EGET FOUNDATION IS 10 YEARS OLD: PROVIDING SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT TO 245 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Mabolla Media / September 17, 2025

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The Education, Geriatrics, Ecological Agriculture, and Tourism (EGET) Foundation has provided scholarships to 245 university students through its digital system developed since its establishment. The foundation offers equal opportunities to young people through its BUSED system, which is based on impartial and transparent criteria in the application and evaluation process.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the Education, Geriatrics, Ecological Agriculture, and Tourism Foundation (EGET) brought together members of the press working throughout Muğla. The program, held at a hotel in Menteşe district, was attended by EGET Foundation Board Chairman Özlem Uzman and other board members.

Speaking at the meeting, Uzman stated that the foundation was established in 2015 and has provided scholarships to 245 university students to date, emphasizing that EGET is not merely a scholarship provider. Uzman stated, “The foundation's most important goal is to provide scholarships to students experiencing financial difficulties while studying, thus contributing to the cultural and scientific development of society. However, we have not limited our work to scholarships alone. Because we wanted to find solutions to other problems that we care about in our country. We are in a period where concerns about food safety are increasing. Although human life expectancy is increasing, healthy aging is becoming more difficult every day. Traditional tourism on our coasts has reached a point of stagnation and needs a breath of fresh air, such as ecotourism and agrotourism.”

EGET Foundation Turns 10: Scholarship Support for 245 University Students

DIGITAL SYSTEM FOR THE SCHOLARSHIP PROCESS: BUSED

Uzun stated that since 2016, the EGET Foundation has managed the scholarship selection process with its own digital system, BUSED (Scholarship Selection and Evaluation System), adding that the system operates entirely online, with measurable and unbiased criteria. Uzman stated that a multi-stage evaluation process is being conducted within the system, which has received applications from 39,960 students to date. He noted that online interviews are conducted with students who reach the final stage, thus ensuring a transparent selection process.

Uzun said, “We didn’t just give scholarships to our students; we also established a system that includes volunteer work and repayment of the scholarship after graduation, with the aim of developing their sense of social responsibility. In this way, we both created a sense of belonging in them and took steps to ensure the sustainability of the scholarships.”

Uzun stated that the foundation has three different scholarship programs: undergraduate, high school, and the “Living Safaî Undergraduate Scholarships,” established in memory of one of its founders, Safaî Özer.

Uzun was also mentioned as a specialist. ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP MODELS

Expert stated that the EGET Foundation operates with a social entrepreneurship model, and that the first step of this economic enterprise was taken with the EGET Armutçuk Organic Farming Enterprise, where they established Turkey's largest private truffle plantation on an area of ​​22,000 square meters. He added, “On May 24, 2015, we planted 415 oak saplings inoculated with truffle spores. On May 8, 2016, we planted two different types of lavender seedlings, known to nourish truffles, on the same land. Thus, we created the first lavender field in coastal cities. After us, many lavender fields were established in and around Muğla. We are proud to have inspired farmers, cooperatives, and local governments.”

EGET Foundation Turns 10: Scholarship Support for 245 University Students, Success Achieved with International Awards

The expert stated, “In 2020, our early harvest, unfiltered extra virgin olive oil, produced under the EGET Kuzluk brand, won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olive Japan competition. In 2023, our EGET Memecik olive oil was awarded silver medals at both the Olive Japan and London International Olive Oil Competitions. In 2025, this success reached a new peak: EGET Memecik won a gold medal in London. That same year, with another silver medal from Tokyo, we reached a total of five international quality awards.”

Uzman stated that EGET Foundation's Economic Enterprise produces hundreds of products in categories such as EGET Plants, EGET Food, EGET Handicrafts, and EGET Workshop, and that these products are offered for sale on both e-commerce sites and digital marketplaces. He added, "As of July 2024, we were accepted into the Good Market community, which supports only products and services that are good for people and the planet worldwide."

EU SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECT

Uzman also mentioned the HEEFTA (Holistic Environmental Education From Training To Action) project, which was accepted under the European Union-supported Interreg NEXT Mediterranean Basin Program. Uzman said, "We were one of the 60 projects selected from among 631 applications from 15 countries. We are among only three youth initiatives from Turkey to receive support. Furthermore, being one of only two institutions in Muğla, along with Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, to receive this support is a source of great pride for us."

EGET Foundation turns 10: It provides scholarship support to 245 university students.

STEP-BY-STEP RUN PROJECT PROVIDES SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT

Uzman stated that the foundation also achieved success with its "Hope for Youth, Breath for Nature" project, carried out within the scope of the Step-by-Step Run Platform, and that 328,200 Turkish Lira was collected in donations at the half-marathon held in Eskişehir, meeting the scholarship needs of 15 students.

NEW BRAND: EFİLYUN

Uzman also provided information about Efilyun, the new personal care brand of the economic enterprise affiliated with the foundation, saying, "Efilyun, prepared with natural and herbal ingredients, brings the EGET Foundation's environmentally conscious and humane approach to personal care products. The label designs were inspired by the limited-edition original prints of painter and poet Safaî Özer, one of the founders of the foundation. It makes a difference by being the first in Turkey to use lemongrass oil in this type of cosmetic product."

“WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITHOUT COMPROMISING OUR PRINCIPLES”

Speaking at the end of the program, Uzman emphasized that determination, dedication, and faith have been behind all the work carried out by the EGET Foundation to date, and stated the following:

“No matter how difficult the conditions our country finds itself in, no matter how much despair they may cause us, I would like to particularly emphasize here today that we will continue to work on the path we believe is right, without compromising our principles, with dedication and faith, and with the determination to nurture the seeds sown by Safaî.”