First, we gathered on the 1st of December for one of our traditional events: Uzay Sohbetleri, meaning Space Talk. We invited the speaker Yaren Bektaş studying astrophysics and cosmology at the Bologna University to talk about astrobiology, including the possibilities of life on exoplanets, and the key role of carbon molecules for explorations. She was so enthusiastic about her major, we learned a lot from her and asked deeper questions.

Moreover, of course, we celebrate Civil Aviation day with an event with experienced people from the civil aviation sector. on the 6th of December, AS Kocaeli conducted an event about Civil Aviation at Gebze Technical University congress center, by hosting people working on different topics in the aviation field, such as a retired fighter aircraft pilot, the President of TALPA (Turkey Airline Pilots Association), and the Istanbul Airport Operation Director. First, the retired fighter aircraft pilot Ekrem Konakoğlu started his speech about his good old days flying his fighter aircraft. He is now a pilot for Turkish Airlines, so we heard all about it. After the speech, attendants took a break with some pastries and hot drinks. Then, the operation director of Istanbul Airport Ozan Karakış gave some information about how an airport works and what they do in critical situations like bad weather, etc. Last but not least, after another break, the President of TALPA and Chief Pilot Okan Üreksoy talked about his experiences as a pilot, what TALPA is and what it does. 

To conclude, we invited students from our university to present EUROAVIA. We gave information about Working Groups, International Events, application procedures, etc. We aim at increasing our member number and including more active people inside EUROAVIA.

That was all from AS Kocaeli for this month, we had a lot of fun, and we hope that also the other local groups are doing great this month. And finally, Merry Christmas everyone!  

AS Kocaeli