04/03/2026
February 2026 was a month filled with enjoyable events and activities for the Sabancı University Küçükköy Creative Technologies Atelier.
Children Involved in Crime Project
To support disadvantaged children living in Ayvalık and surrounding villages, we met with representatives from the Ayvalık Gendarmerie Command, Ayvalık Municipality, Zeytin Çekirdekleri Association, and a platform formed by our educators living in Ayvalık to discuss project details and roadmap.
Ayvalık Child Studies Workshop
On Sunday, February 15th, we hosted a workshop attended by 22 experts living in Ayvalık who are involved in local and national volunteer activities in the field of child and youth studies.
The event, where expert trainers and teachers in the field of child and youth studies evaluated projects that could be implemented for disadvantaged groups in the Ayvalık region, aimed to strengthen the culture of collaboration, and discussed principles and values, was completed with fun and productive workshops and sessions throughout the day.
Historical Seismographs in Our Atelier!
As a new step in our project, a collaboration between TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center, Boğaziçi University Kandilli Observatory, and Ayvalık Anatolian High School, examples of seismograph devices used to measure ground movements in Türkiye during different periods since the early 1900s have been brought to our atelier.
While the ground monitoring station established in our atelier garden in April 2025 continues to operate actively, you can also see the seismographs used in the past and learn more about the subject in our atelier.
Rahim Usta Anatolian High School Entrepreneurship Project
On February 20, 2026, we evaluated the competition process with the project team that advanced to the semi-finals in the GençBizz entrepreneurship competition. Students, who received technical consultancy from Muhammed Ali Bayraktar of Sabancı University's @cospacesu team for the prototype they are developing as part of the project, later evaluated their project with atelier supervisor Levent Kahraman via the Business Development Canvas.
In the final training session of the day, they had the opportunity to work together with education management expert İpek Öztürk Keskin on business development, innovation, and project management.
Mentorship and technical support will continue to be provided to the Rahim Usta Anatolian High School Entrepreneurship Project Team in the process leading to the finals.
"Earthquake Resilient Cities: Ayvalık" Project Continues!
As part of the project, on February 25, 2026, our esteemed professors Cengiz Tapırdamaz and Adnan Arslan from TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center, one of our stakeholders, visited our atelier. During the visit, the installation of seismograph samples, donated to our atelier by TÜBİTAK and representing the first seismographs ever used in Türkiye, was carried out. Following the installations, our project consultant Dr. Sadi Küleli and the students from Ayvalık Anatolian High School, who are part of the project team, were given comprehensive information about the devices and systems.
We sincerely thank our professors Cengiz Tapırdamaz and Adnan Arslan for their contributions and support in donating not only the devices but also a special collection of valuable mineral samples to our atelier.
You can visit our atelier to see the seismographs and valuable minerals that will be on display and learn more about them.
We conducted our Technology lesson for 4th graders in our atelier!
On February 27, 2026, 4th grade students from Necmi Komili Primary School came to our atelier with their class teacher and school principal for their technology-themed lesson. The lesson, which began with the meaning of the word technology, continued with a discussion on whether the devices in our atelier were technological or not.
We discussed technological developments by examining the evolution of earthquake measuring devices throughout history. We talked about the technological differences between the first seismograph and the devices used today.
Then we examined new technology 3D printers and concluded the day with a virtual reality (VR) experience.
English for Adults
In July 2025, participants in the FREE English training courses organized by Özkan Esener, an experienced English instructor living in Ayvalık, progressed from A2 to B1 level. English courses for adults continue twice a week throughout February.
Film Reading Workshops and Mindfulness
The "Film Reading and Mindfulness" trainings, organized free of charge by experienced trainer Zeynep Ayşegül Eğilmez, who lives in Ayvalık, started in July 2025 and continued once a week throughout February.
The workshop, where participants analyze and interpret films selected and watched according to a theme determined by trainer Ayşegül Eğilmez, is receiving great interest.
