Sabancı Holding donated 10 tons of next-generation disinfectant to the Ministry of Health to help with the fight against Covid-19. The donation is enough to disinfect an area of 1.5 million square meters. Developed by Sabancı University, the disinfectant Antimic is effective against bacteria and viruses for up to 3 months from application, and is expected to relieve the workload of medical professionals.

Antimic was developed in Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences nanotechnology labs by a team led by Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Professor Yusuf Menceloğlu, using an ingredient that is known to be effective against SARS, a virus of the same family as coronavirus. Antimic is patented by Sabancı University and has a Type 2 license from the Ministry of Health. The water-based disinfectant is free of heavy metals and persistent toxic chemicals that endanger human health, and remains effective on a wide spectrum of micro-organisms for a long time, providing comfortable protection with the ultra-thin, sheer, flexible protective layer it forms on living spaces and clothing.  The layer prevents bacteria and viruses from surviving in the environment.

For more information about Antimic, please check the gazeteSU story on the subject.

The Sabancı University Gender and Women's Studies Center (SU Gender) and the Association for Migration Research (GAR) co-published an e-book on "Migration Studies from Gender Perspective in Turkey"! 

Inspired by the workshop of the same name held on May 3, 2019, the book contains essays by researchers that hold promise for the future of social sciences, migration and gender studies in Turkey. The book's editors Kristen Biehl and Didem Danış have compiled essays by Selin Altunkaynak Vodina, Meriç Çağlar Chesley, Saniye Dedeoğlu, Çisel Ekiz Gökmen, Seda Gönül, Mert Koçak, Hilal Sevlü, Hasret Saygı and Canan Uçar.

The book is dedicated to Ferhunde Özbay, who has pioneering research on gender and migration in Turkey.

The e-book on "Migration Studies from Gender Perspective in Turkey" is available at this link (Turkish).

Five Sabancı University faculty members receive 2020 Academy of Science BAGEP Awards.

The Academy of Science announced the winners of the 2020 Young Scientist Awards Program (BAGEP). Two members of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (FENS), two members of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), and one member of the School of Management won awards.

FENS faculty member Emrah Eroğlu won the award in biology and Kağan Kurşungöz in mathematics, FASS member Cenk Özbay in sociology and Emre Selçuk in psychology, and SOM faculty member Yiğit Atılgan won the award in management. Faculty members will conduct their funded projects for a term of two years.

The Academy of Science's Young Scientist Awards Program (BAGEP) aims to support young and promising academics with extraordinary potential with a prestigious fellowship that will help them develop their research projects. Endowed in 2013, the awards have been presented to 317 scholars so far, including 40 awards this year.

The BAGEP Awards by the Academy of Science are given to academics under the age of 40 and entail a cash prize of TL 20,000 per year for a duration of two years to support research.

The award ceremony was postponed due to Covid-19.

ELAA Teknoloji and Sabancı University Integrated Manufacturing Research and Application Center have partnered to develop a portable mechanical ventilator for COVID-19 patients. The portable ventilator can turn any room and bed into an ICU bed for infected patients, increasing treatment speed.

Between 2.4 to 5.6% of all COVID-19 patients suffer respiratory failure and require intubation in an intensive care unit. The tube is removed when the patient recovers enough to breathe on their own. Given that conventional ventilators in intensive care units are too large and bulky to carry around, and too few in number, this portable and practical ventilator can turn any room occupied by a patient into an intensive care unit, thereby increasing the speed of treatment. 

Patient rooms become intensive care units

The device is a portable mechanical ventilator that also has electronic control modules which contain the respiratory support modes needed for COVID-19 treatment. This eliminiates the need for an intensive care bed as the ventilator can be used next to any patient bed that has medical oxygen and air connections, or in an ambulance, turning ordinary patient rooms into intensive care units. With most new city hospitals having the design potential of turning any patient bed into an intensive care bed, the ventilator will complement this capacity. The ventilator is expected to be launched in Turkey followed by international markets.

Prototype work underway

The design and technical drawings of the device have been completed, material specifications have been determined, and prototype work is underway. After prototypes and testing are complete, the device will be presented to Turkey Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, and mass production will start. 

Led by ELAA Teknoloji, a digital medical technology company founded by Thoracic Surgeon Associate Professor Tunç Laçin, MD and Electric and Electronic Engineer Associate Professor Gökhan Bora Esmer, the project also involves Professor Bahattin Koç and his team from the Composite Technologies Center of Excellence, the first university-industry partnership between Sabancı University and Kordsa, who work on the design, validation, prototype production, and testing of the device. 

The Activity Report for the 2018-2019 term provides an overview of projects, activities and publications in the six main research areas of IPC – Sabancı University – Stiftung Mercator Initiative, Climate Change, Democratization and Institutional Reform, Shura Energy Transformation Center, Urbanization and Local Governance, and Conflict Resolution and Mediation.  

Click here to view the 2018-2019 Activity Report.

Sabancı University the top Turkish institution in “Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure" and "Reduced Inequality".

Times Higher Education (THE) announced the 2020 “World University Impact Rankings”. Sabancı University was named the top Turkish institution in the two categories of “Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure" and "Reduced Inequality".

Launched in 2019, THE University Impact Rankings is THE’s pioneering initiative to recognize universities across the world for their social and economic impact, based on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The second edition of the rankings assessed 766 universities from 85 countries. Last year, 450 universities from 76 countries had been assessed.

Sabancı University ranked 67th overall and 1st in Turkey in “Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure", and 76th overall and 1st in Turkey in "Reduced Inequality". Overall ranking was in the 401-600 band.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals consist of 17 interlinked objectives. THE included 11 of the 17 SDGs in its “2019 University Impact Rankings”, which was launched as a pilot program. All 17 SGDs have been considered for the 2020 edition.   

THE University Impact Ranking methodology considers indicators that are adapted to universities based on the internal dynamics of each goal. Assessed within indicators are data-based approaches as well as university activities, policies and practices.

The “Business against Domestic Violence Project” continues its 2020 term with the addition of 9 new companies.

The Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum, TÜSİAD and UN Population Fund (UNFPA) project on "Business Against Domestic Violence" continues with 9 new companies in the 2020 term. Aiming to create awareness about violence against women and to develop support mechanisms and methods to make women's involvement in business more effective and efficient, the project plans to include municipalities this year as well. 

The companies taking part in the 2020 term of the Business against Domestic Violence Project are: Beyçelik Gestamp, Borusan Holding, Fiba Banka, HKTM-Hidropar Hareket Kontrol Teknolojileri Merkezi San. Ve Tic. A.Ş., Lenovo Türkiye, Kibar Holding, Reckitt Benckiser Ev ve Temizlik A.Ş, Turkcell and Tekfen Holding. 

Participating companies are taking guidance training given by the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum to help them create an official company policy against domestic violence. Trainings are given online during Covid-19. 

After the guidance training, the "Gender Equality Train-the-Trainer" will begin in June and last three modules.

Between 2016 and 2019, 62 companies created official company policies against domestic violence. 

Please visit https://badv.sabanciuniv.edu/ for more information. 

Projects by Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) Member Asuman Büyükcan Tetik and School of Management (SOM) Faculty Member Mahmut Bayazıt will receive TÜBİTAK funding under the COVID-19 call.

The project implemented by FASS Faculty Member Asuman Büyükcan Tetik is titled “A Social Relations Model Approach to Family Relationship Quality during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Centrality of COVID-19, Perceived Difference and Self-Control”. The project implemented by SOM Faculty Member Mahmut Bayazıt is titled “The Effects of Working from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Home-Work Conflict and Health of Employees: A Longitudinal Study”.

The “COVID-19 and Society: The Social, Humanistic and Economic Effects of the Pandemic, Problems and Solutions" call had been made as part of the TÜBİTAK ARDEB 1001-Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program to study the current and expected affects of the coronavirus from the perspective of social sciences and humanities, and develop solutions.

The call received 682 submissions from 160 institutions over 15 days, 565 of which were admitted to the scientific assessment phase, and 102 project submissions were found eligible for funding.

We commend our faculty members.

Having admitted its first students on October 20, 1999, Sabancı University celebrates its 20th anniversary in the 2019 – 2020 Academic Year. As the Sabancı University community, we are excited and proud to celebrate our 20th year. 

For 20 years… We have been creating and developing together. Courageous and confident in our knowledge, we the Sabancı University community have been looking to the future, building the future, wherever we may be in the world. For 20 years, we have been looking into the future. 

We remember, with the deepest of respect and warmest of regard, members of our community who are no longer with us: Honorary Chairman Sakıp Sabancı, first Board of Trustees member Işık İnselbağ, Founding President Tosun Terzioğlu, Founding Secretary-General Hüsnü Paçacıoğlu, Founding Information Center Director Hilmi Çelik, School of Management faculty members Hakan Orbay, Ziya Boyacıgiller; Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences members Erdal İnönü, Şerif Mardin, Dicle Koğacıoğlu; Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences members Gürsel Sönmez, Plamen Djakov and Yuda Yürüm; School of Languages Lecturer Meral Güçeri and Information Technologies Administrator Melda Sunman, each of whom have contributed to the foundation of Sabancı University, the creation of its unique education system, construction of the campus -- in every aspect of the making of a university. 

To celebrate the 20th year of our university, we have prepared a set of four questions to ask faculty and administrative personnel who have been with us since the beginning, and to our first students. 

The first in the series of weekly interviews, published in alphabetical order, is Ahmet Öncü. 

Ahmet Öncü has been a member of Sabancı University since July 1, 1998. She has been a Sabancı University School of Management faculty member for 22 years. Ahmet Öncü’s answers to our four questions are below.

What was your initial memory / impression of when you met Sabancı University for the first time? 

A.Ö: My most unforgettable memory about Sabancı University is my first one. In the winter of 1996, I had completed my PhD, and returned from Canada with my family to work at Bilkent University, one of the best in Turkey. It was the beginning of a new era. My students, new colleagues, the excitement of having returned to the country, and the difficulties and niceties that came with it meant that time flew by. By the winter of 1998, we had settled in to our new lives. 

Meanwhile, we knew that Sabancı University was being established and would soon open for education. The late Professor Tosun Terzioğlu was being named Founding President, and the Founding Dean of the School of Management would be another one of our professors, Muhittin Oral. One evening, I received a phone call saying that Tosun Hoca and Muhittin Hoca were expecting me in Istanbul. Obviously, I told my wife. "I think they are going to offer me a job" I said. She looked at me as if to say "Are you for real?" because she felt like our lives would be uprooted once again, just when things were beginning to get in order. I had mixed feelings when I met Tosun Hoca and Muhittin Hoca, and I didn't know what to say. They said they wanted to work with me, and offered me a position. They didn't even wait for my response! They started talking about what kind of a place the new university would be. As they spoke, I began to realize that even the campus didn't exist: I began to think about how I could persuade my wife. And then the scale model of the campus came out, sending me into even deeper worry. I was thinking to myself, "They'll never get to finish this." Tosun Hoca, calm as ever, was talking about Sabancı University as if it actually existed! Sometimes Muhittin Hoca would chime in, and then the two would talk to each other about some other thing that also didn't exist. Watching them, I realized something: They were talking about a dream as if it were real--their dream was more real to them than reality. They knew they were building something new. I felt that I wanted to be a part of this organization right there and then. Finally, they asked, "So, what do you say?" I remember saying: "I'm sold, but I need to ask my wife." They laughed knowingly. Persuading my wife wasn't hard, because my professors had already sold their dream to me.  

By 1999, the campus was mostly complete, and instruction had begun. Since then, we have been chasing the same dream. Whenever I hear of the achievements of our school, I think back to those days. I always say: Those who have no dreams have no future. The future will arrive one way or another. But only those who have taken part in building it are prepared for it. From the first day, it was clear that Sabancı University would make it. So it was the right decision.    

What are the differences between yourself 20 years ago and yourself today, and how did Sabancı University contribute to that change? 

A.Ö: I can't even remember what I was like 20 years ago. As a 22-year member of Sabancı University, when I look back on how the university contributed to me, I find it difficult to give an answer. But I can say this: Show respect to be respected; learn to be self-confident; love to be happy; accept the wants of others to live in peace; and persevere to create. 

What comes into your mind when you think of Sabancı University in 20 years? What are your dreams for Sabancı University for the next 20 years? What about yourself? 

A.Ö: I don't even know if I will be alive in 20 years. But I'm sure that I will still be known as a Sabancı member. As for the university, I know it will be standing and once again imagining the future. 

Where and how would you be now if your paths hadn't crossed with Sabancı University? 

A.Ö: I always find it difficult to answer such questions. In fact, I'll call Nietzsche to help: "Love your fate, which is in fact your life." 

To celebrate the 20th year of our university, we have prepared a set of four questions to ask faculty and administrative personnel who have been with us since the beginning, and to our first students. They all tell "the story of 20 years" from their own perspectives. 

Going in alphabetical order, this week's interviewee for "The Story of 20 Years" is Albert Erkip. 

Albert Erkip has been a member of Sabancı University since September 1, 1998. He has been a member of the Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences for 22 years. Albert Erkip’s answers to our four questions are below. 

What was your initial memory / impression of when you met Sabancı University for the first time? 

A.E: My most distinct memory of Sabancı University is about the Karaköy building, although I had met the university before that. It must be the summer of 1998, when the university had just moved from Sabancı Center to Karaköy. Alev (Topuzoğlu) and I came from Ankara and attended a meeting in Karaköy. I remember the building, the vibrancy of Karaköy, the colleagues I met there, my future friends, Hilmi (Çelik) Bey giving us a tour of the mini Information Center in Karaköy, the overall excitement... 

But what stuck with me most was the worn and slippery steps of Minerva Han. The first thing I did when I went back to Ankara was to buy a pair of non-slip shoes. 

What are the differences between yourself 20 years ago and yourself today, and how did Sabancı University contribute to that change? 

A.E: One obvious difference is that I'm older! Joking aside, we came together 20 years ago to design a dream. We weren't sure about what to do, and we were trying to find out how to do it. It is a pleasure to see most of that dream come true in 20 years, and feel that all of us played a part in it. We created and developed together, but I'm not sure if we could pull this off without Tosun Terzioğlu and his encouragement, organization, and skill in collating disparate ideas and turning them into action. 

After 20 years, I'm happy to be a part of this university. I don't think I would feel the same in another university; at Sabancı, I felt like a part of a successful experiment, which is both exciting and proud. 

What comes into your mind when you think of Sabancı University in 20 years? What are your dreams for Sabancı University for the next 20 years? What about yourself? 

A.E: In 20 years, I expect and hope Sabancı University to preserve its unique structure to an extent, and continue to be a trendsetting institution in Turkey and the region. Of course, many things will evolve over time, but I think that our core values, and the priority given to employees and students, will be preserved and improved.

It's difficult for me to be a part of this institution in 20 years. Optimistically, I'll be watching from the sidelines! 

Where and how would you be now if your paths hadn't crossed with Sabancı University? 

A.E: If it weren't for Sabancı, I would not have considered leaving METU. I started there, I grew there; I was happy there.   The two reasons I joined Sabancı were the attraction of being a part of an experiment, and the confidence exuded by Tosun Terzioğlu. I'm not sure I could have found that attraction and confidence somewhere else, at another time. Ultimately, I'd have stayed at METU. And if I had, I'd have had retired three months ago. But I'm still a part of Sabancı University, even though I may be staying home.