In the digital and AI age, the Digital Turcology and Cultural Heritage (DTCH) ecosystem, with innovation in Turcology at its core, is expanding with DTCH Skills Lab — an innovative laboratory for learning, experimentation and application.
DTCH Skills Lab has been designed to support the development of digital skills in Turcology, contribute to the training of a new generation of Digital Turcologists, and strengthen research capacity for working with the linguistic, literary, folkloric and cultural heritage data of the Turkic world.
The platform will host field-specific learning experiences that bring Turcology data together with methods and technologies from Digital Humanities, Digital Philology, Digital Literary Studies, Digital Folklore, Digital Terminology, Digital Metalexicography, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Deep Learning and Digital Cultural Heritage.
Field-Specific Learning and Innovation in Turcology Higher Education
The educational model of DTCH Skills Lab centres on learning, experimenting with and applying digital methods through data drawn from Turkic languages, literatures, folklore and cultural heritage.
Interactive learning, practical activities, simulations, production and evaluation processes encourage participants to take an active role in their learning experience.
This approach brings together expertise in Turcology, digital methods, AI technologies, data-driven research and contemporary learning design within a shared educational environment.
In this respect, DTCH Skills Lab develops a field-specific educational model grounded in the data, research questions and cultural heritage materials of Turcology, alongside broader training in Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence.
DTCH Skills Lab is also conceived as a model for advancing digital transformation and educational innovation in Turcology higher education.
Supporting the Development of Digital Turcologists
DTCH Skills Lab aims to support students of Turcology, researchers and academics in developing the skills required to work with digital methods and technologies and in integrating these skills into their own areas of research.
One of the platform’s core aims is to bring together Turcology students, researchers and academics, nationally and internationally, within a shared learning community.
It also seeks to foster shared educational experiences across Turcology chairs, departments and programmes, reduce disparities in digital skills between institutions, and connect Turcology communities across different countries and regions through a shared digital learning infrastructure.
Through this approach, DTCH Skills Lab aims to contribute to the development of the human capacity required to work with the linguistic, literary, folkloric and cultural heritage data of the Turkic world using the methods and technologies of the digital age, while supporting the wider development and international reach of Digital Turcology.
Digital Pedagogy × Learning Experience Design × EdTech
The interdisciplinary educational model, pedagogical approach, Learning Experience Design (LXD) framework, front-end design and technical architecture of DTCH Skills Lab were developed by Assoc. Prof. Dr Şermin Kalafat, Founder and Director of DTCH.
The engineering and development processes for the platform’s back-end infrastructure were shaped with the contribution of Yusuf Kılıç, DTCH Platform Coordinator.
The platform’s educational model brings together Kalafat’s research experience in Turkish language studies, Digital Philology, Digital Humanities, cultural heritage data and AI/NLP with her training and applied practice in digital pedagogy, Learning Experience Design (LXD) and front-end development.
This structure brings Turcology expertise, digital pedagogy, learning experience design, EdTech and software development together within a single platform architecture.
DTCH Skills Lab was developed through a collaboration between DTCH’s academic and pedagogical expertise and KUTLAB Software Inc.’s EdTech and software development capacity.
DTCH Skills Lab will continue to grow as a scalable learning infrastructure supporting DTCH’s future courses, new learning programmes, national and international higher education partnerships, shared educational models and future EdTech applications.
Our First Guests
The first guests of DTCH Skills Lab are the participants of the First DTCH Digital Turcologist Bootcamp 2026.
Bootcamp participants will form the platform’s first learning community and will experience DTCH’s field-specific, practice-based and experiential learning model through DTCH Skills Lab.
From now on, DTCH Skills Lab will serve as the central platform for DTCH’s educational programmes, digital skills initiatives, shared learning experiences, and national and international learning community.
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