The "Sustainability and Climate Change Focused Academic Contribution and Project Preparation Meeting" organized within the scope of COP31 preparations conducted under the coordination of the Higher Education Council (YÖK) was held under the chairmanship of Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy. Many academics from various disciplines, primarily sustainability, environment, climate change, energy, agriculture, health, engineering, and social sciences, attended the meeting.
The main aim of the meeting was to associate the research, projects, publications, practices, and academic activities carried out within the university with the priority themes of COP31, strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations, and ensure that MAKÜ creates a strong academic representation on the COP31 platform.
"MAKÜ will make a strong contribution to the COP31 process with its scientific knowledge"
In his opening speech, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy stated that COP31, which will be hosted by Turkey, is an important opportunity for higher education institutions, expressing that MAKÜ is among the universities that can make strong contributions to this process with its knowledge and practical experience in sustainability.
Prof. Dr. Gürsoy noted that the projects, research, panels, workshops, and other academic activities carried out at universities within the framework of the coordination system established by YÖK will be evaluated on a national scale by associating them with the COP31 agenda. He invited academics to actively participate in this process, emphasizing that scientific studies produced from different disciplines will significantly contribute to the university's international visibility.
The priority themes of COP31 and academic opportunities were evaluated
In the second part of the meeting, a comprehensive presentation was made by Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Kübra Ertan Türe, the Sustainability Coordinator of MAKÜ.
The presentation provided information on the historical development of the concept of sustainability, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement, and COP processes, while the "implementation-focused COP" approach of COP31, which will be hosted by Turkey, was evaluated in detail.
Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Kübra Ertan Türe stated that the aim is to make the research conducted at universities visible on an international scale in line with the 10 main themes determined within the scope of COP31, providing information to academics about research projects, scientific publications, technology development studies, panels, workshops, and social contribution activities that can be associated with these themes.
During the presentation, research areas, project ideas, and interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities that can be developed at universities for each COP31 theme were evaluated, particularly highlighting MAKÜ's academic potential in areas such as sustainability, climate change, energy, agriculture, food security, health, circular economy, green industrialization, and climate-resilient cities.
Goal: To bring MAKÜ's scientific studies to the COP31 platform
It was emphasized in the meeting that the COP31 process aims not only to develop new projects but also to make the qualified scientific studies that are currently being carried out or completed within the university visible on the international platform. Additionally, works that will strengthen the active participation of young people in climate action and activities that student communities can carry out in the field of sustainability and climate change were also discussed.
Project, research, panel, workshop, side event, and other academic activity proposals to be created with the contributions of academics will be evaluated under the university coordination and submitted to the Higher Education Council. It is aimed that the approved studies will take place in scientific events organized within the scope of COP31 and on international platforms.
The meeting concluded after gathering the opinions and suggestions of academics during the question-and-answer session.
Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University aims to actively contribute to national and international solution production processes against climate change by bringing its scientific knowledge and practical experience in the field of sustainability to COP31.
