Izmir University of Economics (IUE) successfully implemented the ‘Mentorship Project’ (Peer Mentors), which has been continuously carried out for 9 years and serves as a model for Turkey to accelerate the adaptation process of young people who are new to the campus. As part of the project, 191 mentor students, selected among IUE students in their second, third, and fourth years, were paired with 2 thousand 600 students starting university this year. The mentor students will assist their peers throughout the semester, support the introduction of departments, and provide information about campus facilities.
REACHED 17 THOUSAND 300 STUDENTS
The mentorship project, first launched by Izmir University of Economics in 2015 in the Aegean Region, attracted great interest again this year. A total of 447 students expressed their desire to participate as mentors by filling out the online application form. After interviews, 191 mentors were selected and underwent training. These mentor students were informed about various topics, including what questions might be asked of them and what opportunities Izmir offers for young people. Meeting with the mentors at a special event, IUE Rector Prof. Dr. Yusuf Hakan Abacıoğlu thanked them for their support of the project. The total number of students who have benefited from the mentorship project over the 9 years has reached 17 thousand 300.
OUR POSITIVE ENERGY GREW EVERY DAY
Stating that the Izmir University of Economics Community has grown even more with new students, IUE Alumni Relations Office Coordinator Özge Kulaçoğlu said, “Helping students adapt to campus as quickly as possible lays the groundwork for them to be happier and achieve success in their studies more easily. Our project is very beneficial in reducing the anxiety of students who are new to campus, eliminating some of their doubts, and speeding up their process of making friends. Our mentorship project has become very popular and has even started being implemented at many universities across Turkey after us. In this sense, I can say we set an example. Many of the students who participated in our project reached out to us saying, ‘I learned a lot from my mentor, I received great support, and now I want to help others’. If our project has grown and succeeded until now, it is thanks to the spread of this positive energy. Our Rector, Prof. Dr. Yusuf Hakan Abacıoğlu, has always supported us and met with our mentors. It was a fun meeting, where we took lots of photos and shared laughs. I would like to thank our Rector on behalf of students.”
