“IBD was the best experience I had at Haas.”  One of the reasons we repeatedly hear this sentiment from our Berkeley-Haas alumni is because of the client/student project dynamic.  The IBD experience goes beyond the classroom and intersects with real life.  For 24 years IBD clients have looked to the MBA’s in our IBD program to solve concrete challenges for their organizations.  They have invested their time, resources and trust in our IBD consulting teams.

One of our exceptional spring 2017 IBD client organizations is known as Young Guru Academy or YGA.  YGA is a non-profit organization founded in Turkey in 2000 with the mission of cultivating selfless leaders to realize the dream of a brighter future for younger generations.  YGA students volunteer over 3,000 hours of their time working in teams on social innovation projects.  The organization focuses on three fields of innovation – science, orphans, and the visually impaired – and develops innovations that impact the lives of many in these areas.

We asked Sezin Aydin, YGA’s Director of International Affairs, to answer some questions about YGA and the IBD experience to date.

IBD: What made you decide to participate in the IBD program?

YGA:  Over the years, we have experienced that the essence of a fruitful partnership is one of shared values and meaning. Once we saw that (Berkeley-Haas and YGA) both value field study and we both find the development of a student imagining a better world to be meaningful, our passion in participating in the IBD program grew.

IBD:  What do you hope to accomplish from your IBD experience?

YGA:  The field we chose to collaborate with IBD Students is YGA’s project on the advancement of science among youth.  The IBD team is specifically working on developing sustainable marketing and financial strategy for all three parts of the science project- the launch of a Science Museum to inspire youth and adults with attractive, inspiring and thought-provoking content, production of a Live Science Show, which will be broadcasted on CNNTurk; and the distribution of Science Kits which has been designed by YGA graduates and funded through crowdsourcing.

What strongly unites the IBD team and YGA in this project is the shared dream of children becoming more curious and enthusiastic about science. YGA brings years of experience of working with students from age 10 to 22, visually impaired students, orphans and recently, refugees, as well as knowledge of local opportunities, obstacles, and challenges. The IBD students, on the other hand, bring a global perspective as each team member comes from a different background and knowledge of best management practices.

IBD: How has the IBD experience been to date?

YGA: It has already been an amazing experience. Even before YGA was selected to participate in IBD program, we always felt we are on the same team. We are aware of the approach most international universities adopt for programs in Turkey nowadays. There are not enough words to explain our gratitude to Prof. Kristiana Raube for the support she has provided to YGA. We very much appreciate her confidence in us, and we will strive to make this meaningful collaboration work in the best way possible.

IBD: Have you enjoyed working with your Team Lead, Faculty Mentor, and newly formed Team Members?

YGA:   Prof. Kristi said in our last meeting, “We feel like we are old friends now.”  This is exactly how we feel about each other.  Team Lead Chelsea Harris and Prof. Kristiana Raube devote many hours each week and have brought valuable resources to the YGA Science Project.  Our team members, Amol Borcar, Mariana Martinez-Alarcon, Annie Porter and Jeanne Godleski, have impressive backgrounds from diverse fields.  Their combined strength is a valuable resource for this project.

Berkeley’s culture is very close to YGA’s culture.  We believe in the essence of Berkeley Culture’s 4 pillars, just, we have them in different words. We believe in questioning the status quo: we say “Positive Challenge” to do things in a better way.  We believe in confidence without attitude: we say “Selfless Confidence.”  We believe in the unlimited potential we possess: we say “Best Today, Better Tomorrow.”  And we always believe in students: we say “Our main project is people project.”

IBD: Are you excited for any part of the process that is coming in the future?

YGA:  Next week, our team will present a benchmark analysis of world-class science museums, their key performance indicators (KPIs) and examples of some of the best practices. The most exciting part will be their final presentation which they will be delivering to a very high executive level audience- the advisory board of the Science Museum. As challenging as it may be, we have no doubt it will also be a broad experience for them.

IBD: What are you most excited to share with your team when they arrive in Istanbul?

YGA: Most importantly, we would like to share the YGA culture. We already consider them YGA students, like ourselves. We would like to share our challenges and what we have learned from them.  A special trip to Trabzon-Tonya, a north city by the Black Sea, is planned which includes science workshops with primary school students.  

There will be two notable events which will take place during our teams’ in-country visit: Great Place to Work Awards Ceremony – in which YGA will be awarded a Great Place to Work in Turkey for the second time; and the YGA Annual Advisory Board Dinner in which YGA will announce its new entrepreneurship model.  

Finally, İstanbul is one of the most glamourous cities in the world.  We will enjoy the most beautiful views of this city throughout the program. Of course, Turkish cuisine is an inseparable part of the program, so we advise our team to start exercising in advance to make room for delicious food!
The IBD Team leaves for Istanbul on May 13th to experience all that YGA has planned for them during their three weeks in-country.  We look forward to hearing from the IBD Team about their experience.  Please check back over the summer as we will feature blogs written by our student teams.  We leave you with the last thought from Chelsea Harris, the IBD Team Lead, about how she feels about the partnership with YGA.

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