Atatürk Üniversitesi formally commits, as an institution, to ensuring that education around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is meaningful, institution-wide and relevant to all students. This commitment is manifest through integration of SDG concepts into strategic planning, elective and mandatory course offerings, curriculum frameworks, transparency of syllabi and ongoing institutional oversight.
Strategic Integration and Institutional Framework
Atatürk Üniversitesi’s 2024-2028 Strategic Plan explicitly aligns its core strategic objectives with the SDGs—specifically highlighting SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure), SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) and others. veri.atauni.edu.tr
Within this strategic document the University sets measurable performance indicators such as “students’ acquiring knowledge and skills for sustainable development (SDG 4.7)”, indicating that SDG-education is intended to reach across the full student body. veri.atauni.edu.tr
This strategic alignment shows the institution’s commitment not only to elective modules but to embedding sustainability education at a systemic level across programmes.
Curriculum and Educational Offerings
The University provides dedicated resources for SDG-related education available to all students. For example, the University publishes a list of University Elective (ÜSD) Courses with an SDG-area classification, open to all students across faculties. birimler.atauni.edu.tr
Furthermore, the Faculty of Health Sciences hosts a dedicated “SDG” section on its website where numerous sustainability-oriented student projects, courses and initiatives are highlighted. birimler.atauni.edu.tr
These mechanisms demonstrate that Atatürk Üniversitesi offers optional education for all students in SDG-themes and makes it accessible across disciplines.
Integration Across Curriculum and Student Reach
The institutional documents show that the University encourages integration of SDG education beyond isolated electives:
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The elective course list is labelled under “SDG ALANI” indicating systematisation of SDG themes in curricula. birimler.atauni.edu.tr
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The strategic plan indicates the goal of “yükseköğretimde küresel vatandaşlık ve kültürlerarası anlayış eğitimi” (global citizenship & intercultural understanding) tied to SDG 4.7. veri.atauni.edu.tr
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The organisational chart at one of the vocational schools includes an “SDG Komisyonu” (SDG Commission) – signifying institutional governance over SDG-education across units. birimler.atauni.edu.tr
These examples support the claim that SDG education is not limited to one faculty or department but is systematically integrated into curriculum and governance across the University.
Mandatory vs Optional Education for All Students
While the data publicly available indicates a strong offering of elective (“seçmeli”) SDG-courses and structural mechanisms for SDG-education, there is no publicly accessible evidence that every student is required (mandatory) to take a full SDG-course. However, the system of common elective courses, the strategic direction and transparency suggest that the University is moving toward broad student-reach in SDG education and has committed resources to make it available to all students.
Given this, the University’s offering can be characterised as “optional for all” (i.e., every student has access to SDG-oriented courses), with the institutional commitment to further broaden integration across curriculum in the strategic plan.
Institutional Ownership and Continuous Improvement
Atatürk Üniversitesi monitors this commitment via its institutional planning and quality assurance frameworks: the strategic plan ties educational objectives to SDG indicators; units such as the “SDG Komisyonu” oversee coordination; the elective course listing is maintained publicly; and the Faculty units have dedicated web-pages for SDG education. These elements show sustained institutional ownership rather than ad-hoc initiatives.
The University’s commitment to education for sustainable development is therefore embedded in its governing documents, curriculum structures and student-accessible offerings.
