What is GLLS?

Global Learning and Leadership for Sustainability (GLLS) is a cocurricular program for Koç University undergraduate students to complement their academic studies with a “hands-on” approach. The comprehensive program aims to enable students to acquire global competence and to develop personal and professional skills to thrive in a 21st century world.

GLLS is an immersive learning journey with an innovative curriculum that includes credit-bearing courses, workshops, talks, retreats, service-learning programs, international learning expedition opportunities, projects and internships. GLLS is coordinated by the Office of International Programs with the academic consultancy of the College of Administrative Sciences and Economics, providing learning experiences that contribute to development of the students.

The World is going through a very fast and massive change. Within the light of awareness of social, ecological and economic problems and challenges, sustainability concept has been a crucial and central focus of local, national and international actions. The scope of sustainability varies from state actions to corporate life, from third sector to academy. In Global Learning and Leadership for Sustainability program, we believe that sustainable future can only be achieved with creative and innovative approaches, based on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), of the future generations toward the existing systems. For that purpose, GLLS program is created to introduce an innovative 21st century university experience for students within the scope of sustainability.

In GLLS, all activities and academic obligations are design to strengthen and enlarge the notion of sustainability of the students. It allows them to understand a problem, to detect financial, natural  and human capital for the solution, to enter of a process of design thinking, to build an impact map for the solution process, to collaborate local, national and international stakeholders with different sectors, to use technology and to create new technologies when necessary, and get inspired by the sector leaders with constant workshops and seminars aim to introduce different aspects of sustainability in different sectors. The program allows students to create and conduct their own sustainability-focused projects. Some of the student projects are practically implemented or improved to become enterprises.