Defense Literacy Training for Postgraduate Students

Event Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Haldun Yalçınkaya
Bodrum/Türkiye (April 23-26, 2026)

Defense Literacy Training for Graduate Students Successfully Completed 

Organized by the Bodrum Institute and lasting for three days, the “Defense Literacy Training for Graduate Students” has been successfully completed with high participation. In this visionary program that brought together future strategists and security experts, a multidimensional perspective on Türkiye’s defense architecture was presented.

During the training; fundamental strategic concepts such as defense planning, command and control processes, logistical support, and military geography were examined in depth. Furthermore, while the hardware structures of the land, naval, and air forces were discussed, the effects of next-generation emerging and disruptive technologies (EDT) such as cybersecurity, unmanned vehicles, weapons of mass destruction, artificial intelligence, and quantum on the future warfare environment were addressed in detail.

You can access the announcement regarding the application period of the training and detailed information below or by following the buttons:

• Defense and defense industry issues have become an increasingly important research area for graduate students from various disciplines. However, the training and interaction opportunities for master’s and doctoral students working in this field to develop the basic terminology and analytical framework of defense and military studies are quite limited. This situation makes it difficult for students to acquire the necessary conceptual infrastructure in their academic studies on the subject and can also negatively affect the development of the literature. Therefore, there is a need for training programs where graduate students can come together with experts who have the theoretical and practical knowledge of the field to develop their knowledge and experiences.
• This training program aims to fill the existing gap by conveying foundational knowledge on defense, defense industry, and military studies to graduate-level students who are writing their theses and will contribute to the literature in the field of defense and military studies in the future, through experts who have experienced and studied the subject as both soldiers and academics, thereby making them literate in defense and military studies. In this context, the objectives of the training are presented below:
• To make graduate students from all fields who are working/wanting to work on defense, defense industry, and military studies defense-literate and to eliminate their terminological deficiencies.
• To create collaboration opportunities by enabling academics conducting research on defense, defense industry, and military studies, and military-background experts with extensive practical experience in the subject, to meet with graduate students who will work in this field.
• To contribute to the development of the relevant field of study by ensuring that experts and academics with practical and general military experience transfer their experiences and knowledge to participants who do not have this experience. To enable the execution of multidimensional research and thesis studies by transferring experience to the participants beyond textbook knowledge.
• To pave the way for the creation of joint projects by bringing together academics and experts working in the field of defense, defense industry, and military studies with graduate students who will work in this field. In particular, to provide support for the graduate studies that talented and high-potential graduate students coming from different parts of Türkiye, who have limited access to Ankara and the National Defense University and thus remain in the periphery in the center-periphery relationship, will conduct in this field in Türkiye.
• To prepare the infrastructure for researchers from various universities in Türkiye to contribute to the field on defense, defense industry, and military studies with the knowledge acquired by talented and high-potential graduate students in their respective fields, and to contribute to the training of potential researchers who possess terminological knowledge, have gained a defense literacy foundation, and are included in a communication network with the experts of the field.
• To establish an epistemic community with potential young researchers in the field of defense, defense industry, and military studies by ensuring that the participants’ connection with the experts and academics who attended the training continues in the post-training period. To contribute to the continuation of advanced studies on topics that are felt to be lacking in relevant fields in Türkiye through this epistemic community.

Who Can Participate Graduate students at the master’s and doctoral levels from all fields, primarily those working, aiming to work on, or interested in issues related to defense and the defense industry, can participate in the event. Participants must be registered in the TÜBİTAK ARBİS database.

Required Documents for Application

• The form opened via the “Apply Now” button at the bottom of the page
• One updated CV belonging to the participant (to be added to the designated section in the form)
• A letter of intent between 500-1000 words explaining the participant’s purpose for attending the training (to be added to the designated section in the form)

Training and Accommodation Expenses Training, accommodation, and subsistence expenses will be covered by the TÜBİTAK 2237 project budget, and no fee will be requested from the participants. Additionally, 1260 TL (taxes to be deducted) in travel support will be provided to the participants.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION AND RESULTS:

Applications will be accepted until Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 17:30. Evaluation results will be notified via e-mail on Monday, March 30, 2026, only to the candidates who are entitled to participate in the activity. To apply, click on the “Apply Now” button at the bottom of the page.