On October 10, 2025, Comrat State University hosted a ceremonial event dedicated to the awarding of certificates to the participants of the online course “Field Research: How to Become Part of the Studied Environment”, conducted within the framework of the international project “A Sociocultural Model Aimed at Preserving the Gagauz Language and Culture: Transforming Harmonious Bilingualism into an Advantage for the Gagauz People (MODELGAGAUZ)”.
The research course took place from April 8 to June 10, 2025, under the guidance of professors from Maltepe University — Prof. Belma Akşit and Prof. Gökçesu Akşit Dudaklı.
The training was conducted in Turkish and focused on developing competencies in participatory methods and qualitative methodology in the social sciences.
In total, 19 participants successfully completed the course and received certificates, including 5 representatives from Gagauzia.
The event took place in a warm and festive atmosphere. Welcoming remarks were delivered by:
• Güllü Karanfil — MODELGAGAUZ Project Coordinator in the Republic of Moldova;
• Svetlana Ghenova, Assoc. Prof., PhD, Vice-Rector for Research Activity and International Relations at Comrat State University;
• Prof. Belma Akşit — Maltepe University;
• Prof. Gökçesu Akşit Dudaklı — Vice-Rector of Maltepe University and MODELGAGAUZ Project Coordinator in Turkey.
Honored guests of the ceremony were representatives of Trakya University (Turkey) — Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sibel Bayraktar and PhD candidate Ayça İşbilen, who personally presented the certificates to the course participants.
The MODELGAGAUZ project is implemented in partnership between Comrat State University, Maltepe University, and Trakya University, with financial support from TÜBİTAK (Turkey) and NARD (Moldova).
The main goal of the project is to develop a sociocultural model for preserving the Gagauz language and culture by strengthening harmonious bilingualism and intercultural dialogue between Moldova and Turkey.
This event became an important step in promoting research cooperation between the countries and in preparing young specialists capable of contributing to the preservation of Gagauz cultural heritage.
