SEC 101 Course Projects

Community Engagement Projects carry out their work from two different branches. One of them is the field studies that continues within the scope of SEC 101 - Introduction to University Life Course. SEC 101 Course is a 1-credit compulsory course for all new students. With this course, our students are adapted to university life and provided a good basis for the coming years.

• SEC 101 Course consists of different options. Students who are enrolled in OPTION 2 choose their community engagement projects in the semester the project is to come to life in.
• Students work between 6 - 12 hours in a project that they’ve chosen according to their interest. In return for their efforts they are entitled to earn 6 points which will be added to their SEC 101 points.

CEP offers support to SEC 101 Course with the planning, organizing, executing and evaluating of field studies. During this community engagement field study that we carry out in order to teach the concept of community engagement, which is one of the fundamental values ​​of Özyeğin University. Students enroll in different field projects in line with their interests. These projects are as follows;

Projects with Children:

Make a Wish: In order to fulfill the wishes of children between the ages of 3-18 who struggle with a life-threatening disease in cooperation with the Make a Wish Association, our SEC 101 students try to create a financial resource pool by organizing different activities and events on campus during the semester. After collecting the adequate funds, our students make the necessary arrangements according to the wish.

April 23 Festival: This is the project where we celebrate the 23rd of April National Sovereignty and Children’s Day with various sports, and artistic and cultural activities on campus.  The aim of this project is to celebrate our national holiday and to encourage children of primary school age to participate in sports and arts. Our students are responsible for organizing the festival from beginning to the end.

Wish Tree: Is one of our “ÖzÜ Social Responsibility Projects” which aims to deliver the wishes of the children studying in primary and secondary school in a socially disadvantaged region. As part of the SEC 101 course, our students support the Community Engagement Projects Team to promote the Wish Tree project, to collect the gifts and to organize the gifts to be shipped.

Projects with Disabilities:

Language of the Fingers: This project aims to popularize the Sign Language and to contribute to the socialization of deaf children. The students of SEC 101 Course receive basic Turkish Sign Language and empathy training from Turkish Association for People with Hearing Impairment at the very beginning of the project. After receiving that training, they start to plan a lovely, fun day for the kids, full of activities and sports.

The Box of Imagery:  The Box of Imagery aims to make various visual materials accessible for visually impaired individuals. In this context, priority was given to the visual materials on the campus and content such as logos and photos of the buildings. Our students are trained by the Audio Description Association before they start to audio description.

Disability Awareness Week: Disability Awareness Week is celebrated every year between 9 and 16 of May and the project aims to raise awareness about different disability groups and contribute to the socialization of individuals with disabilities throughout Özyeğin University. Disability Awareness Week project consists of three stages; prior education, the event day and the seminar and post-event awareness reinforcement seminar. Before the event day, our students receive a training on disability, and immediately after the event day, they attend the seminar given by the representatives / individual guests of the institution we cooperate with. The event day is planned to include different arts and music activities.

Autism Awareness Time: With the Autism Awareness Time project, we try to raise awareness about autism and socialize with autistic individuals. This project consists of three-steps; prior education, the event day and post-event awareness reinforcement seminar. Before the day of the event, our students receive an education about individuals with autism, and immediately after the day of the event, they attend the seminar given by the representatives of the institution with which we collaborate. The event day is planned to include different art and music activities.

Projects with Animals:

Campus Dogs: Özyeğin University Temporary Animal Care Center is managed by ÖzÜ Wildlife Conservation Club. Our students support the club with caring for the dogs who live in the shelter. Students are mostly responsible for taking the dogs for a walk, and sometimes they help with the cleaning of the shelter.

Gender Equality Projects:

Gender Equality: We are attempting to raise awareness by increasing the knowledge about the concept of gender. In this context, using gender-sensitive language is really valuable. Within the scope of the project, our students are expected to create messages that will encourage the use of language sensitive to gender equality and to carry out visualization studies to ensure the visibility of these messages on campus. Our students receive training on gender-sensitive language by the Purple Roof Women's Shelter Foundation trainers before preparing their visualization work. The visuals prepared at the end of the semester are exhibited on campus. 

Community Empowerment Projects: 

The State of the Planet: Global Goals, announced by the United Nations in 2015 in order to end poverty, fight inequalities and address the urgency of climate change. Although there is also an important awareness thrown in this way, awareness and information activities continue rapidly. The main purpose of the project is aimed at informing - students on social issues and encouraging them to produce solutions. Students learn about the concept of sustainability, Global Goals and its importance in a 3-hour workshop, and conduct a "World Cafe" study through various future scenarios (Mike Pearl – En Sonunda Oldu). Following this 1-hour study, they are asked to visualize their future scenarios. These works are then exhibited around campus to create awareness.

yaklaş_Nişantepe: We support the social strengthening activities of yaklaş_Nişantepe conducted by Özyeğin University Sustainability Platform in the “meeting the basic needs of the people”. Our students receive a training from our Psychology Department teachers before delivering the products to their owners in this project.  Our students are responsible for the classification and delivery of the items left by students leaving the dormitory and donated to Community Engagement Projects procedurally.