The success of women in aviation was crowned with 8 awards

Özde Yılmaz Şenol, a lecturer at Ege University Aviation Vocational School, won the “World's Most Admired Organizer” award in the “Non-Flying Activities” category, while Can Erel was chosen as the “World's Most Creative Influencer”. Mukadder İğdi Şen from the Vocational School of Technical Sciences at Trakya University Edirne received the “Most Creative of the Week” award with his video work and Aslıhan Güven from Sabiha Gökçen Airport with her artwork.

While Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Aviation Club received the “Pink Paper Airplane Award” for its largest work of art, TUSAŞ Motor Sanayi AŞ (TEI) was awarded as the institution with the most participants. Within the same organization, Izmir was chosen as the “World's Most Sensitive Aviation Company Toward Women,” while TUSAŞ Motor Sanayi AŞ (TEI) won the title of “The World's Most Sensitive Aviation Company Toward Women.”

Özde Yılmaz Şenol, who considered the World's Most Admired Organizer award worthy, said that Türkiye's winning of a total of 8 awards within the organization proves that the work done in the field of aviation has received resonance at the international level.

“Our goal was to make aviation accessible from a young age”

Stating that the studies carried out at Ege University Aviation Vocational School in the past three years were awarded in various categories, Şenol said that the process has shown stable development.

Şenol explained the process as follows:

“We were recognized as worthy of the Most Creative Artwork of the Week award in 2024 and the Most Creative Video of the Week award in 2025 as part of the same awards. In this sense, being awarded one of these most prestigious categories in 2026 was an indicator of the sustainability and impact of our efforts. The main aim of the activities was to make aviation accessible, especially at a young age, and to create an area of ​​awareness where young girls can see themselves in this field.”

Explaining that their goal is to combine local technical infrastructure with social impact, Şenol drew attention to the applied training opportunities at the university with the following words:

“Hands-on training on real aircraft and helicopters at our university's Vecihi Hürkuş hangar provides direct experience to our students and participants. While studies on advanced production techniques are carried out in the composite materials laboratory established with contributions from Boeing, electrical-electronic applications are carried out in the avionics laboratory with equipment provided with the support of STM, Turkish Air Force, Army Aviation and sector stakeholders.”

“Women-friendly policies can have a transformative impact on the aviation industry”

Özde Yılmaz Şenol said: “The fact that Türkiye won a total of eight awards within the framework of 'WOAW' is a strong indicator that the aviation awareness, education and inclusion efforts in our country have gained international resonance beyond the numerical success.”

Şenol emphasized that it also makes sense to achieve these achievements at a time when 2026 is celebrated as the “Year of the National Aviation Industry” in Turkey, explaining that these developments indicate a strengthened structure in the areas of human resources and social awareness. Şenol emphasized that Izmir's election as the “world's most sensitive airline for women” in the same award was based on a deep-rooted history and drew attention to the city's place in aviation history.

Şenol stated that women-friendly policies can have a transformative effect in the aviation industry and that mentoring and long-term internship programs play an important role in the participation of young women in the industry, adding:

“Developing a company's women-friendly policies is a strategic move that can have a transformative impact on the entire industry. TUSAŞ Motor Sanayi AŞ was voted 'Most Women Responsive Aviation Company in the World' in this award. Such practices in traditionally male-dominated fields such as aviation and defense are strong examples that set new standards. At this point, the work done by TEI this year is extremely inspiring.”

Emphasizing that Türkiye has the potential to become a regional center in terms of women's representation, Şenol expressed his expectations for the next period as follows:

“In the next 10 years, I expect not only an increase in numbers, but also a qualitative change. A structure will emerge in which women are much more visible and effective, from technical to operational roles, from leadership positions to decision-making mechanisms.”