48 Chapter « Introduction Case Study 1.2 Continuing Education Center at TOBB University of Economics and Technology ‘TOBB University of Economics and Technology (TOBB ETU), the largest private sector institution in Turkey, ‘was founded by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) for educating entrepre- neurial and qualified community leaders. In conjunc- tion with TOBB ETU’s mission of maintaining university and industry cooperation, and enhancing productivity through helping the workforce to acquire the relevant skill sets, the Continuing Education Center at TOBB ETU (ETU CEC) offers project management and consult- ing services. They also offer a wide range of educational programs to individuals and to organizations of all sizes, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which constitute the backbone of the Turkish economy. At the Continuing Education Center, courses are taught by TOBB ETU instructors as well as by industry professionals. Some of highly demanded courses include Project Management, Human Resources Development and Management, Performance Evaluation, Foreign Trade, ‘Training the ‘Trainer, and Access to EU Funding. The Continuing Education Center also utilizes the academic staff of TOBB ETU in its projects and for consulting services. Since 2006, ETU CEC has reached 13,000 people with 260 professional events including workshops, certificate courses, and customized training programs for various organizations, and has provided consulting and project ‘management services to 40 institutions. ‘The administrative board of ETU CEC includes three professors, and the center employs a project man: ager, a business analyst, and two administrative staff members. Also, each semester two or three TOBB ETU students join the Continuing Education Center as interns through the university's cooperative education program, Interns mainly help administrative staff however, after they ‘become familiar with ETU CEC activities, they are allowed to participate in projects. The project manager oversees multiple projects with full esponsibility, and team members are assigned to several projects at the same time. Dr, Ramazan Aktay, a finance professor at TOBB ETU and the manager of ETU CEC, says that the pro}- ect teams at RTU CRC achiove their missione with cmall teams because of their strict adherence to solid project management practices. He also states that ETU CEC places a great emphasis on customer satisfaction. By means of its project management system, ETU CEC has obtained an advantage over its competitors, formed long term partnerships with other organizations, promoted collaboration, acquired new projects, achieved high ‘customer satisfaction, and therefore sustained continuous increases in its customer base and profits.** Questions 1, What are the benefits and drawbacks of allowing interns participate in ETU CEC projects? 2, What are the potential problems with requiring pro}. ‘ect team members to be involved in multiple projects at the same time? What are the potential advantages? 3. What benefits has ETU CEC obtained from its project management system?