Sustainable Development Goals - Goal 17: Partnership for the Goals | Sabanci University Civic Involvement Projects

CIP Overvisor and TOM Fellow Birsen Beril Bildirici shared her TOM experiences at Sabancı University during the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters with the international community at an online event organized by TOM on May 18, 2025. Throughout the event, she listened to the projects of TOM Fellows from different countries and explored best practices. This event not only provided participants with the opportunity to present their own projects, but also served as an excellent platform to observe how the TOM philosophy is implemented globally and to gain inspiration from projects carried out at various universities.

As part of the International Staff Week organized by Sabancı University International Relations Office, Aslı Acar Geliş from the Civic Involvement Projects Office presented the CIP model on May 12, 2025. The presentation provided a detailed overview of the structure, implementation processes, and impact of the CIP model, which aims to foster social responsibility among university students. Participants had the opportunity to learn about this unique approach that integrates civic engagement with university education, and to discuss the model’s adaptability and implementation in their own institutions.

Zeynep Bahar, Director of Civic Involvement Projects at Sabancı University, participated as a speaker on April 24, 2025, in a civic engagement-themed event organized by the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. Speaking in the session titled “Civic Engagement in Action,” Bahar introduced the Civic Involvement Projects model—one of the most significant innovations Sabancı University has brought to higher education in Türkiye. This model has been implemented continuously since 1999. During the session, Bahar shared how the CIP model fosters active citizenship among students, integrates education with social responsibility, and enables students to make tangible contributions to society. Sabancı University’s approach to university social responsibility is holistic, centering not only on student engagement but also on institutional commitment. This comprehensive perspective positions the university as a model for other higher education institutions, contributing meaningfully to the creation of a more just, inclusive, and participatory society.

Civic Involvement Projects Trainings were held at MEF High School Ulus Campus on March 10th, 12th, and 19th, 2025. During the training, 9th-grade students of MEF High School Ulus Campus and 6 volunteer teachers participated in training sessions and interactive activities on topics such as the functioning of CIP, volunteerism, leadership, teamwork, and communication skills. The trainings were led by Zeynep Bahar, Neşe Aktuğ Okumuş, and Aslı Acar Geliş from the CIP Office, along with CIP supervisors Eylül Yaltır, Mercan Saygı, and Zeynep Kılınçer.

Sabancı University Civic Involvement Projects became a member of the Talloires Network of Engaged Universities (TNEU), which strengthens universities' social responsibility for a more just and sustainable world. The Talloires Network of Engaged Universities aims to enhance the role of higher education institutions in serving society and fulfilling their social responsibilities while fostering collaboration among member universities. This global network, comprising over 400 universities from 92 countries, supports social engagement in higher education and facilitates the sharing of best practices. The announcement of Sabancı University Civic Involvement Projects' membership in the Talloires Network of Engaged Universities was also featured in the TNEU 2025 February newsletter.

In line with the aim of raising university students' awareness of the society they live in with the awareness of active citizenship, Civic Involvement Projects and Sabancı Foundation have been collaborating since 2020 in the Changemakers Program. In 2025, Hale Uçuş, one of the 15th Season Changemakers with the Barrier-Free Mathematics Education Platform, was awarded the Sabancı University Special Award by the votes of socially conscious Sabancı University students.

As part of the TOM@University Project, an online session with Duquesne University TOM Fellow Hannah Clark was held on December 24, 2024. Hannah Clark shared with CIP 101 students the inspiring projects and community work they have implemented on their campuses. In this context, students had the opportunity to learn about the process of working with “need-knowers” and the events organized on campus. In addition, the activities carried out at Sabancı University within the scope of the TOM@University Project were also shared. This connection between international TOM campuses provided students with global perspectives and inspired them for similar efforts.

A series of trainings were organized by CIP Office employees Zeynep Bahar and Neşe Aktuğ Okumuş and CIP supervisors Deniz Demirkol and Eylül Yaltır at Tarhan College Etimesgut Campus on October 21-22, 2024. On October 21, 2024, 8 teachers from Tarhan Etimesgut and Yaşamkent campuses participated in the training and were informed about the objectives and functioning of Civic Involvement Projects. On October 22, 2024, 28 high school students from Etimesgut and Yaşamkent campuses were trained on volunteering and supervision in Civic Involvement Projects. Interactive applications were also made to contribute to the students' teamwork and communication skills.

Columbia University and Sabancı University were at Sabancı University Küçükköy Creative Technologies Workshop for the “Core Curriculum Summer Retreat” between August 10 and 16, 2024. As two leading universities, they discussed the status of the core curriculum in the next ten years in the era of crises the world is going through. Zeynep Bahar, Civic Involvement Projects Manager, led the participants in team games to increase communication within the group during the workshop.

During the orientation days of the Sabancı University Summer High School held at Sabancı University on July 7, July 21 and August 4, 2024, our supervisor and overvisor students led high school students in team games. The games aimed to help students bond and understand the importance of teamwork and communication within the team.

In line with the aim of raising university students' awareness of the society they live in with the awareness of active citizenship, Civic Involvement Projects and Sabancı Foundation have been collaborating since 2020 in the Changemakers Program. In 2024, Murat Kefeli, one of the 14th Season Changemakers with the We Are Blind project, received the Sabancı University Special Award with the votes of socially conscious Sabancı University students.

Üsküdar American Academy students gave “Together We Will Succeed, Coding and Robotics” training to Ayvalık Anatolian High School students at Sabancı University Ayvalık Küçükköy Creative Technologies Atelier on November 4-5, 2023. CIP overvisor students played team games with Üsküdar American Academy students and mentored the workshops during the training.

On October 7, 2023, Dr. Julian Skyrme, Director of Social Responsibility at the University of Manchester, gave an online seminar to supervisor and overvisor students about the importance of social responsibility work at universities, its contribution to young people and social responsibility works at the University of Manchester.

Zeynep Bahar, Sabancı University Civic Involvement Projects Manager, participated in the USRN Staff Development Workshop 2023 organized by the University Social Responsibility Network at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam on September 24-26, 2023. In 2023, the workshop focused on “Developing a Broader Mindset,” and it was realized how interested all USRN network participants are in the theme of social responsibility at the university and how open they are to learning from each other's experiences.

To support establishing and implementing the Civic Involvement Projects course at Tarhan Schools, volunteer students and teachers from Tarhan Schools Maltepe, Beyoğlu and Başakşehir campuses were trained between April and November 2023. Volunteer students, who are supervisor candidates, were given theoretical training, and practices were carried out in Kadıköy Shelter, a center for the elderly in Şişli Municipality and Kızılay Zeynep Nedim Okyar Nursing Home to gain experience in the field. In addition, the Turkish Marine Environment Protection Association (TURMEPA) organized an environmental training called Blue Detective. In addition to these trainings, practices on peer leadership, communication within the team, feedback and evaluation techniques were also practiced.

At the U Solve It! Üsküdar American Academy IInnovation Competition organized by Üsküdar American Academy students on April 16, 2023, Aslı Acar Geliş from the Civic Involvement Projects team and overvisor students organized a workshop on being a team and communication within the team.

CIP trainings were held for MBA Program students of Sabancı Business School to know about social responsibility and to participate in volunteering activities. In 2022 and 2023, within the scope of the program held at the beginning of the academic year, team games were played with students to improve cooperation and communication within the team. In addition, seminars, workshops, and field studies were held on various social issues with experts, educators, and non-governmental organizations working in the field.

The e-Volunteering Summit, organized in collaboration with the SosyalBen Foundation, occurred online in 2020. Sabancı University Vice Rector Fuat Keyman and Civic Involvement Projects Manager Zeynep Bahar delivered opening speeches. The event included topics such as Volunteering in the World, e-State of Goodness, 3rd Sector in a Digitalizing World, and Promising Initiatives, and workshops were held.

Together with Sabancı Holding, Volunteering for the Future Summit was held at Sabancı Center for International Volunteer Day in 2019. The importance and potential of “volunteering” were discussed at the event, and volunteering stories were shared. The opening speech of the meeting was delivered by Güler Sabancı, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Sabancı Holding and Founding Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University. Musician Haluk Levent, who participated in the meeting, told the story of Ahbap, which he founded, on the stage with journalist and presenter İsmail Küçükkaya. In the panel moderated by Prof. Dr. Kerem Dündar, Zeynep Bahar, Sabancı University Civic Involvement Projects Manager, Mine Ekinci, Founder and General Coordinator of Rural Schools Transformation Network, Robin Askar, Youth Worker, and Kanber Bozan, with his story of how he set out to teach children the habit of reading books.

I. National Sensitivity Conference on Youth Work was held on March 25, 2017, at the Sabancı University Performing Arts Center with the contributions of Anadolu Efes. The conference aimed to create an environment of dialogue to share developments and different approaches in the field of social responsibility. Corporate Social Responsibility Projects and Youth Work, Collaboration of Non-Governmental Organizations and Universities, and Social Responsibility Programs in Universities and High Schools were the session topics of the conference.