There Are No Barriers: Every Challenge Is a Beginning

On Thursday, 8 January, Dr. Burak Uyanık—the first academic in Türkiye who was born deaf to complete a doctoral degree—met with students of our department and delivered an inspiring talk within our faculty. In his lecture titled “There Are No Barriers: Every Challenge Is a Beginning,” Dr. Uyanık addressed the concepts of disability, struggle, perseverance, and equal opportunity through striking examples drawn from his own life and academic journey.

Born in İzmir in 1988, Dr. Uyanık began his education at the Eskişehir Education Center for the Deaf and successfully completed his associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral studies in the fields of computer engineering and information technologies. He earned his master’s degree at Sakarya University and completed his PhD in the Department of Computer Engineering at Kocaeli University. His academic work focuses on accessibility, software development, and technology-based inclusive solutions.

In his professional career, Dr. Uyanık has taken part in software, automation, artificial intelligence, and R&D projects at KoçSistem and TÜBİTAK, and he currently works as a software developer on defense industry projects. Viewing social contribution as an integral component of academic production, he founded the 8863 Anatolian Deaf Eternals robotics team to support deaf youth’s access to STEM fields. He also serves as the President of the Association for the Solidarity of the Deaf, where he actively works on accessibility and inclusive education initiatives. In addition, he teaches coding courses at Anadolu University’s School for Students with Disabilities.

The event was conducted in an accessible format with sign language interpretation by Çiğdem Öztop. Throughout the presentation, structural barriers faced by the Deaf community in education, academia, and social life were discussed, along with possible solutions.

Highly inspiring for our students, this event powerfully demonstrated that disability is not a limitation but a social issue that can be overcome through appropriate support, determination, and inclusive approaches, making a significant contribution to our faculty’s vision of inclusivity and accessibility.