With the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the ÜNİFEST University Student Communities Social Contribution Project Festival, organized under the hosting of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ), brought together young people from all over Turkey in Burdur.
Before the opening program, as part of ÜNİFEST, Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Muhammed İkbal Alp gave a conference on “The role of youth in the perspective of the national technology initiative and participation in the production ecosystem.”
100 projects from 59 universities are competing
The festival, where 100 student communities from 59 universities participated as finalists, brought together the efforts of young people to produce solutions to social problems on a common platform. The opening program was attended by Burdur Governor Tülay Baydar Bilgihan, General Director of Youth Services Dr. Enes Efendioğlu, MAKÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar, as well as many academicians, institution representatives, and students.
At MAKÜ, “From universal knowledge to social contribution” motto
Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar emphasized in his opening speech that the university operates with the vision of “From universal knowledge to social contribution.” Rector Dalgar pointed out the importance of transforming the knowledge produced in universities into tangible outputs that touch society, rather than being limited to academic publications. He stated that the projects developed at the university in recent years have achieved success in patents and commercialization, and that the sensitivity of young people to social problems has become more visible with this festival.
100 projects out of 400 made it to the finals
While 400 student communities applied to the project competition organized within the scope of the festival, 100 projects made it to the finals as a result of the evaluations. In the 100 projects that made it to the finals, 200 students will present their projects to 50 academic juries during the two-day event.
ÜNİFEST makes the production of young people visible
General Director of Youth Services Dr. Enes Efendioğlu stated that student communities are the most important structure transforming university life. General Director Efendioğlu, who stated that thousands of projects have been supported and hundreds of thousands of young people have been involved in these processes within the scope of the ÜNİDES program, expressed that ÜNİFEST is an important platform that makes the production of young people visible. He pointed out that the program is not just a competition, but also a meeting point that provides cooperation and experience sharing among young people.
Burdur Governor Tülay Baydar Bilgihan also emphasized the importance of these comprehensive organizations for youth in Turkey in her speech, stating that university years are not only a period of academic development but also a preparation process for life. Governor Bilgihan, who also drew attention to the historical and natural riches of Burdur, advised the students coming to the city to discover these values.
In the festival; projects prepared on topics such as climate change, sustainability, artificial intelligence, social development, healthy living, and combating addiction were presented to the jury. With presentations held in different halls over two days, young people had the opportunity to share their solution proposals for social problems.
Total prize of 1.5 Million TL
Within the scope of the competition, each theme will be evaluated within itself and the top three projects will be awarded. After evaluations to be made over two days, a total prize of 1.5 million TL will be awarded by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to 30 projects among the 100 projects that made it to the finals.
It is aimed for ÜNİFEST to transform into a strong youth brand on a national scale with broader participation in the coming years.
