The 3rd Türkiye National Workshop of the UI GreenMetric (https://greenmetric.ui.ac.id) platform, which evaluates world universities in the areas of environmental awareness, energy, waste, transportation management and sustainability, was held at Hasan Kalyoncu University.
The two-day workshop, held under the coordination of the HKU Environment Application and Research Centre (ÇEVMER), was opened with the participation of Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli, Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Mehmet Lütfi Yola and Prof. Dr. Gül Rengin Küçükerdoğan, UI GreenMetric Representative Dr. Ruki Harwahyu, HKU UI GreenMetric Campus Coordinator Asst. Prof. Dr. Şafak Tercan, ÇEVMER Director Asst. Prof. Dr. Nebile Kızıl, the UI GreenMetric Representatives of universities, Sustainability/Quality/International Relations Office Coordinators, instructors and students.
THE GOAL IS TO ENTER THE TOP 100
In his address to the participants at the opening of the workshop, Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli, underlining that UI GreenMetric and sustainability have been included this year by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) among the university monitoring and evaluation criteria, said: “Last year, 81, even 82, of our universities entered the UI GreenMetric World Sustainable Universities List. The universities of our country, which have green campuses, show that they value sustainability and are rising in the GreenMetric ranking. As Hasan Kalyoncu University, in the year before last, the first year we applied, we ranked 375th in GreenMetric. The following year, that is last year, thanks to the efforts of our colleagues, we rose 77 places at once and ranked 298th in the world. We were 4th among the foundation universities in Türkiye. These good results make us happy and give us even more hope for the future. Our goal, of course, is always to remain on this list and to enter the top 100 in GreenMetric. But we want to truly deserve this, and we want it to happen in fair competition. We have much to learn from one another, so we are delighted to host at our university this workshop, where we will share good practices and examples in Türkiye and around the world and pass on our experiences to each other. Thank you for your participation.”
TURKISH UNIVERSITIES SHOW STRONG INTEREST IN GREENMETRIC
At the workshop, where the booklet ‘Global Practices Course Guide on Sustainable Development Goals’, prepared by World University Rankings Network Founder Dr. Junaidi M.A. and a team of experts in the field, and the 2023 Turkish guide were presented, UI GreenMetric Representative Dr. Ruki Harwahyu informed the participants about the ‘UI GreenMetric Representatives Network and 2023 Survey’ held in Türkiye. Speaking about the methodology to be used in the 2023 GreenMetric rankings and the innovations in the methodology, Dr. Ruki Harwahyu noted that Turkish universities show strong interest in GreenMetric and that this interest pleases them, and said that it would be useful for courses related to sustainability to take up more space in curricula and for scientific work related to sustainability to receive more support.
EXPERIENCES AND GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLES WERE SHARED
UI GreenMetric Türkiye Coordinator Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Yıldırım, who joined the workshop online, evaluated the participation criteria of GreenMetric, its development over time, the progress of universities in Türkiye over the years and the current status of the UI GreenMetric National Türkiye Network. Within the scope of the workshop, HKU UI GreenMetric Campus Coordinator Asst. Prof. Dr. Şafak Tercan and Senior Environmental Engineer Erkan Başaran, Prof. Dr. Zeynep Zaimoğlu of the Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Çukurova University, Prof. Dr. Fatma Duygu Özel Demiralp, External Affairs Coordinator and Sustainability Office Coordinator of Dokuz Eylül University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Börte Köse Mutlu, Coordinator of the ITU Sustainability Office, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hatice Eser Ökten, Director of the IZTECH International Relations Office, Dr. Sıdıka Tuğçe Dağlıoğlu, Representative of the Ege University GreenMetric Campus Coordination Office, Lect. Dr. Derya Özçalışkan, Quality Development Coordinator of GAÜN, Fatma Zehra Şükür, Senior Environmental Engineer at YTU, and Melike Yazman, Office Representative of the Erciyes University Sustainability Coordination Office, gave seminars on Sustainability and GreenMetric activities at their universities and informed the participants.
During the two-day workshop, the participants, who did not neglect to experience the green campus of Hasan Kalyoncu University, examined the renovated bicycle path on the campus together with HKU Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees Haluk Kalyoncu, Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli and UI GreenMetric Representative Dr. Ruki Harwahyu.
