Introduction

To strength links between Azerbaijani Higher Education Institutions (AZHEIs) and Izmir Institute of Information Technology (AZTECH) was organized study tour to learn Turkish experience of the development research capacity university through information technology. These exchanges were organized by partners during ERASMUS+ project DIRNA and were defined the activities that each participant should organize for its university in order to have similar activities which participants could learn from the experience and realities that are facing in Turkey.
Trainings were the vehicular asset in these study tour but also this offered an opportunity to be in touch with key important services as library, Teknopark and Facilities, to be actively part of the project so, visits and expertise speaker from these stakeholders were also an important activity during this study tour.

Objectives of the Turkish Study Tour

The prime objectives of organizing the abroad study tour were:
• To experience an opportunities of information support teaching & learning
• To enhance professional network
• To explore collaboration opportunities between universities.
• To learn about new cultures and perspectives
• To culturally sensitize participants about foreign culture

Visit to AZTECH, Turkey

The İzmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH) is a Turkish state university established in 1992 to offer higher education and carry out research in the fields of science and technology. The medium of instruction at this institute is English.
İZTECH currently hosts 444 ongoing research projects funded by various institutions, including the European Union, the Turkish State Planning Organization (DPT), the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), and the Turkish Industry Theses Support Program (SANTEZ).
Within the scope of the DIRNA Project, Izmir Institute of Technology hosted a study tour on November 15-17, 2023, with the participation of 16 people from 8 Azerbaijan Higher Education Institutions. The meeting aimed to share information about Open Science and Institutional Repository practices at the Izmir Institute of Technology and to support Azerbaijani Higher Education Institutions in developing their own applications.
The training started with the opening speeches of IZTECH Library Director and OpenAIRE Executive Board Member Gültekin Gürdal and IZTECH Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Alper Baba. Participants were given information about IZTECH and the IZTECH library. Also, library and campus tours were organized.
In the three-day study tour, after an overview of Open Science, information about the development of open science in Türkiye and the world was given. In addition, the development processes of Institutional Repositories in Türkiye and IZTECH were explained. OpenAIRE services, which are critical for Open Science, were one of the important topics of the training. OpenAIRE services were introduced to the participants, and information was given about how they can benefit from them in open science practices. In addition, after the presentation, in which general information about the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) was shared, the EOSC Portal was introduced to the participants.
During the study tour, all aspects of IZTECH Institutional Repository and Research Information System GCRIS, such as its features, technical infrastructure, administrator module, and data entry screens, were explained in detail, and practices were made. In the discussion session, where GCRIS developers also participated, questions about technical issues were answered. Thus, all important information about establishing an Institutional Repository Network in AZHEIs, which is the main purpose of the DIRNA project, was conveyed to the participants, and their questions were answered.
The importance of metadata quality, basic topics in research data management and COAR (Confederation of Open Access Repositories), Community Framework for Good Practices in Repositories presentations were also given to the participants. The study tour, which included intense and important issues, ended with a general evaluation.
During this tour the Azerbaijani participants got insight into various Turkish information technology achievements. Diverse program included theoretical and practical experiences of activities related to Institutional Repository base on the platform of GCRIS, European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), OpenAire, etc. In the final workshop and survey the participants reflected on their most important experiences during the study tour and the insights that could be transferred to their home institutions. A list of key success factors was derived from the results.
An important on-campus institution that supports university mission to contribute to the fields of science and technology is the “İzmir Technology Development Zone” called Teknopark, which has become synonymous with the institute itself. A special visit to AZTECH Technopark was arranged for participants to show the latest tools, machinery and infrastructure. About 181 technology companies operate within Teknopark. AZTECH’s students participate in research and complete internships with these companies in their fields of interest. This helps them to establish connections and jump-start their entrepreneurial careers. Post-graduation, students can open their own companies within or outside of Teknopark thanks to their hands-on experience.
It was very courteous of the university officials to arrange lunch for all the participants in their campus canteen. The campus was very beautiful with green large spaces for leisure activities, located near the seaside.

Conclusions /Best Practices

This training tour was very significant for all Azerbaijani institutions, team leaders as they could learn and understand how the information technology works differently in Turkey and to know how universities deal with their own career realities. These exchanges and the interaction of participants showed them that it doesn’t matter where you live, all have to deal with education and have to take decisions always looking for their own personal future, having the opportunity to listen and know other realities of how they see the “some problem” gave them different perspective that can be very important to take into consideration at the time they have to take these decisions. One of the most successful activities that were organized by Turkish Team was the different presentations and talks by professional IT specialists and scientists. Cooperation between partners, to put participants and professionals in other sectors in connection is key to exchanging knowledge that can study visit program and this is essential to help on the continuous development of this programs. This is required in the future and is important to keep working in this vision in the future.
The study tour provided the participants with a golden opportunity to explore a new information technology of Institutional Repository eco-system, culture and a real world beyond their books. Participants shall greatly benefit from the learnings of the experience and shall cherish the memories for a lifetime.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who were involved and provided support, directly and indirectly, in organizing and conducting this study tour.

Best practices:

The best things we took with us from the Study visit in short were:
• the work done to ensure the high quality of the presentations during the training.
• Our hosts were very friendly and put a lot of effort into welcoming us.
• Trainings program seemed like a very good and effective idea, even though much is up to the team leader and teacher.

It was great to see different Azerbaijani universities and AZCH team working together to achieve a common goal.