An innovative

education and mentoring
project

The UX Design Center is an innovative training and mentoring project aimed at enhancing the competencies of young people in the field of user experience (UX) design and increasing employment opportunities through national and international collaborations in this field.

UX Design Center

The UX Design Center is an innovative training and mentoring project that aims to enhance young people’s competencies in the field of user experience (UX) design and to increase employment opportunities in this area through national and international collaborations.

Coordinated by Sancaktepe Municipality, the project was developed and implemented in partnership between Sancaktepe Municipality (Türkiye), Ardem Project R&D Consultancy (Türkiye), and Creative Youth Academy Hungary (Hungary). The project supports introducing young people to the fundamental principles of UX design to ensure that digital products and services are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional, accessible, and user-friendly.

Within the scope of the project, UX design-focused training sessions, sectoral needs analyses, the transfer of good practice examples from Europe, mentoring sessions, and open-source guides were developed and implemented. Young people were brought together with industry- and technology-oriented SMEs, providing them with opportunities to develop their design thinking skills.

Structured mentoring programs were delivered to 60 young participants, enhancing their technical knowledge of UX design, digital competencies, and soft skills, all of which were certified. The trainings were supported with modules on creative problem-solving, relationship management, leadership, effective communication, and résumé preparation.

Project Stakeholders
Sancaktepe Municipality – Project Coordinator (Türkiye)
Ardem Project R&D Consultancy – Project Partner (Türkiye)
Creative Youth Academy Hungary – Project Partner (Hungary)
Industry and Technology-Oriented SMEs – Sectoral partners providing collaboration and practical engagement opportunities
Expert Mentors – Delivering structured training and guidance in UX design
Young Participants – Beneficiaries developing technical, digital, and soft skills through the program

Proje Hakkında

01. Scope

02. Mentoring Program

03. Training Modules

04. Project Objectives

05. Project Benefits

Scope

A structured UX training and mentoring program was provided to 60 young participants by expert mentors.
A total of 10–12 mentors, each working with an average of five mentees, delivered both individual and group training sessions.
The training content covered topics such as accessibility, usability, user-centered thinking, digital security, and emotional design.
Activities were carried out to support the integration of UX design into industry, and young participants were connected with sectoral partners.

Mentoring Program

One-on-one and group mentoring sessions were conducted for 60 young people selected from Sancaktepe Municipality youth centers, accompanied by 5-10 expert mentors. Mentors also received supervision support to ensure their continuous development.

Training Modules

Fundamentals of User Experience
Leadership in a VUCA World
Coaching and Relationship Management
Time Management and Emotional Resilience
Brand Strategies, Marketing, and Communication Skills
Effective Resume Preparation and Career Planning

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The project will be enriched with international collaborations and research and development opportunities, enabling young people working in the field of UX to become competitive not only in the national market but also at the global level.

The UX Design Center Project focuses on two main target groups:
Young People

The project's primary target group consists of 60 young people who are actively involved in activities at the Sancaktepe Municipality Youth Centers and continue their education. These young people have increased their employability through mentorship and practical training in UX design, as well as sectoral collaborations.
SMEs and Industrial Organizations

SMEs working in collaboration with technology companies form the project's second main target audience. Approximately 30 SMEs are directly involved in the project. These companies have increased their capacity to develop user-focused products and services by benefiting from UX training. The UX Design Center is a pioneering project aimed at bridging the gap between young designers and SMEs at the intersection of technology and design. In today's rapidly evolving digital transformation landscape, the project seeks to address deficiencies in design, engineering, and manufacturing integration within production processes while preparing the next generation of designers for the professional world.

PROJECT BENEFITS

Providing access to new technologies
Teaching how to use tools such as virtual reality, simulation, and parallel computing in design processes
Supporting designers in developing creative, productive, and scientific approaches
Providing guidance and mentoring services for access to national and international information resources
Creating an ecosystem where creative individuals and designers can develop value-added products and contribute to fast, error-free, and sustainable production processes, where technology and design come together.

Project Stakeholders

Sancaktepe Municipality

Sancaktepe Municipality, as a local government that carries out pioneering work in the field of digital skills development for young people and access to creative industries, has taken a strong step in the field of user experience design at the international level with the UX Design Center project.

Thanks to the UX Design project, young people active in the Youth Centers within the Municipality were introduced to applied mentoring and industry-based trainings for the first time in areas such as design thinking, user research, prototyping and digital product development.

The project was not only limited to training, but also brought digital companies and young people directly into the business world. Thanks to this interaction, young people had the opportunity to experience user experience in the field by working on real business scenarios.

UX Design Center has taken Sancaktepe Municipality's project management experience in European Union projects one step further.

A multidisciplinary structure was established with the Hungarian project partner, and information and good practice sharing was ensured.

With the UX Design Center project, Sancaktepe Municipality has put forward a successful model showing how user-oriented design can be implemented locally, not only for young people, but also for SMEs, technology companies and other local governments.

Ardem Project R&D Consulting

Ardem Project R&D Consulting is a consulting firm specialized in R&D, innovation, entrepreneurship development and digital transformation. Since 2019, it has been providing tailor-made consultancy services to SMEs to support them to increase their competitiveness through innovation and EU/national grant opportunities. In 2020, it shifted its focus to digital transformation and developed assessment tools to measure SMEs' digital maturity levels and prepared “digital scorecards” to form the basis of customized transformation projects. To date, it has supported 149 SMEs in their digital transformation journey.

Areas of Expertise

Supporting SMEs, NGOs and academic institutions to benefit from EU and national grants
Mentoring, Design and implement entrepreneurship development programs, including training and market access
Develop and manage digital transformation projects tailored to sectoral needs
Facilitate industry-university collaborations and cross-border partnerships
Create innovation and test center models tailored to sectoral requirements

Ardem Project has integrated User Experience (UX) Design methodologies into its entrepreneurship and innovation projects. Especially within the scope of the UX Design Center Project developed with Sancaktepe Municipality:

Development of thematic UX design training programs for entrepreneurs
Mentoring packages that match entrepreneurs with role model mentors
Measurement and evaluation of training outputs
Transformation of business ideas into prototype project plans and follow-up of commercialization processes
Transferring international entrepreneurship know-how to the local context and Developed dissemination strategies to reach large audiences, especially public institutions.

Creative Youth Academy Hungary

Creative Youth Academy Hungary is a youth-led NGO dedicated to sustainable development, intercultural mutual respect and non-violent education. Its areas of activity include education, employment, culture, IT, technology, agriculture, environmental protection and sports, aiming to strengthen community life and increase social inclusion. It creates opportunities for disadvantaged youth to express themselves, share their culture, gain personal experiences, build new relationships and break stereotypes. Our project stakeholder consists of academics and practitioners experienced in the field of User Experience (UX) Design. He can provide training on the following subjects at national and international level;

Areas of Expertise

Who is a UX designer? Duties, necessary competencies and working styles
The gains achieved by companies that integrate UX design into their business processes,
The contributions of UX design applications in the work of professionals and entrepreneurs from different disciplines
Examination of processes and methods with case studies and
Participants prepare and present UX-based case studies through group work

Project Activities

Determination of UX Design Training Needs Analysis
Preparation of UX Design Training Analyses in Europe
Development and Implementation of UX Design, Mentoring and Soft Skill Trainings
Preparation of UX Design Technology Based Mentoring Training Program and Guide
Management, Quality Assurance and Monitoring
Dissemination and Use of Results

education and mentoring
project

UX Design Center