Hacettepe University undertakes year-round educational outreach beyond campus for diverse community groups. Our academic units, research centers, and student societies deliver seminars, workshops, demonstrations, talks, and awareness activities in local schools and community venues, often in collaboration with municipalities, public institutions, and NGOs. These activities aim to support community learning, expand access to scientific knowledge, encourage progression to higher education, and strengthen social responsibility. In addition, many student societies run volunteer-based projects under the guidance of faculty advisors, offering age-appropriate educational sessions, science shows, mentoring, and awareness programmes.
Hacettepe University Career Center—together with seven student societies—organized a free career fair open to off-campus students on 7–8 March 2024, connecting young people from multiple universities and the wider community with industry representatives. This event is held annually and functions as a community education and interaction platform.
Hacettepe Volunteering Community Activities
Hacettepe University Hacettepe Volunteering Community organized a volunteering event for students living in Hatay, which was affected by the major earthquake in our country on February 6, 2023. Between 22-24 November 2024, a book donation campaign was organized to be delivered to Hatay. Within the scope of the campaign, an open announcement was made to the society and donations were collected.
Educational Outreach Initiatives of the Hacettepe University Societal Contribution Coordinatorship
Societal Contribution Coordination of Hacettepe University organized a project at İhsan Doğramacı Children’s Hospital to teach children from disadvantaged groups about biodiversity and climate change. The goal was to help them learn about these important topics and gain skills for a sustainable future.
In the project, children learned through games, art activities, and visual materials in playrooms and classrooms at the hospital. They used resources from the Ministry of Education, TEMA Foundation, and other sources to make learning fun and engaging.
With this project, children’s awareness of biodiversity and climate change; It is aimed for them to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for a sustainable world in the future.
In line with the agreement signed between Hacettepe University and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Centre, Hacettepe University has been recognised as a ‘Project ECHO’ centre. Within the framework of another cooperation protocol signed with Duke University, which is also a Project ECHO centre, a training and community development project on sustainable reconstruction of infrastructure in the earthquake zone was initiated.
The first training of the project titled ‘Infrastructure Sustainability Learning (ISLe) Community Training Program’ using Project ECHO infrastructure, which includes the titles “Introduction to UNEP’s 10 Principles”, “A case study on strategic planning in post-earthquake reconstruction” and “Creating a mind map centered on Principle 1 (strategic planning)”, was held on 30.10.2024 under the title “Introduction to Sustainability Principles: UNEP’s 10 Principles and Strategic Planning” was held on 30.10.2024 with the participation of academicians from Hacettepe University and Eskişehir Technical University and a total of 60 participants from USA, Bhutan, and Turkey.
Within the framework of the Green Gaming project carried out within the scope of Erasmus+, Hacettepe University organized an online training program for young people between the ages of 18-30, aiming to raise awareness of climate change, free of charge and open to wide participation.
