Yıldız Technical University will contribute to efforts aimed at enhancing the resilience of educational facilities against disaster risks under a protocol signed between the Ministry of National Education and 15 universities.

Yıldız Technical University (YTÜ) has joined a cooperation protocol aimed at reducing structural disaster risks in educational institution buildings and annexes and conducting research and development activities. The protocol signed between the Ministry of National Education (MEB) and 15 universities aims to combine the Ministry’s field experience and data resources with the universities’ academic and technical expertise.

Under the “Protocol on Reducing Structural Disaster Risks in Educational Institution Buildings and Annexes and Conducting R&D Activities,” work will be carried out covering all 81 provinces. In designated work areas for each university, technical studies will be conducted to enhance the resilience of educational institutions against disasters, assess their structural safety, and identify and mitigate existing risks.

Scientific and technical assessments will be conducted

Under the protocol, observational and detailed structural inspections, building performance analyses, material and soil investigations, and damage assessment studies may be conducted in educational buildings. In addition, studies may be conducted on the preparation and oversight of reinforcement, major repair, and renovation projects, as well as on energy efficiency, fire safety, accessibility, and the monitoring of structural health.

The goal is for the technical data obtained from these studies to be analyzed using scientific methods to contribute to decision-support mechanisms and disaster management strategies aimed at reducing disaster risks.

Universities’ fieldwork is being expanded

As part of the first implementations of technical cooperation between the Ministry of National Education (MEB) and universities, approximately 900 educational buildings were inspected on-site in collaboration with Pamukkale, Fırat, and Karadeniz Technical Universities. As a result of seismic assessments conducted on buildings deemed necessary, demolition orders were issued for 396 buildings, while reinforcement and technical design processes were carried out for the remaining structures.

The new protocol aims to expand the scope of these efforts and more effectively integrate the academic expertise and technical capacity of universities into disaster-resilience initiatives for educational buildings across all 81 provinces.

As part of this collaboration, in addition to Yıldız Technical University, the following universities are also participating: Akdeniz, Aydın Adnan Menderes, Erzurum Technical, Gaziantep, Gazi, Istanbul Technical, Ondokuz Mayıs, Pamukkale, Kafkas, Karadeniz Technical, Konya Technical, KTO Karatay, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal, and Van Yüzüncü Yıl Universities are also participating in this collaboration.