21/07/2026
This year's Core Curriculum Summer Retreat (CCSR), organized by the Foundations Development Directorate (FDD) from July 6th to 10th, brought together faculty and students from Sabancı University and Amsterdam University College (AUC) for a week as intellectually rich as it was personally memorable.
Held under the theme "A Core-Curriculum for “a Brave New World ”: Academic Leadership, Digital Literacy, and Global Citizenship", the retreat explored what academic leadership should look like in a world of rapid change and volatility, how core curricula can prepare students for global citizenship in a fragmented world, and how higher education should respond to generative AI. These discussions culminated in a jointly designed AI Literacy course syllabus draft for use at both institutions, plans for next year’s CCSR and new frameworks for future collaboration between the two participating institutions.
Grounding the Future of Education in Lived Experience
The summer retreat opened with a discussion on leadership in a time of crisis, framed by talks from Professor Nebi Sümer from Sabancı University and Professor Bruce Mutsvairo, Dean of AUC, followed by a Q&A session. The next session, moderated by Emre Erol (Director of Foundations Development) on global citizenship and anticipatory skills followed with presentations from both institutions on preparing students for a world of rising nationalism, shifting educational landscapes and disruptive technologies.
The focus turned to AI on day three. Duygu Karaoğlan Altop from Sabancı University’s Foundations Development Program, reflected on a year of building course-specific AI companions designed to guide, not replace, student thinking. Following her presentation, Jacqui Edwards from University of Amsterdam shared updates from the university's Teaching & Learning Center and AI Living Lab; Dora Achourioti, AUC's Academic Core Head of Studies, shared emerging trends and lessons learned; and Breanndán Ó Nualláin proposed new classroom approaches for using AI to strengthen learning.
Building an AI/Digital Literacy Course
The retreat's main achievement was drafting a syllabus for a shared AI/Digital Literacy course, designed to give students a structured way to engage with generative AI and relevant digital technologies while preserving critical thinking skills and creative academic engagement. The process began with a goal-setting session moderated by Süphan Bakkal (from FDP's Science of Nature course), using the well-known "backwards course design" method. Participants then split into three groups, covering politics, economics, and justice; neural networks and the history of technology; and ethics and cognitive impact, to draft content and syllabi. The week closed with group presentations, open discussion, and a final session finalizing assessments, materials, and credits. This joint intellectual exercise served as a solid foundation for a possible new core curriculum course that would help improve the future readiness of students.
Friendships Forged Along the Way
Beyond the seminar room, the retreat built lasting relationships. An ice-breaker led by Sabancı University’s Community Involvement Projects (CIP) Manager Zeynep Bahar set a collaborative tone from the start, carried through shared excursions to Kadıköy and Heybeliada. Local food, dinners, and traded stories rounded out the week, turning a professional gathering into a network of colleagues and friends already looking ahead to CCSR 2027.
Thank You
Our sincere thanks to Dora Achourioti, Emma Cohen de Lara, Hilla Dayan, Jacqui Edwards, Yağmur Ercan, Laura Herberg Fernandez, Kaya Hlinka, Celestine Leah, Bruce Mutsvairo, Breanndán Ó Nualláin, Cas Smulders, and Asja Szafraniec from AUC, and Duygu Karaoğlan Altop, İnanç Arın, Marloes Cornelissen Aydemir, Zeynep Bahar, Süphan Bakkal, Emre Erol, Cem Güneri, Sinem Erdoğan İşkorkutan, Selçuk Kanun, Kemal Kılıç, Mehmet Kuru, Gamze Kuruk, Aykun Özgen, Canan Sude Sivrikaya, Nebi Sümer, Şerif Aziz Şimşir, and Berna Kamay Ulusay from Sabancı University, for shaping this year's retreat. Thanks also to the FDD's administrative staff, Arzu Kıran, Damla Zeynep Oğuz, Ebru Şaylan, and Saime Tatlı, for keeping the week running smoothly, and to everyone who took part in the discussions, design sessions, and social gatherings. We look forward to continuing this collaboration at CCSR 2027.
Click here for more information about Core Curriculum Summer Retreat.
