BAU CO-OP Students Take Part in Unilever's Generation Y Project

Bahçeşehir University students took part in the team that will shape the human resources strategy of Unilever, which has held the title of "Most Preferred Employer" in Türkiye's fast-moving consumer goods sector for the past six years. The expectations of the so-called Generation Y regarding work life, the work environment and recruitment processes, as well as their job satisfaction, helped determine how Unilever's human resources strategy will take shape over the next five years.

BAU STUDENTS PRESENTED THE PROJECT

In the project, which lasted about two months, senior executives of Unilever Türkiye and Bahçeşehir University students worked as a team. The students contributed their work and recommendations from a Generation Y perspective. At the end of the two months, the project was presented by the BAU students themselves to the Unilever Türkiye management team, led by Steven Gross, Vice President of Human Resources for Türkiye, Russia, the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus and Member of the Executive Board. The results of the project will contribute to shaping Unilever's five-year human resources management strategy.

"OUR VISION HAS GROWN"

Their teammate İrem Çağlayan summarizes the excitement felt by the students Berkay Baş, İrem Çağlayan, İlker Bedenli, Yiğit Şen and Şafak Çağlar Tosun, selected through special interviews within the CO-OP Education Model, about taking part in this global project: "We believe that being able to have a say in this important project, in the same environment as executives led by Steven Gross, has made a tremendous contribution to our career journey. My friends and I worked with great enthusiasm, striving both to contribute to Unilever with our Generation Y perspective and to develop our vision by making the most of the opportunities offered by the project." 

WHAT IS CO-OP?

"The CO-OP Education Model is an education model that has been successfully implemented by Bahçeşehir University for eight years, aiming to bring university and work life together. Third- and fourth-year students are placed in long-term internships at partner companies for a minimum of three and a maximum of nine months, gaining work experience at companies while still students. The COOPER placement process follows a model that fully matches companies' recruitment processes. Students who apply to the announcements published by the CO-OP Directorate are invited to CO-OP interviews, where they are both evaluated and mentored in preparation for job interviews. In addition to working as interns in company departments, the COOPER program is also carried out through Generation Y participation in project groups and Reverse Mentoring, as in the Unilever collaboration.

Within the CO-OP Education Model, companies can also offer a "Branded Course" that runs for one semester with their own brand and content. Thanks to these courses, taught by company professionals, the latest developments and rising trends in sectoral topics are delivered to students as courses, and company representatives have the opportunity to meet students one-on-one.

As of today, the university has 1,800 CO-OP partners, nearly 4,000 COOPERs placed in companies, and 135 Branded Courses offered by partner companies.

For more information: elif.varan@coop.bau.edu.tr