Sakarya University’s Gender Equality Plan 2022–2025 includes a planned activity bringing together women scientists, university students and schoolgirls in science, mathematics, medicine and engineering in connection with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The relevant action identifies the Rector’s Office and SAUKAM among the responsible units and uses the number of activities as an indicator. This is a commitment in the plan covering 2025. [1, PDF p. 13]
Figure 1. Original Gender Equality Plan 2022–2025, PDF page 13. The lower row sets out the planned activity involving women scientists, university students and schoolgirls. Source [1]
The University’s Mechanical Engineering Department also hosts a letter addressed to SAÜ by the Limak Foundation. Dated 20 September 2019, it concerns support for women who had already chosen engineering. It documents SAÜ’s established connection with women’s access to engineering education. For 2025, the Gender Equality Plan records the University’s commitment to outreach for schoolgirls, and the joint school visits with the Provincial Directorate of National Education identify both the intended audience and the schools reached. [1, 3, 5, 8, 15]
The public SABİS student table provides programme-level figures labelled 2023. In the regular programmes shown below, women represented a minority of enrolled students. These figures provide the historical baseline against which the 2025 intake is assessed. Percentages are calculated as women divided by total enrolment. [2]
| Programme (2023) | Women | Total | Women (%) |
| Mechanical Engineering | 121 | 796 | 15.2 |
| Electrical–Electronics Engineering | 124 | 713 | 17.4 |
| Civil Engineering | 129 | 671 | 19.2 |
For the 2025–2026 intake, the Faculty of Engineering recorded 310 women and 494 men among 804 new registrations (38.56% women). The same register gives total new entrants in Civil Engineering (77), Mechanical Engineering (156) and Electrical–Electronics Engineering (148), without a sex breakdown for those programme rows. The faculty percentage cannot be assigned to any one programme. [9]
Figure 2. Faculty-level entry figures by sex, including engineering and computing. PDF p. 1. Source [9]
The same 2025–2026 register records 184 women and 311 men among 495 new entrants to the Faculty of Computer and Information Sciences (37.17% women). Together with the Engineering Faculty figure, this identifies a second faculty in which women were a minority of entrants. Neither faculty aggregate identifies the sex distribution in a particular degree programme or attendance at a targeted recruitment event. [9]
Figure 3. Programme-level new registrations by mode of study, 2025–2026. These rows give totals by study mode. PDF p. 4. Source [9]
In addition to the institutional dashboards, the University uses YÖK Atlas to follow the gender distribution in programmes such as Medicine, Data Science and Analytics, and Information Systems Engineering [6].
Figure 4. The University describes the SABİS breakdown by sex and discipline. Extract from the published web text (print layout). Source [6]
During the spring 2025 Geleceğime Yön Veriyorum project, the University hosted an engineering introduction programme coordinated by the SKS Culture Branch and the Provincial Directorate of National Education. The official record, listed on 13 May 2025, reports 120 pupils from four high schools. [3, 4]
Figure 5. Engineering Faculty outreach photograph from the official event account. Source [3]
Academics introduced civil, environmental, industrial, food, metallurgical and materials, mechanical, and electrical–electronics engineering. The programme provided prospective students with information about university opportunities and engineering subjects. The published account documents the visit, the participating schools and the range of engineering disciplines presented. [3]
Figure 6. Engineering Faculty school visit. The event account records 120 pupils from four high schools introduced to seven engineering disciplines. Source [3]
Figure 7. Faculty of Engineering school outreach. The gallery documents the visit and its setting. Source [3]
The spring completion report records 1,000 pupils across eight faculties and lists Vali Mustafa Büyük Girls’ Anatolian Imam Hatip High School among participating schools. The Engineering Faculty’s event record names four other schools for its 120-pupil session. The outreach programme engaged girls’-school pupils across multiple faculties and directly introduced them to engineering and other university disciplines. The autumn school visits continued across faculties and into Teknokent through December 2025. [3, 7, 8]
Figure 8. Faculty of Engineering school outreach. The gallery documents the visit and its setting. Source [3]
Figure 9. Autumn school outreach across faculties. The photograph documents general outreach. Source [7]
On 6 March 2025, the Faculty of Theology hosted 135 pupils from Vali Mustafa Büyük Girls' Anatolian Imam Hatip High School as part of the Geleceğime Yön Veriyorum project. The visit provided pupils with direct access to academics and information about theology as a university discipline and academic career path. [16]
On 16 April 2025, Rector Prof. Dr. Hamza Al received the Robot and Software Team of Cevat Ayhan Science High School at Sakarya University. The pupils presented projects in artificial neural networks, UAV systems, computer vision and astrophysics, including Gamze Seçkin's detection of maize diseases with artificial neural networks and the AI-based detection of skin diseases presented by Zehra Laçin and Kerim Ali Kök. The Rector's reception recognised the achievements of girls alongside boys in artificial intelligence and encouraged the team in its TEKNOFEST and TÜBİTAK work. [17]
The University’s social contribution unit lead reports that conversations with school pupils at outreach events specifically address girls’ interest in engineering and technology.
On 25 February 2025, University student club members supported the GençTek STEM meeting at Şehit Erol Olçok Anatolian High School, where pupils from different schools worked together on a practical task. During the 2025 university admissions cycle, faculty representatives also guided prospective students and families at the University’s Open Days, held from 30 July to 1 August. Applicants could discuss course content and career options before choosing their programmes. [10, 11a, 11b]
On 9 March 2025, the Women in Engineering committee of the IEEE Sakarya University Student Branch held a Tea Talk to mark International Women's Day. Associate Professor Dr. Tijen Över Özçelik shared her experience as a woman engineer, discussed the opportunities and challenges facing women engineers, and gave students advice for their future careers. [18]
On 23 June 2025, the Faculty of Engineering published a dedicated post to mark World Women Engineers Day, increasing the visibility of women in engineering and communicating the University's support for women choosing engineering careers. [19]
In June 2025, the student community Fikir ile Gelecek Topluluğu, supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sport, ran a three-day programme, Gelecek'ten Gelecek, introducing high-school pupils to university disciplines and professions. On the first day, medicine, law, psychology, mechanical engineering, management information systems, visual communication design and international trade were presented. On the second day, Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Özer Köseoğlu discussed university life, academic development and career planning with the pupils. On the third day, graduates of industrial engineering, materials and metallurgical engineering and international relations shared their career experience. [20]
In spring 2025, Sakarya University took part as a partner university in the Marmara Career Fair (MARMARAKAF), coordinated by the Presidential Human Resources Office. The Career Development Coordination Office offered career status analysis, skills inventories, the Career Wheel and the Kariyer Kapsülü (Career Capsule) activity, in which students wrote letters setting out their career goals for the following year. [21]
On 23 May 2025, University researchers visited Hendek Atike Hanım Anatolian High School as part of the Araştırmacılar Okulda (Researchers in Schools) programme organised through the Science and Future unit. Researchers presented topics in climate change, natural disasters and environmental science, bringing university-level research directly into the school environment. [22]
On 18 November 2025, the G-YOUNG Young Entrepreneur Accelerator Programme final was held at Sakarya University's Turgut Özal Culture and Congress Center. The programme was organised in collaboration with Sakarya University, Sakarya Teknokent, the Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SATSO) and the Provincial Directorate of National Education. Twelve high-school teams presented their projects to a jury, and Rector Prof. Dr. Hamza Al addressed the pupils on entrepreneurial and innovative thinking as a basis for their future studies and careers. [23]
On 30 December 2025, the University's Communications Coordination Office opened a Sakarya University stand at the Tercih University Choice and Career Fair, which brought together 27 universities and was visited by 3,280 pupils. Academic staff presented the University's faculties, programmes and campus facilities and answered prospective students' questions on course content, practical training and career fields after graduation. [24]
The Geleceği Yazan Kadınlar Yapay Zekâ (Women Writing the Future in Artificial Intelligence) programme is a national initiative directed specifically at women. Sakarya University faculties including the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, the Faculty of Business Administration and the Department of Geography published programme announcements, directing women students and graduates to the application and award process. Awards were presented on 24 December 2025. [25]
In 2023, the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering publicised the Türkiye’nin Mühendis Kızları scholarship for women already in the first three years of selected engineering degrees. Applications ran from 25 September to 16 October. [12]
In May 2026, a participating high school reported that its pupils attended classes in departments they had chosen at Sakarya University. The University’s October 2026 report on its pre-COP31 programme names Halit Evin Girls’ Anatolian Imam Hatip High School among the schools represented. The 64 pupils attending the programme explored career paths in areas including artificial intelligence, digital technology and renewable energy. This is the total across the participating schools. [13, 14]
