Within the framework of the "Empowering Digital Competencies of Teachers with Designing Digital Learning Materials Through Gamification" project, which is conducted under the Erasmus+ Key Action 2 (KA2) Higher Education Cooperation Partnerships and includes Assist.Prof. Dr. Süleyman Çite from our Faculty of Education's Department of Science Education, a conference and workshop titled "Empower Digi Teach: Digital Competency Conference and Workshop" was held on May 8, 2025, at the Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Cultural Center, hosted by the Faculty of Education of Kastamonu University and supported by the Kastamonu Provincial Directorate of National Education.
The event, organized to improve teachers' digital competencies, began with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem. The program was attended by our Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Selahattin Kaymakcı, Kastamonu Provincial Director of National Education Hasan Gümüş, Dean of the Faculty of Education Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kaçar, faculty members from Dokuz Eylul University, Prof. Dr. Ercan Akpınar, and Assist. Prof. Dr. Yasemin Kahyaoğlu Erdoğmuş, Assist. Prof. Dr. Süleyman Çite, Asst. Prof. Dr. Kadir Yücel Kaya, as well as many academics, teachers, and students.
In his opening speech at the event, Assist. Prof.Dr. Süleyman Çite stated that the program aims to enhance teachers' skills in designing and using digital materials through teaching environments based on gamification theories.
Kastamonu Provincial Director of National Education Hasan Gümüş emphasized the importance of integrating education with technology, highlighting that developing digital competencies and skills is crucial to meet the requirements of the era. Gümüş expressed his satisfaction with the organization of such an important event in Kastamonu and thanked the institutions and academic staff who contributed to the project.
Following him, our Vice Rector, Prof. Dr. Selahattin Kaymakcı, expressed their pleasure in hosting this international event aimed at improving teachers' digital competencies in line with the requirements of the digital age and thanked all the academics who contributed to the project, especially the academic staff of Dokuz Eylül University, who led it.
After the opening speeches, certificates of appreciation were presented to the faculty members who contributed to the conference. At the event, the introduction of the EU-supported Empower Digi Teach project was first presented by Assist. Prof.Dr. Yasemin Kahyaoğlu Erdoğmuş.
After the introduction, the conference section began. In this section, Prof. Dr. Ercan Akpınar and Assist. Prof.Dr. Yasemin Kahyaoğlu Erdoğmuş from Dokuz Eylul University, as well as Assist. Prof.Dr. Süleyman Çite and Assist. Prof.Dr. Kadir Yücel Kaya from our University participated with their presentations. Participants shared their knowledge and experiences on topics such as technology integration in education, the digital competence framework (DigiCompEdu), learning management systems (LMS), and the teacher's guidebook.
After the conference, the program moved on to the workshop section, where practical information about gamification and artificial intelligence tools in education was shared with the participants.
