The Academic Mentorship and Career Development Project was a volunteer mentorship program successfully completed in collaboration between Ibn Haldun University Career Center and Başakşehir Municipality. Through the voluntary mentoring efforts of university students, the program aimed to support high school students' academic achievement, personal development, and career awareness.
Moving beyond a purely exam-success-oriented approach, the program offered a holistic, three-dimensional development model:
Academic development: planning, focus, exam strategy
Career development: discovering interests and values, awareness of career choices
Personal-social development: self-awareness, communication, ethics, social responsibility
The program ran from January to June 2026 at the Başakşehir Municipality service building.
Coordinated by Ibn Haldun University Career Center, 3rd and 4th year undergraduate students and graduate students from the university served as mentors
11th–12th grade students and recent graduates attending the Başakşehir Youth Center took part as mentees
Mentor-mentee pairing followed a 1:3 ratio
Weekly one-on-one mentor-mentee sessions of 30–45 minutes were held regularly, supplemented by additional one-on-one meetings as needed
The process began with a mentor orientation training, followed by the start of mentor-mentee sessions, which continued throughout the program supported by monthly supervision meetings
1. Preparation Period A coordination board was established between Ibn Haldun University Career Center and Başakşehir Municipality; mentor applications, interviews, and selection were carried out through joint evaluation; high school students were identified and parental consent obtained.
2. Mentor Training Program Before starting, all mentors completed a four-session training program covering:
Mentorship and Ethical Principles
Communication and Motivation with Young People
Planning and Guidance Tools
Academic Orientation (in cooperation with Başakşehir Municipality)
3. Implementation and Supervision Period Following the completion of the mentor training program, mentor-mentee sessions began and continued regularly throughout the program. This process was supported by monthly supervision meetings, which addressed themes such as the mentor's role and professional boundaries, motivation strategies, balance in career guidance, ethical awareness, and stress management, concluding with an overall evaluation and sharing of development outcomes.
The program gave Ibn Haldun University students a meaningful volunteering experience and helped them develop leadership skills, while providing high school students in Başakşehir with consistent, structured support across academic, personal, and career domains. It stands as a strong example of how university-municipality collaboration can be turned into a sustainable model of social benefit for young people.
