Dr. Aylin Ağma Okur and Dr. Ersen Okur

In June 2006, Aylin Ağma Okur and Ersen Okur arrived in Hungary through the Erasmus scholarship program. At the time, both were PhD students in Türkiye, although they had not known each other before their exchange period. Aylin carried out research in Poultry nutrition, while Ersen focused on Biosystem engineering.
Their time in Hungary became memorable not only from an academic point of view, but also on a personal level. They still remember with gratitude their host professors, Prof. Miklós Mézes, Prof. Krisztián Balogh, Dr.Ottó Dezső, and Prof. István Husti, as well as Dr. Zsuzsanna Tarr, who served as their Erasmus coordinator at the time.
For Aylin and Ersen, the Erasmus experience marked the beginning of a lifelong relationship. Their story started as a friendship and evolved into love in Budapest and Gödöllö. After returning from Hungary, they got engaged in 2007 and married in 2008. Today, they also have a son.
Nearly 20 years later, they returned to Hungary, this time representing Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University. There, Aylin serves as a professor in the Department of Animal Science, while Ersen works as an assistant professor in the Department of Biosystem Engineering. During their visit, they contributed to strengthening institutional cooperation between Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University and MATE. They also had the opportunity to meet their former Erasmus coordinator again and celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first meeting.
Hungary continues to hold a special place in their lives. Aylin and Ersen still refer to it as their second home, and they fondly remember their first cultural impressions, including the coeducational dormitory system and the disciplined traffic. What began as an academic exchange became a story of professional growth, international cooperation, and family life.

in 2006                                                                                            In 2026