Building a Brighter Future: Turkish Students Impacted by 2023 Earthquake Explore Creativity via STEM
February 16, 2024 | by GE Aerospace News Staff
The classrooms at Narlıca Middle School in Hatay, Türkiye were buzzing with activity. More than 60 students were busy working, with colored paper and scissors in hand. It wasn’t long before buildings were standing tall on students’ desks, alongside houses with rooftop solar panels, wind turbines, trees, and boats on rivers.
These primary school children were building paper models of sustainable cities as part of a General Electric and Habitat Association initiative in Türkiye that reached more than 8,200 students. Through dozens of online and in-person sessions, the “Youth Pathway to Science” program helped raise awareness about sustainability and foster an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields.
The initiative, co-developed and funded by the GE Aerospace Türkiye Technology Center (TTC) Women’s Network, GE Vernova, and Turkish non-profit Habitat Association, was even more successful than planned. The project’s ambitious goal was to reach 7,500 students – combining the 100th year of the Republic of Türkiye and GE’s 75th anniversary in the country. The program exceeded expectations, reaching more than 8,200 children between July and December 2023. More than 70 online and in-person sessions were conducted for students across 70 cities and schools.
It now ranks as one of the most impactful programs ever organized by the TTC Women’s Network in terms of people reached.
Joy of discovery
The organizers chose to concentrate on the 11 provinces of the country’s southeast that were hit by the devastating earthquake that struck in February 2023. The earthquake impacted millions of people, inflicting a massive loss of life and the destruction of homes, schools, and infrastructure. While these zones were the primary focus, the online sessions also reached other provinces across the country, making the program a nationwide success.
“Working with these students, who had been so affected by the earthquake, was a life-changing experience,” said Hilal Senuysal, Lead Manufacturing Engineer, and Technology Program Leader with GE Aerospace, and also the TTC Women’s Network Co-Leader. “Sharing the joy of discovery in the students’ eyes and seeing their desire to learn new things was extremely moving.”
While the program reached an equal number of boys and girls, the opportunity to stand before the girls in particular was especially meaningful for Hilal.
“As a female engineer working in the aerospace industry, I was able to shed light and open the imagination of all the children – particularly the girls – about career possibilities by serving as a role model.”
Ozge Kum, Staff Engineer at the GE Aerospace TTC and Women’s Network Co-Lead, also joined the event at Narlıca Middle School.
“Teaching is really about inspiration – in both directions. We can hopefully inspire the students to consider STEM careers, but it also was inspiring and emotionally powerful to see how open-minded, creative, and resilient the children were. They have big dreams for themselves and for a better world.”
In all, 14 GE Aerospace and GE Vernova employees led the online and in-person sessions, including face-to-face programs in the cities of Hatay, Kahramanmaraş and Malatya. Executive sponsor and TTC leader Dr. Aybike Molbay and TTC HR leader Ozlem Akalp joined the events in Malatya.
From paper to 3D pens
During the program, students learned about renewable energy and sustainability and participated in hands-on “sustainable cities” workshops with different approaches for students of different ages. Younger kids built sustainable cities from paper and constructed simple electrical circuits to light LED lightbulbs. Older children used 3D pens to construct wind turbines and other elements of a sustainable energy system.
During the program’s online sessions, volunteers helped the children to explore 3D design skills using the online platform Tinkercad and electrical circuit design and software programming using Code:Blocks, a simplified coding platform. With these sessions, the children gained exposure to coding, design, energy systems and other components of a more sustainable future.
The TTC Women’s Network was able to impact so many young people because of its partnership with Habitat, a Turkish organization that fosters skills development, entrepreneurship, and workforce training for young people. Its volunteers implement programs, related to our increasingly digital world and sustainable development.
As a committed member of the community in Türkiye, the GE Foundation and employee match program raised $550,000 to support earthquake relief efforts. The “Youth Pathway to Science” program is part of an ongoing program of activities that the TTC Women’s Network has run since its launch in 2015. Over the years and across the region, GE Women’s Network volunteers have reached many thousands of girls and women with a variety of initiatives, including STEM events, International Women’s Day events, “Dress for Success” clothing donations, and hundreds of hours of mentorship and trainings.
These primary school children were building paper models of sustainable cities as part of a General Electric and Habitat Association initiative in Türkiye that reached more than 8,200 students. Through dozens of online and in-person sessions, the “Youth Pathway to Science” program helped raise awareness about sustainability and foster an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields.
The initiative, co-developed and funded by the GE Aerospace Türkiye Technology Center (TTC) Women’s Network, GE Vernova, and Turkish non-profit Habitat Association, was even more successful than planned. The project’s ambitious goal was to reach 7,500 students – combining the 100th year of the Republic of Türkiye and GE’s 75th anniversary in the country. The program exceeded expectations, reaching more than 8,200 children between July and December 2023. More than 70 online and in-person sessions were conducted for students across 70 cities and schools.
It now ranks as one of the most impactful programs ever organized by the TTC Women’s Network in terms of people reached.
Joy of discovery
The organizers chose to concentrate on the 11 provinces of the country’s southeast that were hit by the devastating earthquake that struck in February 2023. The earthquake impacted millions of people, inflicting a massive loss of life and the destruction of homes, schools, and infrastructure. While these zones were the primary focus, the online sessions also reached other provinces across the country, making the program a nationwide success.
“Working with these students, who had been so affected by the earthquake, was a life-changing experience,” said Hilal Senuysal, Lead Manufacturing Engineer, and Technology Program Leader with GE Aerospace, and also the TTC Women’s Network Co-Leader. “Sharing the joy of discovery in the students’ eyes and seeing their desire to learn new things was extremely moving.”
While the program reached an equal number of boys and girls, the opportunity to stand before the girls in particular was especially meaningful for Hilal.
“As a female engineer working in the aerospace industry, I was able to shed light and open the imagination of all the children – particularly the girls – about career possibilities by serving as a role model.”
Ozge Kum, Staff Engineer at the GE Aerospace TTC and Women’s Network Co-Lead, also joined the event at Narlıca Middle School.
“Teaching is really about inspiration – in both directions. We can hopefully inspire the students to consider STEM careers, but it also was inspiring and emotionally powerful to see how open-minded, creative, and resilient the children were. They have big dreams for themselves and for a better world.”
In all, 14 GE Aerospace and GE Vernova employees led the online and in-person sessions, including face-to-face programs in the cities of Hatay, Kahramanmaraş and Malatya. Executive sponsor and TTC leader Dr. Aybike Molbay and TTC HR leader Ozlem Akalp joined the events in Malatya.
From paper to 3D pens
During the program, students learned about renewable energy and sustainability and participated in hands-on “sustainable cities” workshops with different approaches for students of different ages. Younger kids built sustainable cities from paper and constructed simple electrical circuits to light LED lightbulbs. Older children used 3D pens to construct wind turbines and other elements of a sustainable energy system.
During the program’s online sessions, volunteers helped the children to explore 3D design skills using the online platform Tinkercad and electrical circuit design and software programming using Code:Blocks, a simplified coding platform. With these sessions, the children gained exposure to coding, design, energy systems and other components of a more sustainable future.
The TTC Women’s Network was able to impact so many young people because of its partnership with Habitat, a Turkish organization that fosters skills development, entrepreneurship, and workforce training for young people. Its volunteers implement programs, related to our increasingly digital world and sustainable development.
As a committed member of the community in Türkiye, the GE Foundation and employee match program raised $550,000 to support earthquake relief efforts. The “Youth Pathway to Science” program is part of an ongoing program of activities that the TTC Women’s Network has run since its launch in 2015. Over the years and across the region, GE Women’s Network volunteers have reached many thousands of girls and women with a variety of initiatives, including STEM events, International Women’s Day events, “Dress for Success” clothing donations, and hundreds of hours of mentorship and trainings.
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