attendees to support these efforts with their own suggestions.

“Everyone should join in and add an alternative name to NFT,” he said after announcing his intention to launch a survey on social networks.

Turkey and cryptocurrencies

The Ankara University initiative comes a month after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan instructed the country’s ruling Justice and Development Party to study developments such as cryptocurrency and metaverse.

The move followed his announcement in December that Turkey is ready with a law for cryptocurrencies. He has been changing his mind, as in September 2021 the president was talking about a “war” against cryptocurrencies.

“On the contrary, we have a separate war, a separate fight against them. We would never give support to [cryptocurrencies]. Because we will move forward with our own currency that has its own identity.”