39-year-old Physics Engineer Assoc. Prof., who has written his name in the world of science in golden letters. Dr. Canan Dağdeviren gave golden advice to students in her speech at the opening of Acıbadem University’s 2024-2025 academic year.
“WE SHOULD HAVE DREAMS INSTEAD OF OUR EXCUSES”
“We should have dreams instead of excuses,” said Dağdeviren, adding that young people today have countless advantages and that it is very valuable to use social media and be able to contact people miles away in seconds. Assoc. Dr. Dağdeviren advised young people to make good use of this and to use the global world and contact everyone concerned to build their dreams.
The rector of the university, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Şahin also said; He stated that they are mobilizing all the opportunities they can to raise the young generations in the light of science, and emphasized that they provide students with all the equipment they need in the developing and transforming world of medicine, and that they continue to follow the innovations as quickly as possible and turn them into practice.
He is the pride of Turkey… Assoc. Prof., who made his mark in the world science community with his invention of the ‘wearable pacemaker’ when he was only 28 years old, and is the first Turkish scientist to be elected as a member of the Harvard University Young Academy. Dr. Canan Dağdeviren is also on BBC’s ‘100 Inspiring Women’ list. Continuing her studies at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, Dağdeviren continues her work on a wearable electronic bra that can detect breast cancer early. Assoc. Prof., who has gained an important place in the scientific world with her discoveries, is both a scientist and the mother of a 1.5-year-old child. Dr. Dağdeviren came for the 2024-2025 Academic Year Opening Ceremony of Acıbadem University. He gave the traditional ‘First Lecture’ for the opening ceremony, where experts in their fields were invited as speakers. Dağdeviren, who started his speech titled “A Road from Silk” by sharing the unforgettable words of his grandmother, who passed away recently, said, “My grandmother’s name was İpek, but unfortunately her life was not as good as her name. My grandmother was a woman who suffered a lot and suffered a lot in her life.” But during his illness, he said a sentence to me that touched me very much: ‘I suffered a lot and suffered a lot, but what you did and will do for people, for humanity, made me very happy.’ “I know and feel that I will always keep my grandmother alive with the devices I make and the work I do, and she will always watch me, I am aware of this,” he said.
“WE SHOULD HAVE DREAMS INSTEAD OF OUR EXCUSES”
The road to success; Assoc. Prof. stated that it means dreaming, chasing your dreams, working hard, asking a lot of questions, getting up from where you fell down and working again, and never giving up. Dr. Dağdeviren “We should have dreams instead of excuses!” He continued: “They often ask me, ‘Sir, what did you do to come up with such different ideas and make such different tools?’ I always give the poem of the famous poet Robert Frost as an example: “A road in a forest It split into two, and I, I went to the one that was less traveled by… And that’s what made all the difference.” Actually, this is what I do with my students. We do different, unthought-of, unimagined, imagined but not dared to set out.
However, it is also extremely important to create your own style and your own standard. I always tell my students, ‘Create your own style, your own standard in such a way that people will see that you have a style, a mark that you left on this world in this short time, in your short life.’ On the other hand, it is very important to be ‘yourself’ and to be an expert in what you can do instead of comparing yourself with others.” Assoc. Prof. Dağdeviren stated that young people today have numerous advantages and that it is very valuable to use social media and be able to contact people miles away in seconds. He advised young people to take full advantage of this and use the advantages of being able to reach the global world to build their dreams.
“I LIVE IN THE USA BUT I AM COMING TO TURKEY TO GET MY TREATMENT”
Assoc. Dr. Dağdeviren stated that although he lives in America, he came to Turkey for his treatment and that there are very successful doctors in our country. Assoc. Prof. said that he was very impressed by both the technological infrastructure and the knowledge and skill levels of the students during his visit to Acıbadem University. Dr. Dağdeviren said, “Education and research opportunities are definitely at world standards, and even exceed these standards in some areas.” Assoc. Prof. pointed out that research on women’s health in the world has remained in the background for years, and that he and his team are rapidly continuing their research on women’s health. Dr. “We need to close this gap,” Dağdeviren said.
Assoc. Dr. Canan Dağdeviren said: “We are currently conducting human trials of our device, which we launched last year for breast cancer. This electronic bra technology also works very efficiently for monitoring other organs and monitoring other types of cancer. The underwear also has kidney cancer and bladder cancer.” “We are working to use a similar technology, this time with more than a hundred platforms, to ensure that drugs are absorbed without needles and pain.”
“WE ARE ALWAYS SURCHING TO BE BETTER”
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Şahin, in his speech at the opening ceremony of the new academic year; Stating that they set out to establish the university with the aim of bringing qualified health professionals to our country and being among the best in the world in education and research, he said: “We are proud of the work done by our students; We are open to innovations, criticism and development. “We always strive to be better by constantly improving ourselves,” he said. Prof. stated that this year the number of students is approaching 7 thousand and that they are mobilizing all the opportunities they can to raise the young generations in the light of science. Dr. Şahin emphasized that they provide students with all the equipment they need in the developing and transforming world of medicine and that they continue to follow the innovations as quickly as possible and turn them into practice. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Şahin said that they aim to provide support at all levels to entrepreneurs and businesses operating in the field of health and technology with the Technology Development Center (TEKMER), which they established in 2022 with the support of KOSGEB within the university.
At the ceremony held in the light of science and art, Sudenaz Öner, a student from the Molecular Biology and Genetics Department of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, gave a piano concert to the participants. At the ceremony, certificates of appreciation were presented to donors who supported the University. In addition, plaques of appreciation were given to academics and administrative staff who completed their 10th year at the University.