GLLP Project Bazaar: Be a part of Social Innovation on Campus! 

GLLP’s first Project Bazaar was organized on October 9th with the participation of GLLP, UIF and KUGlobal Aid students. The bazaar was a great opportunity for students to present and share their projects with Koç University students, faculty and staff that are designed in MGMT210 course, Stanford University’s UIF Program and KUGlobalAid Group. By the feedbacks that are given, students gain a perspective on how to improve and actualize their projects. The projects presented were Beyaz Yürekler, Bias Detected, Sympathy, Eat & Meet and Let’s Be United Project by KUGlobalAid. More information about these projects can be found on GLLP’s Medium Blog! Project Bazaar creates a collective environment where students both appreciate their efforts and think about the next step to achieve on their projects. Moreover, many students and faculty members become informed about the impact that GLLP community creates within the school and society.

University Innovation Fellows (UIF) organized Mindfulness Session at the Library

The University Innovation Fellows (UIF) is an international program of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design and was created as part of the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation grant from the National Science Foundation. The goal of the UIF program is to empower students to be agents of change at their campuses.  As a part of their training Fellows are creating student innovation spaces, founding entrepreneurship organizations, hosting experiential events, and working with faculty and administrators to develop courses.

Since 2018 OIP’s Global Learning and Leadership Track Program (GLLP) has been selecting students to be part of UIF and create opportunities that help their peers unlock their creative potential and develop the design-centered mindset required to take on complex challenges in today’s world.

Partnering with Suna Kıraç Library, during Fall 2019, UIF Students organized several mindfulness sessions to offer students the opportunity to relieve stress in the finals week, without the need to leave the library and interrupt their studies.

The project was very well-received by the Koç University community, not only reaching out to undergraduate students but also attracting graduate students, academicians and managerial personnel. Suna Kıraç Library has also enjoyed and embraced the project and is enthusiastic about turning it into a tradition.

Success News from KU Global Aid’s Let’s Be United Project 

 KU Global Aid Students has successfully moved their project “Let’s Be United” to Gaziantep with the funds they received from AT Kearney Global Management Consulting Firm. Students also shared their project, which aims to improve the social integration between Syrian and Turkish children while increasing their personal development, with Mayor of Gaziantep, Fatma Şahin. KUGA will maintain the project’s continuity by working with Gaziantep Kolej Vakfı High School students. During the five days of education between January 6-10, 2020; the high school students were given information about the workshop flow, talked about the projects aims and regulations, how to interact with kids and talked about the possible problems that may occur in workshops.

Follow KUGA on Instagram at @kuglobalaid to keep up with their work. Here is a short video of their Gaziantep Project:

GLLP students formed the Women Refugee Integration Society

Women Refugee Integration Society is founded by 2 Koc University Global Learning and Leadership Program (GLLP) students Ezgi Turhaner and Yaprak Balcı, along with the support of Sarah Lam from Hong Kong Polytechnic University have successfully completed their project on Friendship and Confidence Activities at Koç University with the funds they received from Global Youth Leadership of Service Learning Institute of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Global Youth Leaders Seed Project Fund (GYL-SPF), founded after the “Global Youth Leaders Summit 2018: Transforming VISION into ACTION”, encourages and supports cross-border projects initiated by the young generations with an aim to start and sustain collaborative community projects, which tackle the world’s pressing challenges, transfer knowledge to and continue the effort in the community. 

Their project aims to improve the social integration between Syrian and Turkish young girls while increasing their self-confidence. During 4 four weeks of trainings in Spring 2020, they successfully accomplished painting, English, coding, yoga, creative drama, sculpture-making, chemistry experiment, respect & empathy, questioning gender roles classes and made new friends. You can follow Women Refugee Integration Society on Facebook to keep up with their work. Here is a short video of their 4 weeks of trainings: