Top education specialists, Professor Tony Wagner from Harvard University, Dr. Andreas Schleicher from the Department of the OECD PISA Study Director, Rhona Amour from University of Cambridge – CIE, Dr. Kelvin Gregory President of the Australian Education Ministry of Education and the University of Sydney and academician Dr. Heiko Walkenhorst, Jacobs University, Germany met at Tarabya British Schools in a panel arranged by Horizon Education Group.

Director General of the Ministry of Higher Education and International Education Asst. Assoc. Dr. Semih Aktekin: "university entrance will be scored on extra-curricular activities’’

Tarabya British Schools hosted a panel on "Transition from high school to university: Different Perspectives" During our panel the Ministry of Higher Education and Study Abroad Assistant General Manager. Assoc. Dr. Semih Aktekin, confirmed that they are working on a new way of transition to higher education in Turkey and gave information. Aktekin stated that, "the transition to higher education will take students extracurricular endeavors, arts, sports and leisure activities into consideration when scoring for admission and there will be an information system in education that emphasizes skills at the front instead of memorization.

Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Education and many prestigious universities including Cambridge CIE and Harvard University via video conferencing, participated the panel to discuss university admission systems, student selection policies and education strategies they implement on the pathway from high school to university.

OECD PISA Education Department Director Dr. Andreas Schleicher and Harvard University professor Tony Wagner joined the panel via video conferencing, from the University of Cambridge CIE Rhona Armour, Dr. Heiko Walkenhorst from Jacobs University, Germany, Dr. Gregory from the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Department and Director General of Ministry of Higher Education and International Education Asst. Assoc. Dr. Semih Aktekin.

Chairman Mehmet Gultekin; Horizon Education Group

“To be successful in the 21st century you need to be able to adapt to the world, and this achieved through education. Therefore, every year, hundreds of thousands of students are traveling around the world to the developed countries in order to benefit from university education. “

“Schools offer international high school education and globally recognized examinations aiming at direct entrance into world’s leading universities, scholarships, thinking and learning skills based on critical thinking rather than getting memorization into the way of learning.”

Speaking at the panel Ministry Director General for Higher Education and International Education Asst. Assoc. Dr. Semih Aktekin confirmed that Turkey has sent scholarship students to 22 different countries and they have said that they attached great importance to the internationalization of education. "We want the world to educate people and get to know others. We can get to know ourselves better by recognizing others. We, as government, are trying to increase the quality of education by getting non-governmental organizations and private sector function better. "He continued by confirming that they are working on the current university admission system to university. They are now considering a scoring system into higher education that includes extracurricular endeavors, arts, sports and leisure activities. Through this system they will prioritize skills rather than getting memorization into the way of learning.

Giving direction to the global education sector and is considered as one of the three major names in education, Professor Tony Wagner from Harvard University joined the panel. In his speech that changed the traditional educational methods and student selection, also talked about the differences of expectations from students. Dr. Wagner stated that "comparative education is not an advantage anymore. The world is currently waiting for different qualifications. Now is not the time of just traditional qualifications, skills are what Universities and employers want. Skills such as teamwork and intellectual modesty are now important. In America, we are selecting better students through interviewing and simulations. We are observing and evaluating the skills shown in team work. The problem with standardized tests in the education system is that the do not tell you anything about the abılıty of the student outside knowledge. Ideally, he suggested, each student to create a digital portfolio describing their qualifications and skills that should be evidence-based. Dr. Wagner continued by giving the example of Google recruitment policy shift. "Google now just does not get A and B grade students; students who have demonstrated proficiency in other skills are hired over the A and B students." He also mentioned that there are new expectations and changing measurement systems in education.For instance, to get acceptance to Bard Art School in America, conventional entrance exam and high school diploma are not their indispensable requirement; instead they are expected to write 4 articles meeting their own standards.

Panel member Dr. Andreas Schleicher, Director from OECD Education Department and the world's most advanced measurement and evaluation system, the inventor of the examination system and PISA participated in the video conference and answered questions. Schleicher, emphasized that there are various problems between school-based systems and central systems concerning university entrance, and in his own country, German, each school implements their own systems, this is why each system should has its own individual content.

Panelists from the University of Cambridge CIE Rhona Armour and Dr. Heiko Walkenhorst from Jacobs University, Germany shared a detailed presentation on student selection systems applied in their respective countries. Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Section of the director Dr. Kelvin Gregory also shared with the participants the student intake system applied to higher education in Australia.

During the program, students from Tarabya British Schools and Ministry of Education scholarship undergraduate and graduate students met with the participating prestigious universities. On the school campus Universities set up stands manned by university officials eager to talk with the students about the schools admission policies for students, the education system and academic programs on offer. This not only gave the students the opportunity to officially meet universities but for the admissions department representatives to collect prospective students in an official capacity.

Participated Universities;

• Cambridge University CIE, England
• Birmingham City University, England
• University of Warwick WMG, England
• Coventry University, England
• Oxford Brookes University,England
• University of Chichester, England
• Greenwich University, England
• Regents University, England
• British Council, England
• Aberystwyth University, Galler
• Cornell University, USA
• New York Institute of Technology, USA
• Kent State University, USA
• University of Nevada Reno, USA
• Iowa State University, USA
• Fulbright Burs Komisyonu, USA
• FLS, USA
• Navitas University Placement International
• Jacobs University, Germany
• European University, Spain
• Carnegie Mellon University, Qatar
• La Rochelle Business School - France
• Vatel International Hotel Management School, France
• Horizon International Education Consultancy
• The Art Institutes – USA ve Canada
• INTO University Placement, International
• Kaplan University Placement, International