I graduated in 2008 as a Civil Engineer with a supplementary degree in Architectural Culture from Middle East Technical University, Ankara. I realised that something was lacking in my studies. I wanted to be more engaged in the social sciences, and to deal with complex questions relating to human behaviours and the global system. So, I chose to work with peer groups, and I did this for over four years. During this time, I had the opportunity to cooperate with many youth groups and NGOs in addition to being able to travel. I met many people from various parts of the world and listened to their experiences and ideas. It was a formative experience for me. Peer education is a passion for me and I am still active in youth work whenever I can afford some time from my studies. In 2008, I worked with UNDP in Ankara in the Sustainable Development and Environment Department. I supported projects related to climate change, water and land degradation as well as protection of natural heritage. I also worked on an education aid project with the Netherlands Institute for Higher Education in Ankara. MESCI is the second year of the double degree Erasmus Mundus programme (Mundus Urbano) that I have been attending since October 2009. The first academic year was hosted at Technische Universitat Darmstadt , which had a major focus on urban issues and urban development. As an extension of the academic focus, I joined the Planungsverband Frankfurt-Rhein Main in Hessen, Germany for one and a half months to research on the regional land use planning. This year, in the MESCI programme, I expect to learn and participate in the current debates in the field of development and international cooperation. In particular, I am interested in suggesting uncommon solutions to commonly faced problems in the field, especially in view of the increasing critique of conventional mainstream theories of development.