We are much saddened by the loss today, 23 February 2016, of our beloved Founding President Prof. Dr. Tosun Terzioğlu, who has immensely contributed to the founding and development of our University.

In the years 1997 - 2009 in which he was the Founding President of Sabancı University, through his visionary personality, superior management skills, his love and toil that was never held back, Tosun Hoca played a unique role in the journey of making Sabancı University a World University.  We shall always remember him with much love, respect, and gratitude.

Having previously served as Dean of Sciences and Literature at METU and Head of TÜBİTAK, our dear Tosun Hoca also has a very valuable place in Mathematics in Turkey and the world.

Funeral arrangements will be made and communicated as soon as possible.  A ceremony in his commemoration at Sabancı University will also be announced.

We wish the departed the divine Rahmet and send our condolences to his family, friends, our entire University and the scientific community.

Nihat Berker

Our Founding President Prof.Dr.Tosun Terzioğlu-Funeral and Commemoration

The Commemoration Ceremony for our Founding President, Prof. Dr. Tosun Terzioğlu, will be held at the Sabancı University Performing Arts Center, between 10:00 - 11:00 a.m., on Thursday, 25 February 2016. There will be no classes between 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.

The funeral is going to take place on the same day, at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery after the midafternoon prayer at Bebek Camii. A service for the funeral will depart from the shuttle parking lot at 12:45 a.m. There will be return shuttles from the mosque and the cemetery.

For donations to the SU Scholarship Fund, you may make your transfers to the below stated accounts:

Turkish Lira : Akbank-713-30727 IBAN: TR87 0004 6007 1388 8000 0307 27

USA dolars:  Akbank-713-23458 IBAN: TR70 0004 6007 1300 1000 0234 58

Euro:           Akbank-713-37837 IBAN: TR08 0004 6007 1303 6000 0378 37

For online donations please click  

Sabancı University School of Management Assistant Dean and Sabancı University Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Laboratory Director Associate Professor Burçin Bozkaya was a panelist in the Fostering Innovation Through Data conference held by SAS on Friday, February 12, 2016 at the Grand Tarabya Hotel.

Burçin Bozkaya was accompanied by Carrefoursa CRM Director Necati Özdeniz in the session titled "Big Data: A New Source of Innovation" The moderator of the panel was Fortune Turkey Technology Editor Kerem Özdemir. 

Burçin Bozkaya began by introducing Turkey's first and only Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Laboratory founded by Sabancı University in association with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the strategic partnership of Akbank under sponsorship by SAS. Bozkaya explained that the purpose of the lab was to reveal behavioral patterns, and that identifying connections between different elements was crucial to the lab's work.

Burçin Bozkaya said, “We have what we call 360-degree data from multiple sources. We work closely with banks and the retail industry. The lab offers an opportunity for discovery and experimentation. It is an ideal environment where different research problems can be tested. When official consent is obtained, data from a variety of sources may be combined to achieve extraordinary results."

Burçin Bozkaya continued, “Our data sets allow us to predict the future behavior of individuals. If the same people are found in the data sets received from different sources, the lab can draw the entire profile of a person who is common in all data sets. This has potential for use in detecting lifestyle changes and creating new business models."

Discussing the possibilities offered by the lab, Burçin Bozkaya said, “Thousands of scenarios can be tested in the lab. Researchers sometimes come with specific questions; sometimes they prefer the open-ended approach. The lab allows both."

Burçin Bozkaya gave an example case where they worked with a bank to develop client spending indexes, analyzing the correlation between client behavior and financial risk indexes. Bozkaya said that the findings, which were published in an international journal, revealed that people who shop at greatly different times and places have a greater probability of encountering financial issues.

Burçin Bozkaya stated, “Research always looks for some form of causality. When working with big data; however, causality may not always be available, or necessary. It is possible for one to find themselves in an impasse when looking for the answer to 'why?' and take action based on the answer to the question 'what?'."

Bozkaya emphasized their intent to include researchers in social sciences in the lab, saying "What cannot be explained by mathematics may be explained by people working in social sciences."

In conclusion, Burçin Bozkaya discussed Sabancı University's work on big data. Bozkaya said that Sabancı University's interest in the subject became manifest in the lab as well as master's and PhD programs. Burçin Bozkaya continued, “Universities are independent platforms where data from different sectors can be matched. I believe that very soon we will have an environment where all data can be collected and processed according to certain regulatory framework. I also believe that such an environment will benefit businesses as well as humanity as a whole."

Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering 2009 graduate Betina Tabah's article "Solar-Energy Driven Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation of Starch to Bioethanol for Fuel-Cell Applications" published in the ChemSusChem journal in 2015 was chosen a "Key Scientific Article" by the Canadian Renewable Energy Global Innovations (REGI) for contributing to excellence in energy research.

Renewable Energy Global Innovations, highlights papers of exceptional scientific importance and intelligible to a broad scientific audience. Emphasis is given to all aspects of Renewable Energy. Papers featured in REGI must be of high significance in any area of Fuel Cell, Solar Cell, HydroEnergy, BioEnergy, Geothermal, and Wind Energy. Featured papers are assessed primarily on their scientific validity and merit. Renewable Energy Global Innovations is highly selective, the invited articles are less than 0.1% of the whole published literature (that is about 10 per week chosen by a team of advisers and experts). REGI is viewed almost 645,000 times each month by professors and scientists and it is linked to the top 50 energy and industrial companies as well as major research institutions.

The objectives of Renewable Energy Global Innovations include offering readers the depth and breadth of breaking news about the latest scientific discoveries and development in the field of Renewable Energy, and highlighting the benefits of renewable energy and other clean energy technologies such as environmental impact, public health and economical benefits. REGI promotes the status and visibility of talented scientists and industry experts in the International academic and energy industry scene.

Betina Tabah is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry Department and Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials at Bar-Ilan University, Israel since 2013, and her work focuses on novel methods for the conversion of biomass to bioethanol. Betina is passionate about finding green solutions to global problems, and her research interests include potential alternative energy sources, biofuels and renewable energy studies, utilizing different biomass for energy applications, developing biofuel production systems and up-scaling to industrial applications, and conversion of wastes and plant residues into value-added products. Betina was selected as a 2014 Rieger-JNF Fellow and 2015 Marshall Tulin Fellow in Environmental Studies by Rieger Foundation, USA.

Sabancı University School of Management faculty member Abdullah Daşçı was chosen as the Field Editor of Computers and Operations Research, one of the leading journals in operations research and computation.

Abdullah Daşçı will be one of the 6 field editors of the journal for a period of three years. Daşçı will be responsible for the subjects of logistics, transport and location analysis.

The journal had a circulation of 1861 in 2015, and is among the top 20 of the Thomson Reuters Operations Research and Management category.

The third “Independent Woman Directors Conference of Turkey” in association with IFC (International Finance Corporation), a member of the World Bank Group, and Zorlu Holding was held at the Zorlu Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, February 10th, 2016 as part of the Independent Woman Directors project implemented by the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum with the strategic support of Egon Zehnder International’s Turkey office.

The "2015 Report on Woman Directors in Publicly-Traded Companies in Turkey" was revealed to the public. According to the report, the ratio of women serving as members of the Board of Directors of companies traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange increased from 11.5% to 12.9% in four years.

The third “Boards Empowered by Women” Awards were given to Türk Tuborg Bira ve Malt Sanayii, Turcas Petrol, Burçelik Vana Sanayi ve Ticaret and Sanifoam Sünger Sanayi ve Ticaret.

The “3rd Independent Woman Directors Conference of Turkey” was held at the Zorlu Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, February 10th as part of the Independent Woman Directors project implemented by the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum to empower company boards of directors with the inclusion of women.During the launch of the 2015 Report on Woman Directors in Publicly-Traded Companies in Turkey, the "Boards Empowered by Women” Awards were presented with a ceremony attended by Sabancı University President Professor A. Nihat Berker.

"The ratio of women serving as members of the Board of Directors of companies traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange increased from 11.5% to 12.9% in four years."

Introductory remarks of the meeting were delivered by Women 20 Chair and IWD Advisory Board Cochair Gülden Türktan. The "2015 Report on Woman Directors in Publicly-Traded Companies in Turkey" issued by Sabancı University was presented by Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum Director Melsa Ararat. The survey covers 417 companies traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. The boards of 178 of these 417 companies are composed entirely of men. Among 2541 directors sitting on boards, 12.9% or 293 individuals are women.  293 woman directors hold a total of 375 seats among them. These 375 chairs are filled with 219 non-executive, 83 independent and 73 executive positions. The ratio of independent woman directors to total board members is 6.5%.

Melsa Ararat noted, "The ratio of women serving as members of the Board of Directors of companies traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange increased from 11.5% to 12.9% in four years. This corresponds to an annual increase of 3.4% per year. At this rate, it will take 20 years before we achieve the Capital Markets Board's minimum requirement of 25% women on boards. To achieve this, 574 seats must be replaced with woman members. An initiative based entirely on voluntary participation in the UK led to a 100% increase in woman directors in 5 years, bringing the ratio of women, previously comparable to that in Turkey, to 26% Where voluntary efforts fail to yield desired results, governments are imposing legal quotas and national policies. The imposition of quotas for women in government-owned entities is more prevalent around the world. The boards of government-owned entities in Turkey are composed almost entirely of men; this is a practice that we must cease immediately, and make a systematic effort to make place for competent woman directors."

According to the findings of the report, 26 of the 422 companies had a chairwoman in 2015. This corresponds to 6.2% of all companies. There were only 13 woman CEOs that sat on boards of directors. Accordingly, only 3.1% of publicly-traded companies have woman CEOs. 

The foreword to the 2015 Report on Woman Directors in Publicly-Traded Companies in Turkey was written by International Finance Corporation Turkey Country Manager Aisha Williams.

“We are committed to promoting board diversity as a powerful means to improve company dynamics and performance.” 

Melsa Ararat’ın sunumunun ardından, International Finance Corporation Türkiye Ülke Müdürü Aisha Williams’ın moderatörlüğündeki “Yönetim Kurullarında Cinsiyet Eşitliğinin İşyerine Etkisi” başlıklı panele geçildi. Panelde; MNT Sağlık Hizmetleri ve Ticaret A.Ş. Yönetim Kurulu Üyesi Ebru Köksal, TÜSİAD Uluslararası Koordinatörü ve Avrupa Birliği Temsilcisi Bahadır Kaleağası, Garanti Bankası Genel Müdür Yardımcısı Nafiz Karadere ve Kron Telekom Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Lütfi Yenel panelist oldular.

Aisha Williams konuşmasında “IFC olarak yönetim kurullarında cinsiyet çeşitliliğinin şirketler için yararının farkındayız.  Dünya genelinde cinsiyet çeşitliliğine sahip şirketler daha iyi kurumsal yönetim sergiliyor ve genel olarak daha rekabetçi, yenilikçi, bünyesi sağlam şirketler oluyorlar.  Dolayısıyla kurullarda cinsiyet çeşitliliği bizim için sadece kurullara daha çok kadın alınmasından ibaret değil.  Çeşitliliği, şirket dinamiklerini ve performansını iyileştirmenin güçlü bir yöntemi olarak desteklemeye kararlıyız.  Bu kapsamda iş ortaklarımızla kurullarda cinsiyet çeşitliliği konulu görüşmeler yapıyor, yönetim kurullarında cinsiyet çeşitliliğini arttırma fırsatlarını birlikte inceliyoruz" dedi.

“Yönetim kurullarında cinsiyet eşitliğine yönelik atılacak her adımın, sadece karar kalitesini değil, ekonomik değer yaratma kapasitesini de artıracağı aşikar”

Melsa Ararat’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion on "The Effect of Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards" moderated by International Finance Corporation Turkey Country Manager Aisha Williams. Panelists were MNT Sağlık Hizmetleri ve Ticaret A.Ş. Board of Directors Member Ebru Köksal, TÜSİAD International Coordinator and EU Representative Bahadır Kaleağası, Garanti Bank Assistant General Manager Nafiz Karadere and Kron Telekom Board of Directors Chair Lütfi Yenel.

Aisha Williams said, “As IFC we know that gender diversity on corporate boards is good for business.  Across the globe, companies with gender diverse boards have better corporate governance and are generally more competitive, innovative and overall stronger businesses.  As such, gender board diversity is to us not just about getting more women on boards.  Rather, we are committed to promoting board diversity as a powerful means to improve company dynamics and performance.  As part of our commitment, we consistently engage our business partners in conversations around the business case for gender board diversity and we work with them to explore opportunities to strengthen gender diversity of their boards.”

“It is obvious that steps taken to improve gender diversity on corporate boards will influence not only the quality of decision-making, but also the capacity to create economic value.”

The panel was followed with a video message by Brenda Trenowden, Global President of the 30% Club. The second panel session was moderated by Egon Zehnder Turkey CEO Murat Yeşildere. The panelists in the “Initiatives for Women on Boards” session were Hande Yaşargil from the Women on Boards Initiative, Women Corporate Directors representative Gülsüm Azeri,  Professional Women Network representative Demet Çaldağ and Independent Woman Directors Project representative Sevda Alkan.

Murat Yeşildere remarked, “The quality of Board resolutions may be improved when different perspectives are represented and opinions are voiced. It is obvious that steps taken to improve gender diversity on corporate boards of Istanbul Stock Exchange-traded companies will influence not only the quality of decision-making, but also the capacity to create economic value. I appreciate the great efforts of the Independent Woman Directors project, led by Sabancı University and us, and the humble yet important headway that has been made. As important is the network among all civil society initiatives that share a common vision, which leads them to mutual motivation and coordination. We wanted to include the best examples of this cooperation in this year's conference program."

The keynote speaker of the conference was CNN Türk Economy Director Emin Çapa. The keynote was followed by the "Boards Empowered by Women" Awards Ceremony attended by Sabancı University President Professor A. Nihat Berker.  The third “Boards Empowered by Women” Awards were given to Türk Tuborg Bira ve Malt Sanayii, Turcas Petrol, Burçelik Vana Sanayi ve Ticaret and Sanifoam Sünger Sanayi ve Ticaret.

The awards were based on index calculations designed by Sabancı University faculty members Melsa Ararat, Işın Güler and Özgecan Koçak. The index considers “Representation of Women on Boards,” “Representation of Independent Woman Directors on Boards,” “Representation of Women on Committees,” “Presence of Female Board of Directors Chairs and CEOs” and the presence of at least three female members. The index is recalculated every year.

"If Turkey is to write a new success story in the 21st cenutry, its lead characters will be production and woman directors."

The closing speech of the conference was delivered by Dünya Daily Editor-in-Chief Hakan Güldağ. Hakan Güldağ said, “Turkey has written a great success story in the 35 years from 1980 to the present. Per capita income increased from 1500 USD to approximately 10,000. Export volume rose from a few measly billion to over 150 billion dollars. The composition of exports evolved as well. Whereas 90% of Turkey's export products used to be produce such as nuts, cotton and tobacco, manufactured goods now account for more than 90% of exports. This was also a time when demographical and social structures shifted significantly. Urban population used to be below 50%; now it is almost 80%. The transformation in the last 35 years has hit a level cap, though. Dynamics and policies that took us to 10,000 USD cannot take us further to 20,000. In that case, what will be Turkey's new story? What dynamics will the so-called 'New Turkey' be based on? Anyone dealing with these questions must consider the potential of Turkey's women. If Turkey is to write a new success story in the 21st cenutry, its lead characters will be production and woman directors." 

The “Independent Woman Directors Project” implemented by the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum with the strategic support of Egon Zehnder International’s Turkey office aims to improve the position of women on boards of directors with a view towards making boards more efficient. As a founding partner of the “Global Board Ready Women” initiative, the project makes regular updates to a database of board-ready women in Turkey, and recommends candidates to companies that wish to appoint a woman to their boards of directors.

You can now access SCRIPTA on Android devices as well! The first three issues of SCRIPTA are now available on Google Play and App Store 

This issue's ARTS section discusses the Istanbul Biennial and our graduates who exhibited their works there. We are proud that our graduates have become important artists whose works are featured in one of the leading arts events this year.

In ADD-DROP, we discuss a "social" facet of entrepreneurship that is not always in the limelight.  Faculty member Dilek Çetindamar tells all about social entrepreneurship.

FACES features Murat Germen, who answered questions not only in photography but in various other subjects as well. 

The highlight of this issue is our student Armağan Daşcürcü’s experience in CERN. Armağan spoke to Bengüsu Özcan about her research there.

Finally, Melek Sarı writes about Crete in City Undiscovered.

Undergraduate students at Sabancı University have worked in 1308 individual research projects during 2015. Undergraduate research projects were distributed as 878 in the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, 224 in the School of Management, 123 in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and 83 in the School of Languages.

“In finding a job after graduation or being admitted to graduate school, one of the most important factors today is having performed an individual research project during undergraduate education” said our President Nihat Berker, and continued, “The extant and richness of SU undergraduate research projects is surely one of the important factors behind the fact that 90% of our students, one year after graduation, are either employed or in graduate school.  Moreover, we are very happy to have our undergraduate students taste the excitement of individual research, thus to get to know them better one-on-one, and in this respect to be at the forefront of Turkey and Europe.  We are going to even further increase these projects in 2016.”

Undergraduate research projects are done under the advisorship of a faculty member.  The projects can be connected to a work scholarship, a funded research project, or a project course, or can be done by a wholly informal arrangement in a research group.  In the SU Free-Choice Projects, the undergraduate students create their own projects and can be funded.

In order to assist the undergraduate students in the choice of an individual research project, Nihat Berker will give information on the researches of over 100 SU faculty members on Tuesday 23 February at 12:30 in the Cinema Hall. During both presentations, boza and roasted chickpeas will be served.

"Political Finance and Transparency Report" as a result of an EU funded project, coordinated and co-authored by Damla Cihangir Tetik, one of our PhD candidates in Political Science, was published by Transparency International Turkey. 

Damla Cihangir-Tetik

"Political Finance and Transparency Report" addresses the financing of political parties and election campaigns, their audit processes and media relations in Turkey and advanced democracies comparatively. It also analyzes March 2014 Local Elections, August 2014 Presidential Elections, 7 June and 1 November Parliamentary Elections with regards to transparency and accountability. While it examines the audit processes in detail, it also covers historical evolution of transparency in political finance in the world and Turkey. 

For the full report: http://www.seffaflik.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/siyasetin-finansman%...  

The Istanbul Policy Center (IPC)-Sabancı University-Stiftung Mercator Initiative held a meeting for the promotion of their new book, Gündelik Yaşamda Avrupalı Müslümanlar (European Muslims in Daily Life) by Mercator-IPC Senior Scholar and Professor of Sociology at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Nilüfer Göle. 

from left to right: Nilüfer Göle - Ayşe Kadıoğlu

The discussion for the launch of the book was moderated by Sabancı University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Dean and IPC Senior Specialist Ayşe Kadıoğlu. 

Nilüfer Göle interprets the results of a field study conducted between 2009 and 2013 in 21 European cities, where immigrant "ordinary Muslims" and their non-Muslim neighbors, "local" Europeans, had face-to-face introduction meetings. The survey intends to investigate the reactions to various disputes in the European public sphere on subjects including worshipping in the street, minarets, moqsues, cartoons, headcovers and hijabs, sharia, halal food, art, Judaism and Jewish people.

The unique approach adopted by Göle shakes the foundation of stereotypes, revealing that all these debates contribute to the emergence of an alternative public culture. From Islamic hiphop to "halal ham", the European Muslims of today are shaping contemporary life according to the teachings of Islam, and this becomes commingled with the cultural values of Europe. "This cultural cross-breeding between Europe and Islam has both Jihadist and Islamophobic enemies. But there is reason for hope. The treatment of this gangrenous wound is to interweave differences when building the fabric of society rather than making a collage with them. What makes Europe exceptional must be sought in its creative freedom and ability to reinvent itself with the Other every time."

Please click here to view the video for the “not in my name” campaign initiated by ordinary European Muslims as discussed by Nilüfer Göle.

Please click here for a short film that is a stark description of prejudice against Muslims.

Axalta Coating Systems has announced the MBA student at Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey, who has received the first annual Axalta Scholarship for the 2015-2016 academic year.

The merit-based Axalta Scholarship, which is open to both national and international students at the University, was conferred to Carolin Höfner in late 2015 to support her MBA programme. Höfner already holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering Color and Coatings from the University of Applied Science, Esslingen, Germany.

“We are delighted to be able to facilitate the further education of a student such as Carolin, particularly as she already has knowledge and experience of the coatings industry from previous roles,” said Kolja Hosch, Head of Country Human Resources for Axalta in Europe, Middle East and Africa. “This scholarship is part of our partnership programme with Sabanci University’s School of Management, whose initiatives aim to help MBA students with their studies, as well as with practical, hands-on work experience.”

Dr Yusuf Soner, School of Management Professional Program Director, Sabanci University, said: “The Axalta Scholarship offers students who might otherwise find it difficult to meet the financial costs of studying, a fantastic opportunity to complete their degree. We congratulate Carolin on winning this well-deserved opportunity.”


The Axalta scholarship at Sabanci University is just one of a number of global education projects the company has entered into jointly with academic institutions worldwide, which are designed to promote and to build the skills to help young people meet the demands of the future job market.