Our University encourages women to pursue and participate in academic fields in which they have traditionally been underrepresented, particularly science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), through institutional policies, outreach and awareness-raising activities for prospective students, the promotion of women-specific scholarship opportunities, mentoring, and entrepreneurship programmes. This approach is not treated merely as a general principle of gender equality; rather, it is institutionally defined through the identification of fields in which women are underrepresented and the implementation of specific encouragement and support mechanisms in those areas.
Student statistics from our University’s Faculty of Engineering for the 2025–2026 academic year demonstrate that women remain significantly underrepresented in several engineering disciplines compared with men. For example, in Computer Engineering, 219 of a total of 641 students are women, corresponding to approximately 34.2%. In the Turkish-medium Electrical and Electronics Engineering programme, 139 of 551 students are women, representing approximately 25.2%. In the Turkish-medium Civil Engineering programme, only 114 of 630 students are women, corresponding to approximately 18.1%. In Mechanical Engineering, 111 of 729 students are women, representing approximately 15.2%. In Mining Engineering, only 19 of 103 students are women. These figures demonstrate that the University’s prioritisation of increasing women’s participation in STEM fields responds to an evidence-based institutional need.
Evidence:
https://www.ktu.edu.tr/muhendislik/tarihce
One of the most significant practical examples of this approach in 2025 was the visit of students from Åžehit Onur Kılıç Girls’ Anatolian Imam Hatip High School to the KTÜ Department of Computer Sciences on 23–24 April 2025. The visiting group, composed entirely of female high-school students, was introduced to the academic structure of the Department of Computer Sciences, its educational opportunities, laboratories, and future-oriented projects. The students were thereby provided with first-hand information about university life and the field of computer science. The University’s 2025 activity records also confirm that the visit was organised to provide female high-school students with information about the department and to raise their awareness of university life.
In 2025, our University also promoted specific scholarship opportunities supporting women’s participation and continuation in engineering disciplines through its official institutional channels. On 22 September 2025, the Global Engineer Girls Türkiye Scholarship Programme was officially announced by the KTÜ Department of Computer Engineering. The programme specifically targets female students studying in engineering disciplines such as computer, environmental, electrical and electronics, industrial, civil, chemical, and mechanical engineering. The fact that the scholarship directly targets female engineering students contributes to supporting women’s access to and continuation in engineering disciplines in which they may be underrepresented.
Another 2025 initiative designed to increase women’s participation in technology and innovation ecosystems, where women are comparatively underrepresented, was the Women in Innovation Thematic Acceleration Programme. Announced on 16 April 2025 by our University’s Technology Transfer Application and Research Centre, the programme specifically targeted female entrepreneurs working in food and biotechnology, as well as university technology teams composed of young women developing projects in these areas. The programme provided entrepreneurship training, mentoring, one-to-one meetings with corporate companies and investors, and opportunities for professional networking. The allocation of 10 of the programme’s 20 available places to university technology teams demonstrates a concrete effort to encourage young women to take an active role in technology and innovation.
Evidence:
https://ktu.edu.tr/tto/duyuru/inovasyonda-kadin-tematik-hizlandirma-programi-basvurulari-acildi
In addition, an important institutional document demonstrating that our University’s gender equality efforts in 2025 were not limited to isolated activities is the KTÜ Gender Equality Action Plan 2022–2025. Published as an institutional plan within the University’s official quality and planning system, the Action Plan established a multi-year framework for gender equality that explicitly remained in force throughout 2025.
Evidence:
https://www.ktu.edu.tr/dosyalar/yonetim_ce744.pdf
