Mentorship Program 2024 - 2025 Report

Our 5th Mentorship Program has officially wrapped up - and what a vibrant, enriching six months it’s been!

This year, 8 mentors and 16 mentees embarked on a shared journey of exploration, support and growth. From our Kick-off Meeting in October to our Closing Ceremony in April, this program showed us what mentorship is really about: building bridges between experience and curiosity.

The Flow of the Program

We launched our program with a warm Kick-off where all mentors and mentees came together to share their goals, break the ice, and learn what to expect in the coming months.

Each mentor was paired with two mentees, and these small groups met regularly online, setting their own pace and goals. Throughout the program, we held a series of engaging and collaborative sessions:

4 Harvest Meetings

Mentees came together to share what they had learned, celebrate small achievements, and exchange advice and ideas. These gatherings fostered a sense of shared progress and mutual support.

2 Retro Meetings

Mentors gathered together to brainstorm ways to share their experiences, discuss challenges and key points, and better support their mentees. These sessions created a space for open communication, peer learning, and growth among mentors.

Academic Session

We focused on guiding master's degree applications, including documents such as recommendation letters, GRE/IELTS exam strategies, and tips for writing effective motivation letters.

Industry Session

We helped our mentees prepare better for professional opportunities by addressing CV preparation, interview tips, and job/internship search strategies.

Topics Mentors & Mentees Frequently Talk About

- Internship applications, interviews, research groups, and companies that can be applied to
- Education life and future planning
- Career opportunities inside and outside of Turkey
- CS topics
- Opportunities like Google Summer of Code, graduate school scholarships, and competitions

2024-2025 Mentors

Ömer Faruk Özkan

Yunus Serhat Bıçakçı

Ahmet Furkan Kavraz

Mehmet Yiğit Balık

Yasin Kaya

Pouya Niaz

Mihriban Koçak

Oğuz Kaplan

COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

**İbrahim Doğukan İNCE,** METU, Computer Education and Instructional Technology

“It was a process that taught me how valuable the community is and how similar our paths have been within the industry. Hearing about Yasin's experiences and sharing with other mentors and mentees was a wonderful opportunity to see the future more clearly and shape my own career journey.”

Special thanks to;

Our mentorship team Umut Kaan Kavaklı, Ali Kemal Tamkoç and Haşim Zafer Çiçek for coordinating the program, organizing events, and maintaining communication with participants.

We are dedicated to continuous improvement and aim to do better each year. If you're interested in participating in the next contest, stay tuned and keep an eye on our website!

All participants have to abide by our CODE OF CONDUCT and LETTER OF CONSENT.

A BEV Foundation project inzva is a non-profit hacker community organizing study and project groups as well as camps in the fields of AI and Algorithm; and gathering CS students, academics, and professionals in Turkey.