The first workshop of the "Turkey-UK: 3DI 3D Printing & Digital Innovation" project, which will be carried out for 2 years in partnership with Marmara University and University College London, took place on April 25, 2023, at the Conference Hall of the Faculty of Technology of Marmara University Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Complex.

Professor Deepak Kalaskar of the University College London, and Professor Stephen Hilton, who is also a VR specialist, took part in the workshop, which was supported by the British Council and led by Marmara University Nanotechnology and Biomaterials Application and Research Center (NBUAM).

Making the workshop of the project focusing on institutional transformation and the establishment of a Virtual Reality (VR) Center where scientists from Turkey and the UK can meet in state-of-the-art laboratories in the field of 3D printing as in real life, Assoc. Prof. Önder Demir from the Technology Faculty Computer Engineering Department talked about the contributions of the project and said “Digital formation has become a transformation that affects all sectors. Although we have become accustomed to digital transformation in many subjects with the pandemic, the most difficult situation for us in this process was our departments with applied education. With this technology, these virtual laboratories will be of great benefit, primarily in the name of occupational health and safety, in the name of sustainability, and in reducing the carbon footprint.”

VR specialist and Professor of Chemistry Stephen Hilton introduced the VR laboratory in a virtual reality environment, enabling the participants to experience the VR laboratory. Explaining the ongoing technological processes of laboratory studies in his presentation, Hilton mentioned that thanks to this most recent new technology, both Marmara University and University College London students will be able to access the same physical laboratories they have in the virtual environment and receive an education. In the virtual classroom laboratory environment, which is compatible with ChatGBPT, students are offered an interactive study opportunity by asking the questions they want with ChatGPT technology.

NBUAM Director Prof. Dr. Oğuzhan Gündüz introduced the project's curriculum in his speech. In his speech, “Within the scope of this project, which is on the idea of transferring 3D printers to the virtual environment, students will receive training on the use of 3D printers online at the first stage. In this ongoing project, we aim to spread education by starting with small student groups first and then increasing the number of students. This technology will certainly provide great benefits both in terms of sustainability and in distance education of our departments with applied courses.

After the workshop speeches, Pof. Dr. Deepak Kalaskar and Prof. Stephen Hilton were presented their gift by Prof. Dr. Canan Doğan from the Faculty of Technology, Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering and Lect. Dr. Sema Gündüz.  After the speeches, the stands where the participants experienced the VR laboratories attracted great attention.