Materials Science and Engineering 2007 Master’s Graduate and 2011 Phd Graduate Dr. Burcu Saner Okan participated in the 6th International Conference on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering held in Roma, Italy between July 16-17, 2015. Her oral presentation entitled as “Fiber Reinforced Self-Healing Composites via Multi-Axial Electrospinning for Load Bearing Applications” has been selected as the best one of this conference in the field of Novel Materials and Processing Technology. 

Her Project is granted in the scope of Tubitak 1001 program and PhD Student Jamal Seyyed Monfared Zanjani, Assoc. Prof. Mehmet Yıldız and Prof. Dr. Yusuf Menceloglu contributed to this work.

Conference website: http://www.icmae.org/

Sabancı University becomes implementer of TÜBİTAK tech venture support

Named “Turkey's Most Entrepreneurial and Innovative University," Sabancı becomes the implementer of the TÜBİTAK tech venture support for the BiGG-SEA Project created with ideEge TGB and Adana ÜSAM.

Sabancı University became the implementer of the BiGG-SEA Project in partnership with the Ege University Technology Development Zone (ideEge TGB) and Adana University-Industry Joint Research Center (Adana ÜSAM), receiving "Technological Venture Capital Support" from TÜBİTAK. Sabancı University also ranked first in the University Entrepreneurship and Innovation Index issued by the Ministry of Science, Industry and Trade.

Sabancı University Entrepreneurship Council Director Kutlu Kazancı said that the project would assist prospective entrepreneurs in 25 provinces in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Marmara regions of Turkey to create business ideas, prepare business plans, and apply for the "Technological Venture Capital Support Program."

Explaining that the project name of BiGG-SEA stood for "Individual Young Entrepreneurs Sabancı Aegean Adana," Kazancı noted that the TÜBİTAK grant for projects referred and approved by implementers increased from TL 100,000 to TL 150,000. Kazancı continued, "TÜBİTAK delegated the powers to collect applications, train candidates and refer project applications to a number of implementer organizations. We are among the 18 institutions authorized by TÜBİTAK. In the past three years, the 1512 Program of TÜBİTAK received submissions from more than 3200 entrepreneurs, provided training to over 1100 entrepreneurs for preparing business plans, and granted TL 100,000 each to 350 selected entrepreneurs."

The BiGG-SEA Project will assist prospective entrepreneurs in 25 provinces in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Marmara regions of Turkey to create business ideas, prepare business plans, and apply for the "Technological Venture Capital Support Program." Expectations are to reach more than 2500 entrepreneurs in three years, provide pre-incubation and mentoring services to over 500 entrepreneurs, and support over 300 business plan applications.

The BiGG-SEA project serves entrepreneurs with a considerable and expanding network that started with 15+ universities, TTOs, technology parks and chambers of industry; 13+ corporate partners including General Electric, Eczacıbaşı, Netaş, KORDSA and Farplas; and investment groups including 212 Ltd, Arya Women Investment Platform, BIC Angel Investments, Diffusion Capital Partners, Galata Angel Investors Network, Keiretsu Forum Istanbul, Revo Capital and Şirket Ortağım. 

Interested candidates may visit www.biggsea.com for more information and applications.

About the BiGG-SEA Project

The BiGG-SEA Project will collect submissions to the Technological Venture Capital Support Program primarily from the Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean regions of Turkey, and support candidates in the process from business idea to business plan by offering services in business modeling, mentorship and pre-incubation.

The project is an official implementer of the TÜBİTAK 1512 Program, and will be managed by Sabancı University Inovent, ideEGE-TGB and Adana ÜSAM.

BiGG-SEA is a TÜBİTAK-authorized official implementer that will collect the first stage applications for the program, and is designed to "support entrepreneurs with innovation-focused technological ideas through mechanisms based on lean enterprise and market development methodologies, and accompany the entrepreneur on the journey to commercialization with a business plan prepared after technical and market-worthiness of the business idea is confirmed."

The technology- and innovation-focused business ideas of entrepreneurs will be supported from the idea stage to the market free of charge in order to enable them to convert their ideas to ventures with a high potential for adding value and creating employment opportunities.

Melsa Ararat elected first and only academic member of the International Corporate Governance Network.

Sabancı University Faculty Member and Corporate Governance Forum Director Melsa Ararat was elected to membership of the board of governors of ICGN (International Corporate Governance Network), a community that brings together asset managers and investors representing USD 26 trillion of capital.

Sabancı University faculty member and Corporate Governance Forum Director Melsa Ararat was elected to the Board of Governors of the ICGN (International Corporate Governance Network) in the General Assembly held in London on June 3rd, 2015. Melsa Ararat is the first academic to be elected as a Governor of ICGN, joining a growing number of female Turkish nationals sitting on international boards of directors.

Melsa Ararat was nominated by members from leading institutions such as Aberdeen Asset Management, Deloitte and Harvard Law School, HHL, and Corporate Governance Society of Brazil. Ararat's nomination was vetted by ICGN founder and corporate governance reform pioneer Ira Millstein, and she received 90% of the votes in the General Assembly to be elected to membership.

As a member of the ICGN Awards Committee and Business Ethics Committee, Melsa Ararat said “I am pleased that Sabancı University became visible once again on an internationally recognized platform by this. During my term on the Board of Governors, I will strive to improve the relations of the Network with academia, and make women's empowerment and risks related to climate change more visible to investors." Ararat explained that human rights, diversity in governance and company models, and integrated reporting were among the most important issues in this year's ICGN conference, and that the transition phase in which the global finance sector finds itself became obvious in the annual conference following the general assembly.

Sabancı University School of Management Dean Professor Füsun Ülengin commented, “I congratulate Melsa Ararat for an achievement that advances the international success of our school one step further. I am proud that Melsa Ararat became the first and only academic member of the International Corporate Governance Network Board of Governors at a time when we must work with diligence on issues like women's empowerment and climate change today if we are to provide better living conditions to future generations."
Investor Relations Society of Turkey Chair Özge Bulut Maraşlı said, "Corporate Governance is a prerequisite that strengthens ties with investors and provides depth to capital markets. Dr. Melsa Ararat brought together national and international stakeholders like universities, regulators and industry representatives to nurture corporate governance in Turkey, produced permanent solutions through her work, and continues to provide solutions to pressing needs.  Coming in the footsteps of her latest initiative, the Independent Woman Directors Project, Dr. Ararat's appointment as the first and only academic member of the ICGN Board of Governors and another Independent Woman Director from Turkey serving on international boards delights us, and we would like to commend her success."

Egon Zehnder International Istanbul Office Managing Partner Murat Yeşildere said, "Melsa Ararat's appointment as the first and only academic member of the ICGN Board of Governors makes us proud. Meanwhile, a Turkish national occupying a position of international management is especially inspiring for people like us who fight for gender equality in executive levels. Another important aspect of this appointment is ICGN's steps towards improving diversity in boards. I am confident that Melsa Ararat will enhance the diversity of the ICGN Board of Governors not just as an academic, but as a civil society volunteer liaising between academia and business, and a citizen of the world."

About the International Corporate Governance Network
ICGN is a nonprofit entity founded in London in 1995. ICGN brings together corporate governance professionals led by asset managers and investors representing USD 26 trillion in assets, and issues guidelines, statements and papers to influence investors and financial policies towards better corporate governance. ICGN is an active member of all platforms related to global capital markets and the finance sector.

2nd Sabanci University Microelectronics Workshop successfully organized at our Campus on June 15-17th

Sabanci University Microelectronics Group, in collaboration with Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) and ASELSAN A.Ş., organized 2th International Workshop on Microelectronics Technology, Circuits, and Systems for Space Applications, held at Sabanci University Campus, Istanbul-Turkey, on June 15th and 17th, 2015. 

The workshop focused on microelectronics, from technology to circuits and systems perspective, and its applications on sensing and processing electronic systems for space applications, addressed through invited lectures given by world-renowned experts in their respective fields from academia, industries and research institutions. Each talk included a brief tutorial, current state of the art and future vision of the respective topic and received by about 200 participants of technology leaders/managers, engineers, researchers, academicians and students from around the world. 

Main Topics Covered

1. Radar and Communication Technologies 

2. Electro-Optical Imaging Systems: Technology and Applications 

3. Micro and Nano Technologies 

4. Terahertz Technology and Systems 

5. Packaging, Testing, Qualification and Radiation Effect

For more details of the workshop, visit

http://sumicro.sabanciuniv.edu/

https://www.facebook.com/sumicro.sabanciuniv.edu

https://twitter.com/sumicroworkshop

The workshop was very successfull on achieving its objectives and received highly positive remarks by all participants and is sponsored by Sabanci University, Aselsan Inc., IHP-Microelectronics-Germany, Vistec Electron Beam, TAI Inc., Spark Measurement Technologies, TUMSIS Inc. Roketsan, Vistec, and IHP were also participated as exhibitors.

Starting in the 2015-16 academic year, Sabancı University will adopt the "4+1" approach to graduate studies. 

Under this new scheme, undergraduate students will be able to apply to MBA or MiF programs at the end of the semester in which they finish third year. By doing so, students will be able to obtain an MBA degree in only 1 year after they complete their undergraduate degree.  The MiF program will be completed in 10 months. Minimum GPA required for application is 2.72. 

Students seeking an MBA degree will be required to take two MBA courses in each semester of their final year. Students' grade in all four courses must be "C" or above, and the point average of the four courses be 3.00 or above. For those seeking an MiF degree, only one course must be taken during the final year, and passing the course is considered adequate. 

There are scholarship opportunities for both programs. MBA applicants will be required to submit their GMAT scores during the interview for scholarship consideration. MiF applicants will need to submit an ALES, GRE or GMAT score. Undergraduate scholarship students will be required to pass the scholarship assessment in order to be considered for scholarship in the MBA or MiF programs.

Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Fikri Işık: “Sabancı University won 88.40 points to become Turkey's most entrepreneurial and innovative university in 2015.” 

At a press conference in TÜBİTAK, Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Fikri Işık revealed the 2015 TÜBİTAK Entrepreneurial and Innovative Universities Index that lists the top 50 entrepreneurial and innovative universities in Turkey. Sabancı University is the winner of the 2015 Index, and had topped the inaugural index revealed in 2012. 

Sabancı University increased its score in four of the five aspects considered for the index while maintaining its score in the last aspect, achieving a 7-point increase for a total score of 88.40.

The top five of the index are: Sabancı University in first place with 88.40 points; Middle East Technical University in second place with 85.96 points; Boğaziçi University in third place with 79.66 points; İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University in fourth place with 78.10 points; and Koç University in fifth place with 76.44 points. 

 The "University Entrepreneurship and Innovation Index" consists of 5 aspects, namely scientific and technological research competence, intellectual property, cooperation and interaction, entrepreneurship and innovation culture, and economic contribution and commercialization. 

Electronic Engineering graduates Tolga Dinç and Samet Zihir developed chips that will enable breakthroughs in 5G and more advanced wireless communication technologies.

Tolga Dinç and Samet Zihir developed circuits that achieve the highest performance in 5G and beyond with their functionalities and power properties. 

The circuits developed by Tolga Dinç and Samet Zihir operate at 60GHz, which is predicted to be the operating frequency of the 5G mobile communication standard that will succeed the current 4G/LTE standard.

Breakthrough research in 5G technology

There are various research projects in similar frequencies and fields, and each group or institution announces the highest values they achieve. Samet Zihir designed the circuit with the most functionality/density and highest power in this field. The research revealed the extents of system size and complexity that may be designed with silicon technology.

Tolga Dinç designed the world's first transmitter that can receive and send data at the same frequency. Textbooks on wireless communication state that it is impossible to send and receive data on the same frequency at the same time. Although recent research implied that this may indeed be possible, it had proven impossible to design a chip capable of this even in the 3G/4G/LTE frequencies.

Columbia University PhD student Tolga Dinç and University of California-San Diego PhD student Samet Zihir carried out research during their undergraduate and graduate education within the Microelectronics Groupfounded by Professor Yaşar Gürbüz from Sabancı University.

Tolga Dinç (Sabancı University Electronic Engineering Undergraduate 2010 and Graduate 2012) and Samet Zihir (Sabancı Üniversitesi Electronic Engineering Undergraduate 2009 and Graduate 2011) spoke on the subject.

Young researchers Tolga Dinç and Samet Zihir explain:

Sabancı University Electronic Engineering graduate Tolga Dinç: “By 2020, the 5G technology will have increased the need for wireless technology capacity by one thousand fold."

Recent data suggests that, due to increasing use of multimedia applications on smartphones and tablets, wireless data traffic and the demand for capacity doubles every year. This means that from the launch of the 4G technology in 2010 to 5G technology in 2020, the demand for wireless technology capacity will increase by a factor of one thousand. The demand for faster access will not end in 2020; it will continue to multiply year after year. These are such great challenges for the telecommunication industry that they are called the “grand challenge” or the “1000 X challenge.” Since the currently deployed techniques are at the point of saturation, new and revolutionary methods must be developed in the wireless communication sector. We are working to develop unconventional techniques and systems that may help to resolve this grand challenge in wireless communication.

Sabancı University Electronic Engineering graduate Samet Zihir: "Our project will contribute to technologies that millions will be using on handheld devices and at home in three to four years."

Humankind's desire for faster communication never ends, and never will. The primary objective of our project is deployment in next-generation mobile phones and relay stations. We expect our project to contribute to technologies that millions will be using on handheld devices and at home in three to four years. We can also say that the techniques we develop while designing circuitry will benefit the defense and automotive industries. 

We received great feedback after the awards. Many mobile operators contacted us for cooperation possibilities.

What did Tolga Dinç and Samet Zihir’s professors say about the achievements?

Sabancı University Faculty Member Professor Yaşar Gürbüz: “I congratulate Samet and Tolga for their outstanding achievements. I am confident that they will be even more successful in the future. Both students are characterized by being idealists who persevere in their ideals. When their right choices are factored in, such achievements are rarely by chance. Tolga and Samet are the most recent brilliant examples of the right work we have been doing in the Electronic Engineering and the Microelectronics field in particular, in terms of both education and research, since our establishment 16 years ago. I would like to thank Samet and Tolga as well as everyone else who played a part in this process, and their PhD advisors Prof. Rebeiz and Prof. Krishnaswamy."

Tolga Dinç’s advisor, Columbia University professor of Electrical Engineering Harish Krishnaswamy said that he was proud on behalf of his university with Tolga's achievement, and commended Sabancı University faculty for providing Tolga with the strong undergraduate and graduate education that laid the foundation of his current work.

Samet Zihir’s advisor, University of California-San Diego professor Gabriel M. Rebeiz said to Sabancı University President Nihat Berker that hearing about the achievements of Sabancı University worldwide was not surprising, as evidenced by the most recent prizes won by our graduates Tolga Dinç and Samet Zihir, who is currently his student, among hundreds of submissions in the field. Rebeiz said, "Sabancı University should be proud of their graduates, and I believe Professor Yaşar Gürbüz plays a large part in the success of these young scientists."

The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) and the Wheat Initiative announced today that funding was secured in Turkey for reference sequencing of wheat chromosome 5D. 

Reference sequencing of chromosome 5D will be carried out over the next two years by a team led by Hikmet Budak, head of the Plant Molecular Biology and Genetics Lab at Sabancı University, who received two grants from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) and the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock to produce the reference sequence of both arms of chromosome 5D.

Turkey's contribution to the Wheat Consortium is another step towards achievement of a high quality reference sequence for each of the 21 bread wheat chromosomes in order to provide plant breeders with high quality tools to accelerate breeding programs and produce a new generation of wheat varieties with higher yields and improved sustainability.

The completion of the project will have significant implications for agriculture around the world. The project aims to sequence the entire wheat genome and map the important genes carried by chromosome 5D. This will enable a non-GMO method of breeding new cultivars of wheat that will carry all functional and structural elements of various types of wheat. 

The team led by Hikmet Budak, head of the Plant Molecular Biology and Genetics Lab at Sabanci University, aims to produce the reference sequence of both arms of chromosome 5D, complete genetics work, and ultimately use the genome sequence to develop new cultivars of wheat, which is a staple food in Turkey.

Hikmet Budak said the following: "Wheat is one of the most important crops in Turkey as it is here that modern wheat originated. The reference sequence of chromosome 5D will provide valuable genomics tools for both researchers and breeders. TÜBİTAK and the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock are well-aware of the impact that the sequencing of chromosome 5D will have on improving genomic assisted breeding.”

Hikmet Budak was part of the survey sequencing of wheat chromosomes, and his research output with the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) was published in Science in 2014. 

Wheat is the most widely grown cereal crop in the world

It is also the staple food for more than 35% of the global human population. With a projected world population of 9.6 billion by 2050, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) forecasts that the demand for wheat will increase by 60%. Since availability of new land is limited to preserve biodiversity and water and nutrient resources are becoming scarcer, the majority of this increase has to be achieved via crop and trait improvement on land currently cultivated. A high quality reference genome sequence would contribute greatly to achieving this goal.

2015-2016 Fall Term Undergraduate Horizontal Transfer Applications

 Applications from universities other than Sabanci University (SU) and undergraduate programs within SU will be evaluated by the relevant Faculty Boards, in compliance with "Regulations on the Basis Concerning Horizontal Transfer among the Institutions of Higher Education at the Associate’s and Bachelor’s Degree Levels ," published by the Turkish Higher Education Board (YOK) and the rules adopted by Sabanci University. Applicants may be able to invited for the interviews,as required.
All application documents should be submitted to Sabanci University Student Resources Unit by July 24th, 2015. The related Faculty Administrative Committee evaluates transfer applications.
Evaluation results will be sent to the applicants in the written form. Delaysdue tothe post will not be accepted. An interview will be organized for the candidates who are satisfying the application requirements during August 3, 2015. Applicants to be accepted to the programs will be determined as the result of the examination of the application documents by the related Faculty Administrative Council.

 APLICATIONS FROM UNIVERSITIES OTHER THAN SABANCI UNIVERSITY

General Rules for the Application Requirements:

1. Equality : The equality of the institutions and programs which candidates are to leave must have been recognized by YOK for the overseas applications.

2. Equivalence : Institutions and programs which candidates are to leave should be the equivalent of the Undergraduate Programs of SU.

3. Term Completion : Students who had completed first two semester of the undergraduate diploma programs can apply. Last two semester of the diploma programs can not be applied.

4. Grade Point Average : Applicants must possess a minimum cumulative grade point average GPA of 60/100 (2.29/4.00) or cumulative grade point average in the grade conversion table on the transcript. Candidates, applying from the universities implementing the grading system other than equivalency table of 4.00 and 100, should submit an official document and/or conversion table for the grades.

5. To Be Registered : Applicants must be registered in the current higher education institution as a student.

6. English Proficiency : The students certifying that they have passed one of the national and/or  international foreign language examinations at a level determined by the university and the ones who have graduated from a higher education where the medium of instruction is English are exempted from English Language exam. In all other applicants, the students are required to pass the English Language Assessment Exam (ELAE). Those candidates who fail to attend or get a satisfactory score in the exam are obliged to attend and successfully complete a full course of English Language Preparation in order to continue with undergraduate courses. Failure to complete this course successfully will result in termination of enrollment at Sabancı University.

7. Education Period : The total periods required to complete the program and those formerly passed must not exceed the maximum education period of 14 terms.

Application Documents:

All documents must have been ofically prepared in english or turkish languages. It is necessary to attach the Turkish or English notarized translations besides the original documents prepared in other languages.

1. Application Form and Application Fee : Applicants who apply for more than one program must fill just one Application Form. The form must have been fotocopied as many as the number of programs applied for and the bank receipt for the payment of the non-refundable fee of 275 TL to the SABANCI University account numbered 30727 (IBAN NO: TR87 0004 6007 1388 8000 0307 27) with Akbank SABANCI University Branch must be attached to each form. Applicants for sophomore year should indicate the program set related to the graduation program they wished to study on their application form. The departments of these applicants will be determined in accordance with Sabancı University Undergraduate Education Regulations.

1.  The Certificates of Examination Results : There must be a copy of OSYS certificate used for the admittance to the institutions the applicants are to leave for the applicants from domestic universities,including higher education associations in KKTC and those mentioned in the OSYM guide. 

       For  applicants, holding TR citizenship,  from overseas universities, should have one of the documents stated below:

In case of applications submitted from abroad, prospective students that are Turkish nationals must prove that they obtained the minimum score required to be placed in the relevant undergraduate program (185 points) in the OSYS exams administered in the year they are admitted to the university abroad or satisfied the requirements regarding any of the following examinations and minimum results.

• SAT 1 (min 1500/2400 score totally for Faculty of Engineering and Natural Science, min 1500/2400 score totally for Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and School of Management),
• ACT, Math, Science reasoning and total 21/36,
• GCE A Level Certificate (min. 2 courses),
• ABITUR (1-4 diploma score),
• International Baccalaureate  (IB min 24/45 diploma score),
• Matura (2/1 diploma score),
• French Bakalorya (min 10/20 diploma score).  
• Maturita (min 70/100 diploma score)

Foreign national students should submit one of the tests/diplomas stated in the below link.

http://www.sabanciuniv.edu/sites/default/files/2015-2016_uluslararasi_si...

1.  Transcript : An official document demonstrating all GPA's, grades, and all accepted courses from Student Affairs Office of the higher education institution the applicant is enrolled in.

1.  Detailed Description and Contents of The Courses : There must be documents with the contents and detailed descriptions of the courses indicated on the candidate's transcript. It will be useful for the overseas applicants to attach catalogs giving information about the foreign institutions or documents like these.

1.  English Proficiency Exam Result: The document certifying that the student has passed one of the national and/or international foreign language examinations at a level determined by the university (accepted by the University) or an official document indicating the program's education language prepared by the Student Affairs Office of the university the applicant is enrolled in(preferably enclosed) (for the fully English teaching institution) If the information is also indicated on the transcript, no more document is required.

1. Student Certificate :The document demonstrating that the applicant is a student of the institution prepared by the Student Affairs Office of the university the applicant is registered in.
2.  Certificate of Disciplinary Standing: The document indicating the disciplinary standing for the domestic applicants (preferably enclosed prepared by the Student Affairs Office at the university applicant is enrolled in)

1. Letter of Recommendation : Min 2, preferably 3 letters of recommendation (enclosed). Sample letter is attached to the Application Form.

1. High School Diploma : It is useful for the applicants graduated from domestic high schools to attach approved copy of their high school diploma and for the applicants graduated from overseas high schools to attach notarized turkish translations of their high school diploma and certificate of diploma equivalence from Turkish Ministry of Education - Teaching and Training Board. This certificate will be required later if the applicant is accepted.

1.  Certificate of Equivalence of YOK : A document issued by YÖK's Equivalency Unit - Recognition Office, certifying that the student’s higher education institution is recognized by YÖK (the Higher Education Council of Turkey)

1.  The Passport Pages: Those pages with photo and identification information and approved photocopies of the pages relating to the years of education in the foreign higher education institutions for the overseas applicants.

1.  The Document of Return from Abroad : The official writing indicating the state of the applicants whose parents have returned to Turkey upon completion of their offical duty or their working lives abroad.

1.  Financial assurance to have education in Sabancı University (required for foreign students admitted.)

1. Copies of certificates, courses, internships, sports competitions with rewards taken before.  

 Quotas:

Sabancı University President Professor A. Nihat Berker said he was confident that Sabancı University alumni would never have severe failures or hindrances in their journeys through life.

Professor Berker said, “Achievements of the present and the future are thanks to you above and beyond all.  It is thanks to your self-confidence, eagerness to tackle life, and your diverse yet freely-formed skills.  This is why you should thank yourselves before anyone.  Immediately afterwards, you should thank your parents and loved ones for bringing you up, missing you, and bearing with days and months of your absence.  They are now extremely proud of you, and we are thankful to them."

Professor Berker said “As Sabancı University faculty and employees, we served you to find your inner fire and happiness" and continued that the freedom of choice, human-focused mode of operation, constant questioning and striving for the better at Sabancı University was an example for Turkey, and event whole continents. Professor A. Nihat Berker said that the main purpose of a university is to serve it students, continuing "Of course, it must do this in the best way possible.  If there are no students, there is no university; if the students don't matter to a university, the university doesn't matter either."

Professor A. Nihat Berker went on, “As faculty and employees of Sabancı University, we have the opportunity to get to know you, exercise our minds, share your excitement and success, which give us all youth and enthusiasm.  This is a blessing that is not found in many other professions, and we are thankful for that. Your excitement makes Sabancı University a better school in all respects:  Just the latest examples include Times Higher Education’s "100 Under 50" rankings based on meticulous analysis and strict criteria.  We have been ranked 13th worldwide and 1st in Turkey.  The average age of the top 20 universities is 40.2, and at 16 years of age, we are the youngest of the top 20.  We are also 21st among all universities in Asia, regardless of age. We are 15th among universities in 22 emerging economies including the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa).  On the national scale, we were first once and second twice on the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Index compiled by the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology for three years.  I am sure that we will improve on these results in the years to come."

Professor Berker said that they were proud of other Turkish universities achieving high positions on international rankings, continuing "We will continue to be in effective and widespread collaboration with our great competitors. We are happy to be the university that grants the most assistance to other universities in Turkey.  We view Turkey as a vast campus, and are aware that our students are in fact our children."

Professor Nihat Berker mentioned the national and international, personal and collective achievements of Sabancı University students, alumni, faculty and employees in labs, artistic endeavors, books written, workplaces, sports fields, and across difficult geographical locations. He said that his happiest moments were sitting at a random table in the cafeteria during lunch, teaching physics to 300 students of the IF200 class, and the spontaneous laughter that erupted during commencement rehearsals. 

Professor Nihat Berker gave some advice to new graduates: "Life may be difficult at times, but it is a breathtaking adventure.  We all live once and there are no practice laps.  Your most important duty is to yourself.  This means making yourself happy and being successful in the way your heart wants, sometimes by changing direction.  A happy person becomes successful, and a successful person becomes happy.  A happy and successful person will benefit their surroundings.  The most important mission of the society is to provide an environment for the individual to be happy and successful, and guarantee rewards for skill and hard work.

Never fall in the trap of negativity and excuses.  We had a teacher in high school who always complained about the way the country was in, and said he would have been a great teacher if the country wasn't in such a bad way, and we hated him.  We all know the greatest counter-example.  That great man who influenced all our lives never said: "My country is occupied, my strongholds are occupied and my armies dispersed; what can I do?"  Instead, he rolled up his sleeves, used his power and wisdom, took risks, trusted the youth and the future, and won on behalf of all of us.  This is a great example for all of us, all of the time.  Don't run from problems - meet them head on, be positive and hopeful, never surrender, and be strong, assertive and resilient.  In the end, you will always win."

Professor Berker concluded by saying that the graduates were beginning a new phase of their lives: "Yet, even when you are at the sprightly young age of 60, never forget to regard life with the eyes of a child. Live with joy, excitement and curiosity."