Let's stop trying to save the day and start securing the future

One of the concepts that has begun to occupy the agenda of almost all sectors, institutions, and organizations in recent years is sustainability. Although this topic is considered new for Turkey, it actually entered the agenda of Western capitalism in the 1960s. In those years, especially in America, the balance of supply and demand began to deteriorate in many sectors, production volume far exceeded needs, and products remained in stock, causing the alarm bells of capitalism to ring and creating quite a bit of turmoil. This was not the first time this had happened; it was also one of the significant reasons for the 1929 Great Depression. But, as it turns out, the necessary lessons are not always learned from mistakes. 

Anyway, with this second wave of capitalist crisis, issues such as planned production, product lifespan, service delivery based on demand, promotion, creating demand in society, and sales strategies came to the fore, and a process of developing a new understanding of production began. The concept of sustainability actually began to be voiced in those days as well. 

In Turkey, however, sustainability has only started to be discussed in the last few years. In fact, the problem is not limited only to the balance of production supply and demand. When we talk about sustainability, we must understand that all sectors, institutions, organizations, and in short, all segments of society that provide production and services, must define their mission and vision in line with short, medium, and long-term planning. It is about establishing sustainability itself as a mindset and ensuring that this mindset is sustainable. 

To establish a culture of sustainability, all institutions, organizations, and individuals must generally observe the following principles:

Mission and vision definitions must be realistic,

Short, medium, and long-term production or service planning,

A very clear and realistic determination of the current position and the desired future destination,

Prioritizing institutional interests over personal interests,

Ensuring work-focused continuity in the institution/organization, independent of individuals,

Observing local and universal requirements in product and service production,

Casting a realistic projection into the future.

Taking at least the principles we mentioned above into account can bring a certain level of success in establishing a sustainability mindset. I do not know if it is possible to establish such a mindset and culture in Turkey. To be honest, I am not very hopeful about this. As a society, we have become quite accustomed to living day-to-day and to the mentality of "saving the day." As individuals fed by such a mindset, when we come into a position, we are very eager to prioritize our own personal interests rather than the production, service, and the mission and vision of the institution, and to act accordingly. Again, as individuals of this society, we are in a strange rush and panic; we cannot look to the future with confidence. For this reason, when we come to a position, especially a managerial one, our priority becomes the effort and anxiety to secure our own position and future. This leads the person to consolidate their own power base and to surround themselves with people who are loyal rather than competent in the job. 

Consequently, there is no continuity in the production of products and services by institutions and organizations. Especially in public-level institutions and organizations, changes in personnel lead to changes in product and service delivery, and even worse, to interruptions. When appointments and positioning are not made based on a work-focused, expertise-oriented understanding, and when the first thing every newcomer does is to erase what their predecessor did and start from scratch, it becomes impossible to speak of continuity or sustainability. Every person who comes to a position starts by erasing things to prove their own success. Yet, the real skill is not in tearing down what has been built, but in elevating it. 

Despite all these negatives and the wrong direction, the fact that the concept of sustainability has come to the agenda and started to be discussed should be accepted as a positive development, at least in terms of creating awareness. 

In recent days, the concept of sustainability has also entered the agenda of educational institutions, especially higher education. Concepts such as sustainability, vision, mission, quality, and strategic planning have long been on our agenda at Üsküdar University. We started our strategic planning and quality efforts in 2018. The agenda topic of our vision meeting, the fifth of which we held on February 24, 2024, was determined as sustainability. Experts on the subject from inside and outside the university, academics, and people working in the administrative units participated in the search conference held at the university's Ümraniye Campus. As a result of the day-long discussions, the university's existing mission and vision definitions were reviewed, and opinions and suggestions were put forward for short, medium, and long-term planning. Accordingly, it was set as a primary goal for Üsküdar University to be among the best universities in the world with the scientific work it will produce in the next five years. 

One of the points highlighted at the search conference was the goal of becoming a university suitable for the digital age. In this sense, the university's strong technological infrastructure is an important advantage, and opening departments and programs that are requirements of digitalization to train qualified professionals who will shape the future was determined as a medium-term goal. In this context, opening new departments and programs in the field of artificial intelligence and training experts in this field was set as a short-term concrete goal. Studies in the fields of neuroscience, nanotechnology, genetics, medicine, behavioral sciences, and communication were also determined as the university's short-term research and development goals. With these plans in the scientific field, Üsküdar University once again demonstrates its determination to direct its work with a sustainability mindset under the motto of “brain base.” 

A university's greatest asset is the transfer of knowledge produced on campus to the outside world and its transformation into social benefit. Social responsibility projects have also been included in the scope of the short, medium, and long-term work plan in the Üsküdar University vision study. And the social responsibility projects it has carried out to date form a strong infrastructure and set a route for future work. 

To develop as a country and progress as a society, it is a necessity to move away from doing things haphazardly and from a disorganized mentality as soon as possible, and to adopt a planned, programmed, realistic, and sustainability-based approach. If global benefit and national interests are our priority, and if the requirements of this are met, there will be no room for individual anxieties anyway. In a place where social development and national progress are achieved, there is no need for individuals to be caught up in life and future anxieties.

Therefore, let's stop trying to save the day and start securing the future.