In keeping with Sakarya University's vision for internationalization and green transformation, the GreenSTEM Project, prepared under the coordination of the Sakarya Center for Economic and Social Research, has been awarded funding under the European Union's Horizon Europe (EIT) programme. Through this achievement, Sakarya University (SAU) has further consolidated its international standing in research and innovation. Sakarya University (SAU) has achieved a further milestone in strengthening its research and innovation capacity at the international level, in line with its vision for internationalization and green transformation. The Sakarya Center for Economic and Social Research (SESAM) has been awarded funding under Horizon Europe, the European Union's largest research and innovation framework programme, for its project entitled
“GreenSTEM: STEM Entrepreneurship for Green Circular Economy.” The project was announced as having been accepted under the 2025 Call of the EIT Higher Education Initiative (EIT HEI), implemented by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). GreenSTEM constitutes SAU's first project awarded in a coordinator capacity under the EIT HEI Programme, and it is among the small number of coordinator initiatives from Turkey to receive such support. With a budget of approximately EUR 2 million, the project represents the highest amount of European Union funding SAU has received to date as a coordinating institution.
A Strong Consortium Led by SAU
All processes of the project have been carried out by SESAM, with the involvement of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ümmügülsüm Zor, Assist. Prof. Dr. Akın Özdemir, Res. Assist. Dr. Hilal Erek İnce, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aliye Suna Erses Yay from the SESAM Board of Directors, together with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yusuf Arslan and Assist. Prof. Dr. Nurcan Kostak from the Faculty of Business Administration. The consortium, coordinated by SAU, comprises the University of Almería, Odessa Polytechnic National University, the ceiA3 International Campus of Excellence in Agri-Food, the Carpathian University Science Park, the Habitat Association, and Ecohub Chemistry and Biotechnology Inc., with the MÜSİAD Sakarya Branch contributing to the project as an Associated Partner.
Training and Objectives Centered on Green Transformation
Through training and capacity-building activities to be conducted within Sakarya University's Faculties of Business Administration, Engineering, and Political Sciences, the GreenSTEM Project aims to enhance the competencies of approximately 4,000 students, together with academic and administrative staff, in the fields of entrepreneurship, innovation, and intellectual property. The project is expected to contribute to strengthening university-industry cooperation, to the development of innovative educational models in the areas of the circular economy, green innovation, and entrepreneurship, and to the support of green-technology-based ventures.
For further information about the project: https://eit-hei.eu/funded-projects/explorer/greenstem/
