Mentorship Program 2025-2026 Report

Our 6th Mentorship Program has come to an end, and looking back, it's hard not to feel proud of what these eight months built! The program began with our first meeting in October 2025 and continued until this month's Closing Ceremony, bringing together 13 mentors and 26 mentees. What made this mentorship stand out was the willingness on both sides to keep showing up, ask harder questions, and stay open to what the other had to offer.

The Flow of the Program

The program began with a welcoming session that brought all mentors and mentees together, an opportunity to talk about individual goals, get to know one another, and understand what the months ahead would look like. From there, each mentor was matched with two mentees, and these small groups met online regularly, deciding their own schedule and objectives along the way. Within the program, we also held a series of engaging and collaborative sessions to accompany mentors and mentees, such as:

• Monthly Harvest Meetings: Mentees came together on the last Friday of every month 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.

• Monthly Retro Meetings: Mentors gathered every two months on the last Thursday of each month to brainstorm ways to share their experiences, discuss challenges and key points, and better support their mentees.

• 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.

• Söyleşi (New for 2025-2026): This year, for the very first time, we introduced a "Söyleşi" concept. We held a deep, highly enjoyable conversation focusing entirely on AI and its profound impact on both the industry and our daily lives.

• AI ile Girişimcilik Session: We hosted a special "Entrepreneurship with AI" session. Featuring Bera Söğüt, İlker Yörü, Sadık Ekin, and Yavuz Alp Sencer Öztürk, this session delivered detailed, informative discussions on managing companies with AI agents and leveraging artificial intelligence for entrepreneurial success.

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 and technical skill development

• Opportunities like Google Summer of Code, graduate school scholarships, and competitions

• The use of AI in the industry and potential startup ideas built around AI.

2025-2026 Mentors

COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

"This year’s inzva Mentorship Program has once again been a very rewarding experience for me. One moment I will especially remember came after our conversations about master’s programmes, when one of my mentees decided to apply to the programme we had carefully considered together and was subsequently accepted. The fact that my two mentees were interested in different fields, had different expectations, and wanted to pursue different paths also enriched the experience, allowing all of us to explore different perspectives and approaches to making important decisions. Unlike in previous years, the accelerating development of artificial intelligence also became a much more prominent part of our conversations, prompting us to think more deeply about its impact on careers, future opportunities, and what professional life might look like in the years ahead. For me, mentorship means helping someone think through important decisions while also learning from the questions they ask and the assumptions they challenge, and I am genuinely happy to have been part of the inzva Mentorship Program again this year." 

“The mentorship program was a highly valuable experience for me. My mentor, Başar, helped me better understand the next stages of career development and turn broad uncertainties into smaller, more manageable questions. I shared most of the sessions with another mentee, Efe, which made the experience even more valuable. Coming from similar backgrounds and facing similar challenges allowed us to learn from one another, gain perspective, and realize that many of our concerns were shared. Being surrounded by ambitious and determined people naturally helps you grow, and this program created exactly that environment.”

Special thanks to;

Special thanks to our mentorship team, Haşim Zafer Çiçek, Tahsin Tanrıkulu, Ulaş Dilek and Hacer Akıncı for coordinating the program, organizing the new AI events and sessions, and maintaining smooth communication with all participants. Also, thanks to Havva Yüksel for helping and experience sharing. We are dedicated to continuous improvement and aim to do better each year!

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.

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