HEQUITY project
International Training in Sakarya
21 to 24 September 2026. DEI in higher education
From 21 to 24 September 2026, the HEQUITY consortium gathered in Sakarya, Turkey, for the project’s International Training, hosted by Sakarya University. Over three intense days, academics, administrative staff, students and civil society actors worked side by side to test how diversity, equity and inclusion can move from policy statements into everyday university practice.
HEQUITY (Building Higher Education Quality InclUsIon PaThwaYs) is an Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership coordinated by ECEPAA, bringing together KU Leuven, the University of Latvia, Sakarya University and Associazione Popoli Insieme ODV. Its core output is a practical toolkit designed to help higher education institutions recognise and address the barriers faced by students from migrant and underrepresented backgrounds.
Two perspectives, one toolkit
The training was built around the toolkit’s two complementary lenses. The first day focused on the students’ point of view. After a welcome from Samir Afifi (Sakarya University) and Gabriele Sospiro (ECEPAA) and an ice-breaking session led by Elisa Gamba, participants took part in the Inclusion Hackathon, facilitated by Sakarya University, turning everyday obstacles into concrete proposals. In the afternoon, Popoli Insieme led The Opportunity Line, an experiential activity that makes visible how unequal starting points shape access to university life.
The second day shifted to the institutional point of view. KU Leuven and Sakarya University jointly facilitated Invisible Power Mapping, inviting participants to trace the informal dynamics and decision-making structures that influence inclusion within universities. Following a presentation of Sakarya University and its international profile, ECEPAA led the Policy Reflection session, connecting the day’s insights to institutional strategies and the wider European policy framework on inclusion in higher education. The day closed with a collective evaluation of the training, which will feed directly into the final revision of the toolkit.
Beyond the classroom
On 24 September, stakeholder meetings at the Technopark Incubation Center opened the dialogue to local actors, strengthening the links between the university and its surrounding community. A cultural visit in Sakarya offered a final moment of exchange before departure. The consortium also used the occasion to hold a partner meeting and plan the project’s next steps.
What comes next
The feedback collected in Sakarya will shape the final version of the HEQUITY toolkit, which will be shared with the consortium for review in the coming weeks. In parallel, partners are rolling out local workshops, webinars and dissemination events across Belgium, Italy, Latvia and Turkey, following the Brussels workshop held during HET Week in October.
We warmly thank Sakarya University for its generous hospitality and all participants for their energy, openness and commitment.
