6th Annual Virtual Reality Conference in Turkey

6th Annual Virtual Reality Conference in Turkey
William Jackson, Minister, CEO, and Educator had a simple,
energizing message for students, faculty and the communities
of technologist across Harran Üniversitesi in Turkey:
AI is a catalyst to empower, inspire, educate, and elevate your
digital future.

Addressing the university’s 6th Annual Virtual Reality Conference
as a Keynote Speaker, Jackson celebrated 2024 as a breakthrough
year for AI tools, platforms, and discoveries that unlock creativity,
innovation, and imagination.

Speaking across Africa and Turkey, Jackson was invited by
Harran University is uniquely positioned for this moment.
With nine faculties and two colleges offering four-year
programs, and ten vocational schools providing two-year
associate degrees, the institution serves 12,000 students
across about 70 departments and programs.

More than 800 faculty members guide learning in Turkish,
the language instruction ensuring academic rigor and
cultural relevance rooted in Turkey’s educational heritage.

Jackson emphasized that AI is not a replacement for human
wisdom; it’s a multiplier of creativity, innovation, imagination,
talent and opportunity. For engineering students, AI powers
rapid prototyping and data-driven design. For business and
economics majors, it enables market analysis and ethical
decision-making at scale. For health, agriculture, education,
and the arts, AI supports smarter diagnostics, sustainable
farming, personalized learning, and new forms of creative
expression. Across every discipline, students can use AI to
refine ideas, test assumptions, and tell compelling stories
with data.

This Keynote, William’s second of three in 2024, was
delivered remotely, yet felt personal and dynamic.
He shared practical steps: build a habit of responsible
experimentation; document prompts and workflows;
collaborate across departments; and align AI projects
with community needs in Şanlıurfa and beyond. Turkey
with it’s growing youth, teens and young adults that are
seeking AI, VR, Metaverse, IoT and Cyber education
to enter into University.

He encouraged students to craft bilingual portfolios,
Turkish and English, showcasing AI-augmented
projects, reflective essays, and measurable impact.
Jackson underscored ethics and inclusion. AI must
uplift people, not replace them; protect privacy, not
exploit it; and open doors for youth from diverse
communities. He invited Harran students to become
translators between culture and code, to preserve
Turkey’s languages, cultures, local realities and
global standards.

Opportunities like Harran’s Virtual Reality Conference
demonstrate the power of international collaboration
and idea exchange. William’s closing challenge was clear:
start small, learn boldly, collaborate locally, nationally and
internationally. Build responsibly and creativity . With
curiosity, discipline, and community, Harran University
students can shape AI that serves Turkey and the region.