Whether you want to learn a new skill, hone a craft, learn a language, meet more people, practice Turkish or more, enrolling in educational courses can be one of the most beneficial activities ever. With the school year beginning and temperatures dropping, this is the time of year when people embark on setting and tackling new goals for themselves, and continuous education is a way to support the process.

Couple that with the fact that many new programs and courses are about to start coinciding with the fall and the soon-to-be close of the summer holiday season. And so, check out these three excellent channels on offer in Istanbul and beyond to broaden your horizons and expand your mind.

Online with experts

Türkiye’s answer to the Masterclass series, the online platform Neoskala has nearly 90 courses on everything from gardening to music to even tango that you can take online at any time and from the comfort of your own home. Not only that but these courses are taught by the field pioneers and leaders. For example, through Neoskala one could take a course on "modern interpretations of Anatolian cuisine" in Turkish, which is being taught by one of – if not – Türkiye’s most well-known chefs Maksut Aşkar. This particular workshop comes in the form of three online classes and the opportunity to take part in a virtual live Q&A session with the instructor.

Whether there is a skill you want to acquire or improve upon or a topic you want to delve deeper into, Neoskala has a truly wide range of curricula on offer. From understanding depression to building emotional resistance, learning about art history or cinematic genres, blockchain or crypto, there are a wealth of educational topics to choose from as well as classes on practical applications. For more that stand out Türkiye’s most well-known mycologist, Jilber Barutçiyan deciphers which mushrooms are safe for consumption, Ferit Uzunoğlu discusses the details of producing artisan cheese, while Tarkan Özvardar teaches tricks on how to train dogs.

While the list goes on and on, I can assure you that there is something on offer that will pique anybody’s interest. This means that a course can also be given as a gift to enrich someone’s life. The courses can be purchased a la carte as it were, or there is also an annual subscription option that allows access to all of the courses on offer. The benefits of this platform are multifold, but for starters, it provides an opportunity to be introduced to Türkiye’s forerunners and a relaxed opportunity for extended learning. Taking classes such as these, can not only improve your skills in say cooking, music, and more, but it can also be an unintimidating way to practice improving your Turkish all from the comfortable confines of your computer.

For a social adventure

Workshopix is a website where courses and retreats are offered on a wide range of topics pertaining to holistic practices and self-development. From the applied practices of yoga to pilates to tai chi to delving into esoteric topics such as astrology and tarot, to learning how to strengthen your self-esteem, Workshopix has a wide variety of in-person courses and retreats on offer. Where Workshopix stands out, is that in addition to being a platform to learn of ongoing personal development programs in centers and venues throughout the country, it is also a website where retreat holiday packages are on offer, meaning you can combine a particular holistic practice with the location and community you seek to experience.

That’s why I like to refer to Workshopix as the "social experiment" as for many it provides the opportunity to finally embark on that yoga retreat someone may have previously only dreamed about. Many participants join these events on their own and with the intention of learning a new practice, enjoying time at a new destination, and getting some rest and relaxation while also being offered the option to socialize. Thus, Workshopix is great for learning about ongoing in-person courses near you as well as holistic holiday options countrywide. Spectacular places such as Dalyan, and Ephesus serve as destinations, meaning one can double down on learning and engaging with others while also uncovering a different part of Türkiye. But the bottom line is Workshopix is where one can find opportunities to take part in retreats and potentially make new like-minded friends that you otherwise might never have had the chance to meet.

Enstitü Istanbul İsmek

A true dream come true, Enstitü Istanbul Ismek offers nearly 1,000 classes online and in-person both on short and long-term basis, and on pretty much any topic you could possibly fathom. An initiative by the Istanbul municipality, İsmek, as it is referred to in short, is a continuous and extended education platform with nearly 1,000 courses which most will result in participants taking home a certificate. The courses offered by İsmek range from hobbies to knowledge to career opportunities, which means one could take a guitar class or learn a foreign language or they could learn the intricacies of baking or being a coffee shop owner and barista. These are just some examples from the wealth of topics and courses on offer.

On that note, if it is language learning you seek, then İsmek not only offers lessons in German Russian, Arabic and English, but they also teach Japanese, how to decipher the Ottoman script, and have courses on delving deep into meanings in the Quran.

There is a wide variety of handicraft courses on offer such as jewelry making, woodworking, crocheting, and more. If taking on a new instrument is your fancy, then you could benefit from the courses on offer that span from the baglama to beydir as well as proverbial classics such as guitar, cello and piano besides the option of learning the technicalities of recording music. If cooking is your passion then the courses on offer at İsmek can land you a professional career in the sector with the wealth of certification programs available. Some of the courses are one-offs, while some are weekly events, but the one consistent is that these courses are free of charge to attend.