The IUCr-UNESCO OpenLab Turkey was conducted at Bilkent University, National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM) in January 19-22 2015 with the support of PANalytical, International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), Atomika Teknik and the Turkish Crystallography Association. The focus of the event was to better disseminate the current corpus of knowledge on crystallography, both in theory and in practice. True to this aim, lectures covering a broad range of topics, including X-ray physics, data collection and interpretation were presented in the event, and attendees also had the chance to participate in hands-on training with powder diffraction instruments in UNAM.

Participants at the IYCr2014 OpenLab Turkey

Prof. Gilberto Artioli, an eminent researcher who has co-authored the quintessential crystallography textbook, "Fundamentals of Crystallography", and authored the book "Scientific Methods and Cultural Heritage", delivered a series of lectures on the theoretical aspects of crystallography, while Marco Sommariva of PANalytical conducted the hands-on training sessions. Sample preparation, instrumental configurations and basic measurements were covered in the training session, and participants also had the opportunity to measure their own samples and consult experienced crystallographers on more specific cases.

The OpenLab Turkey event brought together over 30 participants from several countries and cities. All participants who successfully completed the lectures received a certificate at the end of the event. The participants conveyed their gratitude and satisfaction with the event, remarking that such events must be organized more often due to their exceptional contributions to their research and knowledge.