17.2.5. Collaboration with NGOs for SDGs

ODTÜ emphasizes partnerships with NGOs to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by facilitating student volunteering, research collaborations, and the development of educational resources. Through these initiatives, students engage directly with civil society in projects on environmental protection, education, social welfare, and community development, applying their knowledge while fostering sustainability awareness. The university also collaborates with NGOs on research and innovation to address complex societal challenges, including climate action, clean energy, and sustainable cities. Additionally, ODTÜ integrates SDG-related content into formal and non-formal education, equipping students and communities with the skills and motivation to implement sustainable practices and policies.

Student Volunteering Programs

Middle East Technical University (METU) actively fosters university-NGO partnerships by embedding student volunteering into civic action, environmental stewardship, and educational equity initiatives throughout 2025.

I. Key Student Volunteering Highlights (2025):

1. Annual Species-Count Activity at Campus

NGO Partner: Nature Conservation Centre (Doğa Koruma Merkezi- DKM)

Organizing Student Club: EKOSAM Student Club

Target SDGs: SDG 15 (Life on Land), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities)

In May 22 2025, Middle East Technical University (METU), through the Ecosystem Implementation and Research Center (EKOSAM) and the EKOSAM Student Club, collaborated with the Nature Conservation Centre (Doğa Koruma Merkezi- DKM)—a leading environmental NGO in Türkiye—to host Tür Say 2025 (BioBlitz 2025).

Timed with the International Day for Biological Diversity, Tür Say 2025 is a multi-institutional citizen-science campaign designed to tackle multiple SDGs through direct NGO-university collaboration.

By bridging academic research capabilities with NGO field expertise and student volunteer mobilization, Tür Say 2025 demonstrates an active partnership model that advances local biodiversity conservation while building community-level capacity for the SDGs.

2. ILKYAR Anatolian Village School Workshops — Rural Education Equity

NGO Partner: İlköğretim Okullarına Yardım Vakfı (ILKYAR Foundation)

Organizing Student Club: METU ILKYAR Student Club

Target SDGs: SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

Student volunteers travel to rural primary and middle schools in Anatolia alongside ILKYAR mentors. Volunteers deliver interactive STEM experiments, science kits, mobile library sessions, and creative arts workshops directly to underserved students to improve regional access to quality education.

3. Young Red Crescent (Genç Kızılay) Campus Drives & Disaster Relief Training

NGO Partner: Türk Kızılay (Turkish Red Crescent)

Organizing Student Club: METU Young Red Crescent Society (ODTÜ Genç Kızılay)

Target SDGs: SDG 3 (Good Health & Well-being), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities & Communities)

Throughout 2025, student volunteers partnered with Türk Kızılay to lead campus-wide blood donation drives, health awareness sessions, and certified first-aid and disaster preparedness trainings for university students and community members.

4. Campus Stray Animal Welfare & Habitat Management

NGO Partner: Local animal welfare networks & Ankara municipal shelters

Organizing Student Club: METU Animal Lovers Society (ODTÜ Hayvan Dostları)

Target SDGs: SDG 15 (Life on Land), SDG 3 (Good Health & Well-being)

Student volunteers coordinate continuous habitat upkeep, feeding routes, rabies vaccination drives, and veterinary rescue workflows for stray animals living on the METU forest campus, working in direct coordination with local animal care NGOs and municipal veterinary services.

5. Erasmus Student Network (ESN METU) Social Inclusion & Civic Initiatives

NGO Partner: ESN International / ESN Türkiye

Organizing Student Club: ESN METU

Target SDGs: SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions)

Under ESN's Social Inclusion and Causes framework, local and exchange student volunteers collaborate on local civic initiatives, accessibility projects for students with disabilities, and cultural exchange workshops across Ankara.

These structured volunteer opportunities enable METU students to apply academic learning directly to societal challenges while strengthening civil society capacity across Türkiye.

Middle East Technical University, through its Institute of Marine Sciences (METU IMS), leads major international marine and climate research consortiums that embed Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and civil society actors into joint research, ecosystem monitoring, and policy co-design. Utilizing the Quadruple Helix innovation model, METU IMS collaborates with international environmental NGOs to address marine pollution, climate adaptation, and sustainable blue economy frameworks across the Black Sea and Mediterranean basins.

II. Key Collaborative NGO Research Programs:

BRIDGE-BS (Horizon 2020 – Coordinator: METU IMS):

Coordinated directly by METU IMS, the BRIDGE-BS project brings together 31 regional partners—including environmental NGOs, economic research foundations (e.g., TEPAV), policy institutes, and research institutions across 6 coastal Black Sea countries. The project engages NGOs to co-develop the Black Sea Ocean Literacy Network and citizen-science platforms, bridging academic research with local fishing communities, civil society, and policymakers to predict and mitigate multi-stressor impacts on marine ecosystems (SDG 14, SDG 13).

BlueMissionMED (Horizon Europe – Türkiye Hub Lead: METU IMS):

METU IMS coordinates the Türkiye Hub for BlueMissionMED, an EU-funded initiative supporting the Mission "Restore Our Ocean and Waters by 2030". The consortium explicitly integrates 5 international NGOs, research centers, and municipal networks across 7 Mediterranean nations. METU IMS works alongside environmental non-profits to design basin-scale innovation ecosystems, deploy marine depollution solutions, and drive civil society engagement against plastic and chemical marine waste (SDG 14, SDG 6, SDG 12).

ARSINOE (Horizon Europe – Partner: METU IMS):

METU IMS collaborates within a 41-partner international consortium that includes civil society organizations and regional NGOs. Through Living Labs, NGOs co-design regional climate resilience models and water scarcity solutions using a Systems Innovation Approach (SDG 13, SDG 6).

MARMOD Phase 3 (Marmara Sea Integrated Modeling System, 2024–2025):

Executed by METU IMS in collaboration with national environmental authorities and local coastal stakeholders, MARMOD Phase 3 establishes a basin-scale Digital Twin and Decision Support System (DSS) to restore the Marmara Sea following severe ecological crises (mucilage). METU IMS collaborates with local environmental NGOs, artisanal fisheries cooperatives, and municipal eco-committees to co-define reference state values, validate ecological model projections, and support the Marmara Sea Action Plan (SDG 14, SDG 6, SDG 13).

ACTNOW (EU Horizon Europe):

METU IMS partners in the EU-funded ACTNOW consortium alongside European research institutes and environmental NGOs (such as NIOZ partners). The project investigates cumulative human-induced stressors on marine biodiversity. NGOs and coastal community networks participate directly in assessing community-level impacts, evaluating ecosystem services, and translating oceanographic findings into actionable conservation guidelines (SDG 14, SDG 15, SDG 3).

DOORS (Developing Optimal and Open Research Support for the Black Sea, EU Horizon 2020):

Co-leading Work Package 5 (Change and Adaptation), METU IMS leverages its extensive Black Sea stakeholder network under DOORS to engage environmental NGOs, youth groups, and coastal civil society organizations. NGOs participate in Work Packages 7 and 8 (Stakeholder Engagement, Dissemination, and Capacity Building), running citizen-science initiatives, co-designing climate adaptation strategies, and democratizing access to open-source marine data (SDG 14, SDG 13, SDG 4).

Through these multi-year, multi-million-euro research frameworks, METU IMS establishes long-term research partnerships with civil society to generate actionable, open-access ecological data for sustainable marine governance.

III. Development of Educational Resources

In 2025, Middle East Technical University (METU) actively co-developed open educational resources, field training toolkits, and civic literacy modules in direct partnership with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and civil society networks.

Key Educational Resource Deliverables

• Ecological Field & Citizen-Science Guides: Co-created open-access bio-mapping toolkits with Doğa Koruma Merkezi (DKM) for Tür Say 2025, training students and community members on biodiversity monitoring using iNaturalist (SDG 15 & SDG 4). (https://dkm.org.tr/tr/haber/tursay-2025-yaklasiyor)
• Rural STEM Learning Kits: Co-designed interactive STEM experiment modules and mobile library kits with the ILKYAR Foundation to support underserved rural Anatolian public schools (SDG 4 & SDG 10). (https://ilkyar.org.tr/diger-etkinlikler/)

These collaborative educational resources bridge academic research with open public knowledge, extending METU’s educational impact beyond the university campus.