The Aim and The History
The purpose of accreditation of industrial design programs is to conduct studies to evaluate and develop training programs to increase the quality of industrial design education to design qualified products, systems, services, and experiences sensitive to the needs of society, individuals, and the natural environment. Accreditation of industrial design education aims to ensure that graduates who complete an industrial design program offered by an educational institution are trained as competent industrial designers with sufficient design skills, technical and professional knowledge, and ethical formation for professional practice.
Accreditation of Industrial Design programs by ETMK-ENTAK is a voluntary process, and ENTAK evaluates only the programs that apply to it for the purpose of accrediting them. ETMK aims to achieve the following specific goals while fulfilling the "program evaluation and accreditation" function determined by statutes, regulations, and directives:
- To determine industrial design programs that meet minimum evaluation criteria to inform society, students studying in industrial design programs, prospective students in secondary and high school, parents of the students, educational institutions, professional organizations, potential employers, and government institutions,
- To play a guiding role in the advancement and continuous improvement of existing educational programs in the field of industrial design and the development of new programs,
- To encourage the continuous improvement of educational programs in Industrial Design and to guide the development of new programs.
ENTAK's establishment efforts began with the establishment of the Industrial Design Departments Academic Council (ETAK), of which ETMK is a stakeholder member, at the 24th meeting of the ETAK Accreditation Commission held in METU on May 10, 2019. At the 25th ETAK meeting held at Beykent University in December 2019, it was decided to establish an Industrial Design Accreditation Board (ENTAK) that will operate independently under an umbrella organization. In January 2020, ETAK members supported the umbrella organization, becoming ETMK (Industrial Designers Society of Turkey). ETMK changed its statute to include accreditation activities at its ordinary general assembly held on March 31, 2021.
The accreditation commission continued its work within ETMK. ETMK renewed its strategic plan with the virtual search conference held on 20-21 August 2021, attended by many stakeholders. The critical factors affecting the profession, mission, vision, and strategic goals determined as a result of this conference formed input for the accreditation studies. ETMK Accreditation Commission developed ENTAK's working principles and evaluation criteria of undergraduate programs, taking into account the suggestions of ETAK members, the opinions of the ETMK Student Council at ETAK, and the ETMK strategic plan outputs, provided evaluator training and held institution information meetings. ENTAK was established by the board of directors' decision on June 10, 2022. On June 30, 2022, ETMK applied for registration with the Higher Education Quality Board (YÖKAK) to obtain the authority to accredit Industrial Design Programs in Higher Education Institutions in Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. With the Board decision of YÖKAK dated 21.12.2022, the Industrial Designers Society of Turkey (ETMK) was granted a Quality Assessment Registration Certificate for the accreditation of Industrial Design undergraduate programs for two years, valid as of 21.12.2022. In this direction, ETMK-ENTAK started the accreditation process for the 2023-24 period.