The Importance of Cross-Sectoral Dialogues for SDGs

Marmara University plays a major role in the importance of implementing and participating in many inter-institutional and inter-sectoral dialogues, especially the SDGs. The university implements strategic planning and policies to improve and make the SDGs sustainable by collaborating with governments, NGOs and other stakeholders. Experts from different sectors come together to discuss the challenges and solutions to achieving sustainable development goals through events such as conferences, scientific studies, activities, seminars and workshops, and contribute by exchanging ideas. These dialogues increase the social contribution of the university and ensure that important steps are taken for a sustainable future.

In this context, Marmara University has opened a unit called the Civil Society Organizations Research and Application Center (STKAM) and the projects and activities carried out through this unit contribute to the awareness and adaptation of local communities to climate change.

 

The fact that the problems faced by the world have become global and that the solutions to these problems must be global has increased the interest in the concept of civil society and civil society organizations. In particular, civil society organizations, which are put forward as a solution mechanism for global problems such as climate change, food and water crisis, hunger, poverty, gender inequalities, energy supply security, income and education opportunity inequality, biodiversity loss, environmental pollution, wars and human rights violations, have become one of the most important global actors. Thus, civil society organizations have consolidated their place as indispensable elements of both achieving sustainable development goals and environmental, social, economic and governance sustainability. All this reality necessitates social transformation, and at this point, the perspective on the field of civil society, which is the key element of transformation, needs to be addressed at regional, national and global levels. It is important to approach civil society organizations, whose place is indisputable in public administration, policy development and academic studies, from a professional perspective and to identify the needs related to the field. Marmara University Civil Society Organizations Application and Research Center (STKAM) is an institution that is aware of this reality and whose main purpose is to produce information on civil society and civil society organizations in our country and to train qualified human resources that the public, private and civil society sectors will need.

 

Marmara University Alumni Office

Marmara University Alumni Office was established in line with the vision and mission of our school, to keep the sense of belonging of the students studying at our university alive after graduation, to develop their relations with our university, and to strengthen cooperation, assistance and solidarity among our alumni. The goals of Marmara University Alumni Office are; To be enterprising, innovative and develop innovative thinking, To actively operate the Alumni Information System that includes the contact information of all our graduates and to ensure the sustainability of the university-alumni relationship by rewarding the achievements of those registered in the system in their professional lives, To organize social, cultural and scientific events that will bring our graduates together, To organize trainings for our graduates in order to implement the philosophy of lifelong learning, To publish news and announcements about our graduates and to share the projects that our graduates have put into action, To establish mentoring activities for our new graduates and students through effective communication between Marmara University alumni associations and our graduates, To share the experiences of our graduates with our students, To carry out social responsibility projects with our graduates, To cooperate with the Career Center so that our graduates can take effective positions in business life and to provide internship opportunities to students, To provide regular information to our graduates about developments in our school and progress in their professional lives through bulletins.

 

The International Conference on Climate Change, Energy Transition and Sustainability (2023)

 

International Conference on Climate Change, Energy Transition and Sustainability (2023)

The "International Climate Change, Energy Transformation, and Sustainability" conference was held online under the sponsorship of "Education Foundation for Innovation". The conference, whose main theme was the Role of Energy Transformation and Energy Efficiency in Adapting to and Mitigating Climate Change Towards the 2030 Global Agenda, brought together academicians and professionals from different fields to discuss the latest developments in sustainable development goals, climate change adaptation, renewable energy, clean energy, energy efficiency, energy security, and green hydrogen from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Many NGOs participated. Onur Ünlü, CEO of ESCON Energy Inc. and President of TURKONFED - Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation Green Transformation Commission. Dr. Kubilay Kavak, CEO of Escarus (TSKB Sustainability Consultancy). Panel 2: Fatih Kuşçu, Secretary General of Green Hydrogen Producers Association, with the topic of "Energy of the Future: Green Hydrogen". Panelists; Green Hydrogen Producers Association President #YusufGünay, Çalık Energy Business Development Director Mehtap Ipek Pure Energy Managing Partner Argun Karacay.

 

Students came together with companies and expert speakers in energy sub-fields such as natural gas, energy distribution, hydrogen storage, etc. At this summit, participants had the opportunity to observe the energy sector from different perspectives.

Green Chemistry is a new principle based on a dozen principles, including solutions that will eliminate existing pollution problems. Our aim is to prepare Chemistry and Chemical Engineering students for the developing and growing Chemistry sector while protecting our nature. In this context, it is aimed to convey Green Chemistry and its principles to the participants one-on-one by experts in the field.

The main purpose of the event is to bring together engineers interested in the field of energy and air conditioning with important names in this sector and to provide them with the opportunity to learn what they are curious about.

Marmara Energy Summit (2023)

An event called the Energy Summit was organized at Marmara University. Within the scope of this event, topics such as renewable energy sources, the future of energy, sustainability, SDGs were discussed. Academicians, experts, and students from different fields participated in the event. Thus, it was aimed to develop intersectoral collaborations.

 

4th International Academic Researches for Sustainability (2023)

Marmara University organized the "4th International Academic Researches for Sustainability" event in 2023. This congress was held on December 14-15, 2023, hosted by Istanbul Nişantaşı University, as a platform addressing environmental, social, economic and cultural sustainability issues. International participants contributed to a sustainable future by discussing innovative projects and multidisciplinary approaches.

 

European Green Deal: Sustainability and Turkey's Situation Conference (2023)

The conference "European Green Deal: Sustainability and Turkey's Situation" was held at Marmara University. This conference particularly addressed how to provide more support for SDGs, how to make strategies and plans, and how to develop sustainable strategies to combat climate change. The conference encouraged cross-sectoral exchange of ideas and implementation of new projects among government representatives, experts, thinkers from the scientific community, academics and NGOs. In this event, information was provided on the steps taken by Turkey towards achieving the SSDGs and innovative projects related to these issues.

Marmara University has organized activities in the field of Climate Change, Sustainability and Green Transformation.

 

Marmara University has implemented the BIGG Marmara program and has implemented projects, events, activities and strategies for local industry in the fields of energy efficiency and sustainable clean energy within the scope of this program. Within the scope of local industry cooperation, which is one of the main goals of Marmara University, it organizes different events to increase energy efficiency and promote the use of renewable energy in society.

 

Marmara University discussed the importance and evaluation of clean energy sources, precautions regarding possible risks to human, animal and plant health, provisions that will provide progress in areas such as sustainability of biological awareness, carbon-free life and digitalization, and evaluated how these will be integrated into the local industry.

Marmara University brings together different units within its own structure and provides different services on energy efficiency and clean energy, thus providing valuable and sustainable contributions to the local industry. Among the projects carried out by Marmara University, it has implemented different studies on increasing energy efficiency and clean and sustainable energy options. These studies and activities have enabled the local industry to reduce energy consumption, achieve cost savings and increase interest in environmentally friendly sustainable energy sources.

Marmara University is implementing collaborations and partnerships with NGOs in the fight against climate change and increasing the academic and social contribution of Marmara University. Through the collaborations, it aims to help the university realize its social responsibility and strengthen its sustainability activities. In this context, Marmara University has opened a unit called the Civil Society Organizations Research and Application Center (STKAM) and the projects and activities carried out through this unit contribute to the awareness and adaptation of local communities regarding climate change.

 

You can access the 2023 activity report of Marmara University Civil Society Organizations Application and Research Center's collaborations with NGOs by clicking the Link:

https://stkam.marmara.edu.tr/dosya/stkaum/Yeni%20Web/STKAM%20Raporu/STKAM-2023%20Faal.Raporu.pdf 

 

NGOs’ Contribution to the Environment: Marmara University’s National Afforestation Day Event

Marmara University has many clubs and one of these clubs, the Law Studies Club, participated in the sapling planting on November 11th National Arbor Day and exhibited an example of social responsibility for the society and a green future for NGOs. This event was organized to increase the environmental awareness of the society and to take important and valuable steps for a sustainable life. NGOs aim to create awareness in the public with such activities carried out at the university and to draw attention to the continuation of the green environment, climate change and environmental problems. Marmara University Law Studies Club supports environmentally sensitive projects by cooperating with NGOs and develops students' social responsibility awareness. Such events strengthen the positive impact of NGOs on society.

International Conference of Climate Change, Energy Transition and Sustainability

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKKm4PB0vlQ&t=14s

 

International Conference of Digital and Green Transition

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMzTu9bX9eQ

 

Green Academy Sustainability Seminar in Campus and Education

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr28wRcbmj8

 

Women and Gender Equality in Economy Talk

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU0ku9nWbPs 

 

Climate Change and Sustainable Finance Summit in the Centennial of the Republic

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A5y11onM9w&t=2s

 

Climate Change Seminar

The aim of our event is to draw attention to climate change, one of the biggest problems in today's world. We aim to raise awareness about climate change and share ways to combat climate change. The target audience of our event is everyone who wants to learn about climate change, especially Marmara University students.

Nature Walk

Nature walks are walks that are carried out in different geographies of nature, with different levels of difficulty and for different durations. As the name suggests, nature walks are carried out in nature or in areas with natural beauty. The places where these walks can be carried out vary depending on the type of walk. The target audience of the event is Marmara University students.

Sustainability Days

Bee Day and Biodiversity

The global climate crisis, one of the biggest problems of today's world, was brought to attention by combining May 20 Bee Day and May 22 Biodiversity Day and hosting various academics who are experts in these subjects. The extinction of bees due to the climate crisis can cause a chain reaction of imbalance in the ecosystem and many other problems. For this reason, this event was held so that everyone can fulfill their responsibilities and gain awareness for the protection of bees and biodiversity.

I Love the Earth, I Recycle

The purpose of this event is to convey to our participants in detail what recycling is. We aimed to encourage our participants to live a sustainable life by conveying how recycling can be incorporated into daily life. In our event, we examined recycling and sustainability from an artistic perspective as well as from a basic perspective. The target audience of our event is primarily Marmara University students and people interested in recycling and sustainability.

Green Chemistry Conference

Green Chemistry is a new principle based on a dozen principles, including solutions that will eliminate current pollution problems. Our aim is to prepare Chemistry and Chemical Engineering students for the developing and growing Chemistry sector while protecting our nature. In this context, it is aimed to convey Green Chemistry and its principles to the participants one-on-one by experts in the field.

Change Yourself, Not the Climate!

The aim of our event is to create climate awareness among our participants. In our event, we aim to touch upon what the climate crisis is, what we can do against the climate crisis, and examining the climate crisis in terms of human and children's rights. The target audience of our event is primarily the members of the Marmara University Natural Life Protection Club, as well as Marmara University students.

Planting Saplings on National Afforestation Day

Marmara University Geography Club is organizing a sapling planting event with its students to leave a gift to the future on the National Afforestation Day, the 100th anniversary of our Republic. The aim is for the saplings planted to grow enough to breathe into these lands in the future and for future generations to follow in the footsteps of us young people and plant more saplings to enlarge our green areas.

Nature Walk and Photography Event