SWOT ANALYSIS FOR SCHOOL OF MARITIME TECHNOLOGIES

The educational, instructional, and managerial activities of the school have been evaluated from various perspectives in line with the institutional objectives of our university. The assessment covers the compatibility of the institutional mission, vision, goals, and objectives, as well as the corporate quality policy and pre-defined strategic objectives, educational activities, 4-semester course plan, course names, content, and ECTS updates, distribution of course loads, structuring effective career planning, transition opportunities for students to transfer to bachelor's programs through DGS, evaluation of academics, student/academic communication, and activities within academic, administrative, and support units.

Strengths of the School of Maritime Technologies

• General commitment of all staff to the university's corporate mission, vision, goals, and objectives.
• Implementation of corporate strategies aligned with the university's corporate mission, vision, goals, and objectives by all personnel.
• Proximity to industry organizations and trade networks.
• Presence of an academic staff with the necessary competence in the field.
• Offering both technical and administrative programs.
• Programs within the school catering to the specific needs of the region.
• Strong research activities in underwater technology with the Underwater Technology Research and Application Unit.
• Central location in Çanakkale.
• Proximity to port cities like Bandırma in the southern Marmara region.
• Adequate student quotas due to successful education policies despite limited physical facilities.
• Academic staff's capacity to produce quality academic publications and works.
• Potential of academic staff to generate quality projects.
• Academic staff's competence in knowledge transfer to students.
• Adequate communication between academic staff and students.
• Adequate communication between academic and administrative staff.
• Adequate communication between administrative staff and students.
• Suitable access to information resources in terms of physical location and technological infrastructure.
• Possession of one of the region's largest and most comprehensive libraries with online access.
• Support and encouragement for entrepreneurship and innovation activities within the university.
• Strong participation in decision-making and consideration of suggestions.
• Availability of facilities like conference halls, accounting and computer laboratories, and general computer laboratories due to central location.
• Availability of teaching aids such as whiteboards and projectors in each classroom.
• Sufficient physical facilities for various events like conferences, meetings, graduations, concerts, and theater performances.
• Opportunities for students to establish and organize student clubs.
• Adequate aptitude of students coming through the national university entrance exam (YGS) in terms of comprehension and knowledge flow.
• Higher enthusiasm of YGS entrants for both theoretical and practical knowledge transmission.

Weaknesses of the School of Maritime Technologies

• Potential financial losses in case of relocation and the need to recreate all physical infrastructure, including existing laboratories and facilities.
• Insufficiency of practical workshops for certain technical programs.
• Inadequate holistic adoption of quality, accreditation, organizational development, and change processes.
• Limited proficiency of technical field academic staff in scientific research methods, statistics, and software usage.
• Insufficient student involvement in scientific and industrial projects.
• Insufficient foreign language skills among students, leading to inadequate attention to programs like Fulbright and Erasmus.
• Inadequate establishment of international contacts and agreements within the school.
• Underutilization of sector-specific up-to-date resources apart from textbooks.
• Internet connectivity issues in classrooms causing difficulties in analyzing companies' corporate websites.
• Discrepancies in course names, content, and ECTS between the school and other universities.
• Lack of compatibility of the 4-semester curriculum with bachelor's programs and the resulting problems for students during the transfer process after DGS.
• Limited availability of elective courses in programs.
• Absence of personality development or career development programs within the school.
• Ineffectiveness and stagnation of student clubs established for personality development activities.
• Insufficient economic support for academic staff in national and international activities.
• Lack of sufficient motivation among students due to DGS and job placement stress.
• Weak mathematical skills of students.

Opportunities

• Improvement of physical conditions through relocation to the same campus as the faculty.
• Enhancement of transportation infrastructure with the completion of the bridge project in 2023.
• Potential to become the largest and only vocational school in the district when considering the district's population.
• Faculty's strong familiarity with current regulations and potential for university-industry and university-public collaborations.
• Recognized reputation of academic staff within the national and international academic circles.
• Supportive and participatory administrative structure within the school.
• Strong relationships between the school and university teaching staff.
• Availability of qualified academic staff suitable for national and international projects.
• Adequate experience, skill, and enthusiasm of the academic staff.
• Strong support from upper management for interdisciplinary projects related to corporate objectives.
• Implementation of promotional brochures and advisory services to increase awareness of the school, especially at the high school level.
• Improvement in the number of specialist assistant academic staff.
• Allocated time for academic work affected by the academic staff's teaching load and administrative duties.

Threats

• Low proficiency of the majority of students in computer applications such as Microsoft Office, Computerized Accounting, and SPSS.
• Unavailability of software licenses for some programs used in the Naval Architecture program, preventing their sharing with students.
• Inadequate intermediary institutions supporting university-industry collaboration across all departments.
• Students focusing more on public service exams and DGS preparation rather than scientific knowledge.
• Persistence of study habits carried over from high school, emphasizing rote learning for passing exams.
• Insufficient attention of students to orientation and workplace safety training.
• Continued irresponsible behavior of students, including recording lectures, taking photos, attending classes without necessary tools, and participating in exams without required equipment.

DEVELOPMENT OF APPROPRIATE STRATEGIES

Based on the SWOT analyses conducted by our Vocational School, the identified strengths/weaknesses and opportunities/threats have been evaluated in consideration of our university's implemented strategies. These evaluations are aimed at aligning with the strategies of our university while taking into account the identified factors. Within the scope of these strategies, the ongoing initiatives have been reviewed, and decisions have been made regarding the continuation of these strategies.