The Sabancı University Summer High School, held online for the first time this year, brought together students from all over Turkey and the world.

Held since 2011 to help high school students between 13 and 17 to prepare for a multicultural university setting and develop themselves in their personal areas of interest, the Sabancı University Summer High School took place online this year.  Summer High School was held in two terms from June 29 to July 24, 2020 with 233 students attending from 18 Turkish provinces including Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Çanakkale, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Edirne, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, Karabük, Kastamonu, Kocaeli, Mersin, Samsun and Sinop, and 6 countries including Canada, North Cyprus, Ukraine, UAE, and United States.

Students chose among more than 40 university courses on natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, art and management, and took part in projects and activities to transform their summer holiday into a learning experience.

A learning experience with strong online interaction

Students learned about fundamental sciences and applications in courses such as Surgical Robots and Biomedical, while exploring how to expand their inquisitive skills and build capacity for imagination. By taking part in special group studies and social responsibility project development processes, students had a learning experience with strong online interaction where they spoke about their projects to the public on social media in plain language.

The Sabancı University Nanotechnology Summer School was held online for the first time this year as well. The Nanotechnology Summer School educated science-minded students on nanotechnology, and presented latest developments and current applications in online courses delivered every day of the week for 2 weeks.

Also offered in the Summer High School were activities on e-sports as a popular field among the youth, titled “The Past and Present of e-sports: History and Turning Points” and “e-sports in Professional Life: Jobs, Earnings and Opportunities”.  

Students met online with Sabancı University Vice President of Education Cem Güneri on July 3 and 17, 2020 to ask questions they had about Sabancı University. 

Please visit https://liseyazokulu.sabanciuniv.edu/ for more information about Sabancı University Summer High Schools. 

Sabancı University Microelectronic Engineering Program 2005 Alumni Giray Kömürcü published a book titled "Nasıl Bir Gelecek? Küreselleşme, Kapitalizm, Çevre sorunları, İklim Krizi, Yoksulluk, İnsanlık... Ve Biz Ne Yapacağız" [What the Future Looks Like: Globalism, Capitalism, Environmental Issues, Climate Crisis, Poverty, Humanity... and What We Will Do about It].

Published by Aganta Yayınevi with an introduction by Mahfi Eğilmez, the book deals with pressing environmental issues like climate crisis and pollution, and human issues like hunger, poverty and unemployment. As an attempt in exploring the root causes of the issues, focusing on solutions that may eliminate these issues, and uncovering the details of what individuals can do to help, "Nasıl Bir Gelecek?" can be considered a comprehensive critique of capitalism and consumerism, and the design of an alternative economic system. Proposing a way for the world to emerge from the chaotic circumstances with minimal damage, the book is introduced by Mahfi Eğilmez as follows:  

"Giray Kömürcü deals with and discusses a number of major issues in this book. He explains the clash between environmental issues, which are often neglected when talking economics but often matter more, and an economic issue like hunger. He reveals the sources of economic issues, and goes on to discussing solutions. He seeks answers to questions like 'Is an environmentally-friendly economy possible?' or 'Can economic problems be solved without damaging the environment in a system other than capitalism?'  This is a different and intriguing perspective that warrants further attention."

Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Vice Dean and Faculty Member Professor Selmiye Alkan Gürsel, and SUNUM Researchers Dr. Alp Yürüm and Dr. Begüm Yarar Kaplan won TÜBİTAK Network Membership Support. 

TÜBİTAK’s first EU Framework Programs Network Membership Support program to increase Turkey's involvement in EU Framework Programs through Networks will provide support to Professor Selmiye Alkan Gürsel and her team for joining the Research on Fuel Cells & Hydrogen - N.ERGHY Network.

The Research on Fuel Cells & Hydrogen - N.ERGHY Platform represents universities and research institutions in the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU). As the voice of the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Research Society in the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, N.ERGHY determines the needs, scale and strategic direction of fuel cell and hydrogen research to create an environment that is favorable for research institutions.

Professor Selmiye Alkan Gürsel has been working on electrolyte membranes for fuel cells, graphene-based electrodes, catalysts, hydrogen generation and storage, electrodes and electrolytes for lithium-ion / lithium-air batteries, and electrolyzers, and together with her team, they have been representing Sabancı University on the N.ERGHY Platform since 2017. Prof. Alkan Gürsel and her team supply important data and input to the strategic objectives, priorities and methods of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, and maintain network with EU policymakers, stakeholders, and potential business partners regarding calls in the N.ERGHY Network and Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.

Sabancı University Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design Program alumni Nagehan Kuralı Alan (2006) and Selin Özçelik Mörth (2005) won the highly-coveted “Red Dot Winner 2020” Award in the Brands & Communication Design category with their design office Design In Situ that they founded in 2011. The competition, where a panel of international judges evaluates some 7000 submissions from 50 countries for high design quality and creative performance, is considered the top award in design. 

Design In Situ will also be featured in the International Yearbook Brands & Communication Design 2020/2021 edition with the web site designed for GSD Holding and its companies, supported with photographs taken by Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design Program 2010 graduate Murat Durusoy. The project involved cooperation with software agencies and content creators, and reflects the signature interdisciplinary approach of Design In Situ founders Nagehan Alan and Selin Mörth. The catalog will be published in November and promote select examples of design from the world, with Design In Situ as a Turkish representative. 

Sabancı University Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design Program graduates Nagehan Kuralı Alan and Selin Özçelik Mörth spoke to gazeteSU about their work and gave advice to current students. 

Can you talk about your education at Sabancı University?

Selin Özçelik Mörth: We both entered Sabancı University with the aim of studying Economics and then decided to choose the VAVCD Program. I was an Honors Scholarship student; it was not easy for me to make this decision. I had the chance in my sophomore year to take courses from different programs to know them better. Given that one's profession is very much a part of one's life, I went for design because I felt that I could actually take pleasure in doing my job, and merge productivity with creativity. As a student, the interdisciplinary nature of our program enabled me to complete projects where design and software overlapped. The vision given to us by the VAVCD program 15 years ago led us to the "creative technologies" area where we work today.

What did you do after graduation? How was your design office founded, and what work do you do now?

Nagehan Kuralı Alan: We became business partners after we graduated from university. We both completed master's degrees in University of Arts Bremen, Germany on Digital Media. We worked on biosensoral interaction, persuasive technologies, and public area interaction design. Then we worked professionally in Bremen and Frankfurt in these fields. During this time, we made a number of digital interactive art projects in addition to academic work. After four years, we decided to continue our creative partnership in Turkey, and founded Design In Situ. Since 2011, we have been working with a number of local and global companies. We offer bespoke digital design, where projects are tailored to the brand, medium, space and user. Most of our work takes the form of a troika of concept, design and software. Media, on the other hand, are infinitely variable. The evolution of consumed technologies diversifies the need for visual communication. In other words, we use digital technologies to design experiences and feelings. The interface may be a website, a physical store, an event booth, or a mobile app.

What advice would you give to VAVCD students and new graduates?

Interdisciplinary communication at Sabancı University is a great asset, so make use of it. Keep up with the work and projects undertaken by other programs, because as designers, you will soon be designing value into those technologies or envisioned societies.

Definitely do internships and do not wait for others to give you tasks; be proactive.

When you first graduate from VAVCD, it is normal to feel like a jack of all trades and master of none. But rest assured that the foundation laid in you by the university is second to none on an international level. As a new graduate, you are not expected to be an expert in a subject; instead, you are expected to have an appetite for searching, learning and making. You are expected to make a difference in the creative industry with your youthful energy and academic vision.  

Sabancı University efficiently switched to online (distance) education during the pandemic period and successfully completed the spring semester of 2019-2020. 

With the onset of Covid 19, contact was made with various world renowned educational institutions, different applications were evaluated, and digital platforms were selected to provide our students with the most effective learning experience. Asynchronous (pre-recorded) courses were recorded with the Camtasia system; synchronous lectures were offered and recorded on Google Meet and Zoom; hence, providing students the opportunity to watch course recordings as many times as needed. Course materials were shared with students through our LMS systems using Sakai and Moodle applications. During this process, in many lessons, weekly quizzes were held on these LMS systems or the TopHat application; this helped to maintain students’ interest and concentration in their courses and reduce exam-related stress. 

A survey conducted at the end of the spring semester indicated a high level of satisfaction with our online education model by a significant percentage of students. The diligent and selfless work of our faculty members in the online education model, Sabancı University’s ability to adapt swiftly and it’s solution-oriented approach, the education management systems that Sabanci University has already been using for several years, classrooms equipped with cameras and other necessary equipment, and our technological infrastructure were also important factors that played a crucial role in this survey result. The years of experience that our faculty members have in developing and applying “flipped classroom” practices also played an important role in establishing a roadmap for the new online (distance) education system. 

The Spring Term Online Education Process in Numbers

In 2019-2020 Spring Semester at Sabanci University, all undergraduate, graduate and doctoral courses were conducted as synchronous (online live), asynchronous (pre-recorded), or an eclectic (a mix of synchronous and asynchronous) model as of March 23, 2020. During this period, 300 faculty members conducted 568 different lessons. 

Our Students Were Highly Satisfied with the Online Education Offered

Sabanci University asked its students to evaluate the online education model applied in the Spring semester with an online survey. The majority of Sabancı University students rated this online semester as very successful or successful and 90% of students were satisfied with the technology used in the lessons. The students reported the main advantages of online education as being able to watch the recordings of lectures whenever they wanted; having weekly mini-exams which helped them to assess their performance and reduce their exam stress; being able to easily ask questions from the chat screen without interrupting the lesson; and reaching faculty members easily in online office hours.

Center of Excellence for Functional SUrfaces and Interfaces for Nano diagnostics (EFSUN) is happy to announce that EFSUN Best Paper Competition will be held on the 24th August betwen 13.00-16.00 via Zoom.  

There will be 12 finalist presentations to recognise the scientific paper of outstanding young scientists on Functional Surfaces and Interfaces from different disciplines.  This is a free event. Please contact Emre Erdem (emre.erdem@sabanciuniv.edu) for attending to this event. This event is a perfect opportunity to have awareness of the recent developments in the field.

Sabancı University will be hosting “Fundamentals for Repurposing Nature’s Building Blocks in Advanced Materials Applications” virtual networking event on September 2nd, 2020 under the sponsorship of Biophysical Society.

Moderated by Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Faculty Member Ali Rana Atılgan, the event will host two main speakers Ahu Gumrah Dumanli-Perry from Manchester University and Melik Cumhur Demirel from Pennsylvania State University.

Applications will be collected via Google Forms at this link. Event schedule and details are at https://www.biophysics.org/upcoming-networking-events/fundamentals-for-repurposing-natures-building-blocks-in-advanced-materials-applications.

Sabancı University is the ‘greenest’ university, according to the Higher Education Council’s “Foundation Higher Education Institutions 2020” report. 

In the Higher Education Council’s “Foundation Higher Education Institutions 2020" report, Sabancı University was declared the foundation university with the largest amount of open space. Of its total total area of 1.163.697 m², Sabancı University’s open/green areas are noted as 83% (976.173 m²). 

The importance of social distance during the pandemic has also increased the need for use of open green areas. According to the Higher Education Council’s "Foundation Higher Education Institutions 2020" report, Sabancı University has 234 square meters of green space per student and offers academics, staff and students a green campus. 

The amount of enclosed space per student also retains its importance during the course of the pandemic. Sabancı University campus offers students spacious enclosed study areas. According to the Higher Education Council’s "Foundation Higher Education Institutions 2020" report, Sabancı University has 45 square meters of indoor space per student. 

GREEN CAMPUS 

Since 2000, with the participation of students from primary schools in the Tuzla region, "Tree Planting Days" have been held and now at Sabancı University campus there are over 170,000 plants from more than 350 subspecies with more than 100 local species and over 150 imported species. In addition, Sabancı University campus features the richest Sakura tree collection in Turkey with over 1.000 Sakura trees.

Sabancı University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate (IICEC) has released the fourteenth issue of IICEC Energy Market Newsletter. 

Please click to read IICEC Energy Market Newsletter.