TÜBİTAK 2204A Turkey Finals

In this post, I will share my experiences and observations at the TÜBİTAK 2204A Turkey Finals.

Before the Presentation

First of all, I should mention that I did not stay at the hotels arranged by TÜBİTAK. I stayed at a different hotel with my family, so I don’t have much information about the official hotels, but as far as I know, they were nice.

The first day was very exciting because I didn’t know what to expect, and the exhibition area was much larger than the one at the regional event. For those who don’t know, the finals are held at the ATO Congresium Convention Center in Ankara.

When I first arrived, I immediately started looking for my stand and found it. This year, two winners were selected from most fields in the region. Their names were Nil and Ali. We had worked on similar topics and both used chaotic systems in our projects; in the region, we were placed against each other. They were really great people. This time, we were placed side by side, and I think TÜBİTAK did this on purpose.

Not much happened on the first day; it actually helped me relieve my stress. I was only worried about the next day because my presentation had 35 slides, and I had to convey it clearly in 10 minutes. On the night we arrived and the first night, I practiced my presentation with my mom timing me, which was very helpful. Besides that, I listened to all the projects in my field on the first day.

Presentation Day

The presentation day was very exciting. On the first day, 9 people presented, and on the second day, another 9; since I was 17th, my presentation was on the second day. The people in my field were really friendly, and we even shared jury questions with each other. I asked those who had already presented what questions they were asked, what the presentation environment was like, and how the jury behaved, and they answered my questions. This wasn’t the case in every field; for example, in psychology, everyone kept their jury experiences to themselves, according to a student from that field. I don’t think such competition is necessary. In the end, some win awards, some don’t, but I believe being able to return home happy is a reward in itself. Normally, there are three jury members each year, but this year, a new jury member was added in my field. This jury member visited the stands and asked everyone questions. When it was my turn, they asked me to briefly talk about my project and then asked questions. The questions were difficult, and some were about data I didn’t have; I answered as best as I could, which was a bit frustrating. When it was my turn, I was taken to the 3rd floor and waited for Ali and Nil to finish their presentations. There were students from Ankara University (or maybe Gazi University, I might be mixing them up) who asked questions and chatted with us while we waited. When I entered the jury presentation, there were four jury members. They gave me time to prepare and told me to let them know when I was ready. When I said I was ready, they set a 10-minute timer. The strangest thing was that they tried to ask questions during my presentation. I stuttered and asked, “Can I answer later?” and they were understanding. After the presentation, we moved on to the Q&A session. Unlike the regional event, this time the questions seemed to be aimed at really understanding the project. Sometimes one jury member would ask a question, and another would answer it. They were really interested, but the jury member who visited my stand hadn’t asked any questions, which made me a bit nervous. When everything was over, trusting the sincerity of the jury, I talked about the parts we could improve and thanked them. I also shared my TÜBİTAK journey and left.

Days After the Presentation

During this time, I visited the middle school projects. The projects were quite good. Only one middle school advisor told us that we had come “unfairly,” which was very funny. When I asked why, they gave nonsensical answers. (Their project didn’t win any awards at the ceremony.) They even criticized other projects, and I found myself defending the other projects in my field. When I was about to show our literature review, my advisor suggested we leave, so I didn’t insist. There are always such people—those who lack their own merit and try to demoralize others.

Other than that, not much happened. It was a proud feeling to see people from all over Turkey gathered just for science. In one middle school project, the advisor was the student’s mother; I recommended a guitar to them. The student wanted to buy an electric guitar, which was a bit different, but they were very friendly people.

Award Ceremony

We were all there at 10 o’clock: me, my mom, and my advisor. I was very afraid of receiving a consolation prize. In fact, I thought it would be better not to get an award than to get a consolation prize. First, the first-place winners were announced. I wasn’t among them, but I didn’t mind. Then the consolation prizes were announced; again, I wasn’t among them, and I was happy. Until the third places were announced—because I wasn’t among them either, and something changed. I never believed I would be second; I thought I would either be first by chance or third. I don’t know if I’ve ever worked harder for anything in my life. For me, it wasn’t about winning an award; preparing this project had become an obsession, and I couldn’t think about anything else. At that moment, I felt that if my work wasn’t recognized, it would be devastating for me. I was so stressed that I went into “earthquake position” (the drop-cover-hold on one). When the chemistry awards were being announced, I returned to a normal position because I knew the mathematics awards would be next—my last chance. I even felt that the person next to me was worried for me. When the second place in mathematics was announced, I heard, “Istanbul Özel İstek…” and I knew I had been chosen. I was selected as the national second place in mathematics. I didn’t know how to react; I cried, laughed, and felt everything at once. I didn’t walk to the stage—I flew. It was a wonderful moment.

One of the things that made me sad was Ali and Nil not winning any awards. I was really upset about that. Sometimes I think I should have mentioned their names on the microphone, but I was in shock and didn’t even think of it. All the consolation prize winners were very sad, and I felt especially sorry for them because I would have felt the same if I had received a consolation prize.

Ending

Thank you for reading :)

I would also like to thank my advisor Tutku Dilara Yılmaz, Yeditepe University lecturer Ali Cihan Keleş, and my family for always being by my side on this journey.