International Congress on the Education of the Gifted for "Twice Exceptional" Children Held at OMU

The "Twice Exceptional" Project International Congress was held at the Ondokuz Mayıs University Distance Education Centre (UZEM) on 2-3 October 2025. The event was held as part of a project supported under the Erasmus+ Programme Cooperation Partnerships in School Education (KA220-SCH) and led by Assoc. Prof. Şener Şentürk.

The project, with a budget of around 250,000 euros, was carried out with the participation of national and international stakeholders including the Ministry of National Education's Directorate General for Special Education Services, the İlkadım District Directorate of National Education, Asociaçia Dyslexia (Bulgaria), DYS-centrum Praha (Czech Republic), Fondazione Istituto dei Sordi di Torino (Italy) and Uniwersytet Slaski (Poland).

Strong Attendance Over Two Days

After the opening speeches, the programme began with a concert by the Samsun Bilsem Children's and Youth Choir. Over the course of the event, invited speakers, parallel sessions and workshops created a broad setting for academic exchange. Alongside workshops such as "Self-Acceptance against Perfectionism", "Unlocking Double Doors: 2E Learners" and "Designing Activities for a Psychoeducation Programme for Twice Exceptional Individuals", the congress heard a large number of papers on artificial-intelligence-assisted assessment models, digital storytelling, social-emotional learning and inclusive education models.

The advanced technological infrastructure and multipurpose halls of the OMU Distance Education Centre were used throughout the event. Participants were thus given a high-quality academic setting drawing on both face-to-face and digital facilities.

"A Project That Touches Every Part of Society"

The project produced significant outputs such as the "Twice Exceptional Awareness Training Programme", the "Socio-Emotional Education Programme" and an "E-Learning Platform". Dissemination and multiplier activities were carried out to that end as well. Assoc. Prof. Şener Şentürk said that with the project they aimed to create awareness not only among teachers and parents but in every part of society, and added: "We dedicate this work to twice exceptional children and to the teachers who walk alongside them."

Click to reach the congress programme