From Student to Educator: Sertuğ Yıldız Teaches First EWA Course in Ankara

A big congratulations to Sertuğ Yıldız, who reached an exciting milestone this weekend by teaching his first in-person course as an Approved Course Provider for Uzkeba in Ankara.

Five candidates earned their EWA Certificate in Scotch Whisky, making it a memorable first class for Sertuğ and another important step in the growth of whisky education in Türkiye.

Sertuğ's own EWA journey began as an online student in 2020. Since then, he has completed multiple Certificate courses and the Diploma in Single Malt Whisky, alongside building considerable practical experience through tastings and visits to distilleries. Earlier this year, Uzkeba founder Yiğit Akdemir invited him to join the teaching team.

Yiğit said: “I’m very happy and proud to see Sertuğ successfully deliver his first course. He has put so much into developing his whisky knowledge over the years, and seeing him now share that knowledge with a new group of students is a fantastic achievement. Having Sertuğ teaching with Uzkeba also gives us greater capacity to deliver EWA education across Türkiye, which is really exciting for the future.”

For EWA Founder & Managing Director Kirsty McKerrow, Sertuğ's progression is also a great example of what the Approved Course Provider network can achieve:

“There’s something special about watching a student progress through our courses and eventually step to the other side of the classroom. We’re incredibly proud of Sertuğ and grateful to Yiğit for supporting his development. Five newly certified students in Ankara is a brilliant way to begin and having another knowledgeable and passionate educator on the ground creates even more opportunities to grow whisky education across Türkiye.”

Congratulations to Sertuğ and his first five Certificate graduates. We’re looking forward to seeing where he and the Uzkeba team go next!