The Projects to Be Launched at Bilimle Buluş Have Been Announced

Projects to be Implemented at Science Meets Innovation Announced At the Science Meets Innovation Camp held 20-24 June, two projects to be implemented with Bayer's support were selected: RE-CON, which aims to prevent food spoilage, and VERTIE, which supports vertical farming. Students from across Turkey attending the camp in Istanbul worked intensively during the 5-day duration and had the opportunity to visit Bayer's Head Office. The Final Jury took place on 24 June. High school students successful in the program will have the opportunity to intern at YGA ventures and at start-up companies selected for Bayer's venture acceleration program G4A Turkey. The Science Meets Innovation Camp, held as part of the Science Meets Innovation social responsibility project of Bayer and YGA, which joined forces to contribute to science and scientific literacy in Turkey, took place between 20-24 June at Özyeğin University. From among projects themed "Good Health and Well-Being" and "Zero Hunger" aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, submitted by 25 volunteer high school students from across Turkey, the two projects to be implemented with Bayer's support were RE-CON and VERTIE. The jury selecting the projects included Ministry of Agriculture Advisor and Getir Co-Founder Aziz Emre Günel, Journalist-Author Elif Ergu, Bayer Corporate Communications Director Nevra Çağman, and YGA Country Director Feyza Fulden Küçük. Volunteer students were also hosted at Bayer's office where they met with Bayer employees, and had the opportunity to hear inspiring stories from Tolkido founder Can Yıldız and VRFARMA founder Uğur Tuncel, both selected for G4A Turkey last year. High school students successful in the program will also have the opportunity to intern at YGA ventures and at start-up companies selected for Bayer's venture acceleration program G4A Turkey.

Selected projects focus on raising awareness about agriculture and food waste

RE-CON, which Bilge Edebali, Azra Aytemir and Zeynep Saraç worked on, addresses the problem of people forgetting food in their refrigerators and throwing away spoiled food. The RE-CON application, targeting people aged 35-55 in Turkey, gives users the ability to view products in their refrigerators from their phones, preventing excessive purchases. In addition to sending notifications when products approach their expiration date, it focuses on reducing waste by offering recipes and other ideas for using the food. The VERTIE project, designed by Ali Şengül, Cansu Gençalioğlu, Eda Girgin, Eliz Üstün and Zeynep Sena Şentürk, addresses the issue of decreasing agricultural land as a result of increasing urbanization and consequently declining crop productivity. Targeting middle school children, parents and schools, VERTIE enables children to learn through experience using specially designed vertical farming kits and plans to raise their awareness in this way.

Success formula: taking responsibility in the field and mentorship

YGA's most important success formulas are high school students witnessing role model mentors and students developing the knowledge they learn while taking responsibility and making decisions in the field. In line with this, throughout the program, high school students took responsibility for their own projects, consulted with experts in the field, and worked as teams. YGA's second important success formula is mentorship. Young people received mentorship from role model YGA alumni who had worked at YGA ventures throughout the process. Students who met each other and their mentors online at the 101 Camp at the beginning of the program continued to develop themselves with an intensive schedule throughout the period. Students also had the opportunity during the program to learn success formulas from YGA Dream Partners such as Prof. Aziz Sancar, Harvard MIT Prof. Mehmet Toner, and Doğan Cüceloğlu. They had the opportunity to participate in live broadcasts by experts in scientific literacy, project management, and software for social impact, and ask their questions. Furthermore, young people met closely with athletes and artists such as Olympic Champion Mete Gazoz, Olympic Archer Yasemin Ecem Anagöz, and Olympic Archer and Coach Göktuğ Ergin.