The recipient of the Environmental Sustainability Leadership Award, presented for the first time this year by our university, has been announced. Kaan Göktaş, an Aircraft Body and Engine Maintenance student and president of our university’s Young TEMA (Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion) club, has been awarded the Environmental Sustainability Leadership Award.
The award ceremony was held online under the moderation of Dr. Ekin Gündüz Özdemirci, Chair of our university’s Sustainability Commission. Sharing his experiences in environmental awareness activities, Kaan Göktaş stated: “For nearly two years, we’ve been conducting activities to raise environmental sensitivity and awareness. We formed a team at our university and considered ways to raise people’s environmental awareness. Inspired by the words of Hayrettin Karaca, Honorary Founding President of TEMA – ‘To live, we must let live’ – we first focused on food preservation. Bees emerged as the most important factor for us in this regard. We wanted to highlight the crucial role bees play in food production. We first explained this properly to our team, then informed our university students. Participation was excellent. Since then, we’ve continued our educational activities covering the importance of water, soil, and other topics.”
“We came in second place nationwide.”
Continuing his speech, Göktaş mentioned the achievements of Young TEMA groups across Turkey: “We also represent our school in TEMA organizations nationwide. Last year, in our first experience, we ranked third in activities. This year, we achieved second place nationwide. During this process, we encouraged people to plant saplings and provided environmental education. In just three days, we collected 4.5 million ‘Help Steps’ donations. It was an exemplary show of solidarity. On behalf of the Young TEMA family, I want to thank everyone. We considered how to turn pandemic conditions into an opportunity and organized fun activities, such as tree-planting challenges. Soon, we’re planning an event to explain TEMA’s work in general terms – you could think of it as a workshop. There will be prize competitions, training sessions, and guest speakers. I’d also like to thank our advisor, Arda Çakır, our university’s Corporate Communication and Student Coordinator, who contributed greatly to developing our environmental awareness.”
Özdemirci: “We prioritize developing students’ environmental awareness.”
Dr. Ekin Gündüz Özdemirci, who moderated the award ceremony, emphasized the importance they place on developing students’ environmental sensitivity throughout their education: “In this era of ecological crisis, there’s a great need for individuals with the competence and awareness to propose sustainable solutions. Every sector needs this. It’s essential to us that students develop this sensitivity during their education, and we take it very seriously. This award is essentially an initiative supporting our students who work toward this goal.”
What is the Environmental Sustainability Leadership Award?
It is an award presented by our university to final-year students who have participated in environmental sustainability efforts during their education and conducted awareness activities to develop ecological sensitivity. Click here for more information.
