28/05/2015
Turkey is getting closer to European Student Union membership under the guidance of Sabancı University Student Union Cochair Çağlar Genç as Commission Chair. After gaining Candidate Member status last May in Vienna, the second step, being a working visit, was conducted by 5 representatives between April 19th and 26th, 2015.
The delegation consisted of Candidate Member Coordinator William Benn (France), ESU Board of Directors Member Tijana Isoski (Serbia), Andrius Zalitis (Lithuania), Cristi Popescu (Romania), and Kirstine Josephine Pedersen (Denmark). The delegation visited Istanbul, Ankara, Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa for meetings with departments and divisions involved in the process. The Istanbul leg of the trip included visits to Sabancı University, Bahçeşehir University, Haliç University, Istanbul University, and the Istanbul Policy Center. In Ankara, the delegation visited Ministry of Education General Directorate for Foreign Relations and EU, the Parliament, the Council for Higher Education, the Justice and Development Party, Republican People’s Party, Nationalist Movement Party, Democratic Party of the Peoples, and Hacettepe University. Destinations in Gaziantep included Gaziantep University and the Syrian refugees housed in the Nizip Container Camp. Finally, the representatives visited Şanlıurfa Harran University before going back. The delegation was assisted by Student Councils and university employees at every step of the way. The delegation was accompanied by Dr. Nihat Buğra Ağaoğlu, Chair of the Student Council of Turkey, Kemerburgaz University Student Council Chair Rabia İrem Gamsızoğlu, Sabancı University Student Union Cochair Çağlar Genç throughout their visit.
The delegation from the European Student Council were accommodated at Sabancı University while in Istanbul. The delegation paid a visit to Sabancı University on April 21st. Acting under the umbrella of the Istanbul Policy Center, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences members Fuat Keyman and Ahmet Evin responded to student questions about current affairs. The delegation then met President Nihat Berker, discussing the education system at Sabancı University, our international activities, and current issues in education. Sabancı University Nanotechnology Center (SUNUM) Director Volkan Özgüz took the delegation on a guided tour of SUNUM, after which the group met with SOM Dean Ayşe Kadıoğlu, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Dean Yusuf Menceloğlu, SUNUM Director Volkan Özgüz, and Foundations Development Unit Director Zehra Sayers at a lunch hosted by the Rectorate.
The delegation left with a positive impression of Turkey, and were particularly happy about their meetings with the Sabancı University management and Student Union.
Turkey will present its case in the 69th Board of Directors Meeting to take place in Cluj, Romania in November 2015, and full membership will be accepted or denied depending on the outcome of the vote.