Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum and Independent Woman Directors Project Director Melsa Ararat spoke on the project at the launch meeting of the European Professional Women’s Network on Wednesday, November 20, 2013.

Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum and Independent Woman Directors Project Director Melsa Ararat spoke on the “Independent Woman Directors Project” implemented with financial support by the Consulate of Sweden and strategic support of Egon Zehnder International’s Turkey office at the launch meeting of the European Professional Women’s Network.

The launch meeting was held at The Sofa Hotel with the attendance of around 200 woman directors.  Melsa Ararat explained the project and spoke about the “Independent Woman Directors Turkey 2013” report.

“Independent Woman Directors Project Report”

According to the results of the survey, which included all Istanbul Stock Exchange companies, the ratio of woman directors on boards did not change much from the 2012 value of 11.5%, and was 11.7% for 2013.  According to the report, reaching 25% representation of women on boards will take 44 years at this rate.

The report suggests that while there was no significant change in the ratio of woman directors, the ratio of independent directors in ISE companies increased by 23.5% during the same period and became %7.7, while the ratio of women among independent directors increased from 7.7% to 8.8%.  The fact that the ratio of women among independent directors increased while the total number of woman directors remained unchanged points out the effectiveness of the project.

The report warns that 44.5% of ISE companies have no women directors at all.  Although the situation is improving, the change from last year is only 4.9%.  At this rate, it will take 13 years for all ISE companies to have at least one woman on their boards.  Among the companies that have woman directors, 66% have only one woman sitting on the board, while only 0.5% of companies have three woman directors.  This is far removed from the threshold of three female members, which international surveys suggest is the minimum for women to be effective on a board of directors.

Among the members of board of directors committees, only 8.5% are women.  Audit committees are 8.2% versus 91.8% men, and corporate governance committees have 7% female members with 93% being men.

A comparison of ISE companies in 2008 and 2013 shows that the ratio of woman directors increased from 8.63% to a mere 11.25% from 2008 to 2013. 

The objective is to have all boards strengthened by women

The “Independent Woman Directors Project” implemented by the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum with financial support by the Consulate of Sweden and 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.

Specific targets of the project by the end of the general assemblies for the 2015 financial year include 25% women on the boards of ISE companies, all companies having at least one woman director, and the strengthening of boards by women.

Melis Bilen is a 2008 graduate of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences’ Manufacturing Systems Engineering program who has made a name for herself in the music scene.  She recently submitted songs for Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest.  We spoke to Melis about what it’s like to be a musician in Turkey, and her Eurovision journey.

We have been hearing about you in the music scene for years.  What have you been doing recently?

I published 6 promo albums so far.  I have 120 or so songs on the internet.  I don’t have a studio contract.  I don’t sell my albums.  I give them out during my performances.  I perform at events like company launches, openings, festivals and conferences.  I also compose and perform product, launch event and radio jingles.

We were proud to hear that you are one of the candidates to represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest.  Can you tell us more? 

Switzerland announced that foreign musicians were welcome to submit songs for representing the country in Eurovision.  I submitted five songs.  This was widely covered by the Swiss press.  Switzerland’s latest Eurovision win was 25 years ago with the song of another Turkish composer (Atilla Şereftuğ) that was performed by Celine Dion.  They had no wins after that, and they were unable to advance to the finals for the last two years; I think that is why they chose to do this, and it makes sense.

Why did you submit five songs?

To appeal to different musical styles.  I made five contemporary songs in Electronic RnB, Dubstep, Pop-rock, Latin-pop and RnB-hiphop.  These are upbeat, catchy songs that are appropriate to the Eurovision sound and are three minutes each, because that is how long Eurovision songs must be.  So there are alternatives for a variety of styles.

What will be next?

Nine finalists were chosen with online voting until November 18.  The finalists will perform before a jury in Switzerland on November 30.

Can you name a song that is the most special for you so we can post it here?

Many of my songs are very special because all have a story behind them.

But if I were to name one, it would be this live, one-shot acoustic recording with a single instrument.  This songs fills me with peace.  I hope you feel the same way.

What would be your advice for fellow Sabancı students whose paths would cross with music?

This is a very difficult and complex question.  I wish there was a reasonably convenient way to do this in Turkey.

I will begin with the unpleasant truth, and then give some advice.

Music isn’t easy in Turkey.  Most frequently, you need to take a few demo recordings to studios to see if they are interested, and they are mostly reluctant to invest in young musicians because of financial difficulties.  They will likely reject you, or not see you at all.  Or they could propose a deal where you pay for your album and videos, and if the album “catches on” as they say, you will be given a share of the profits.  There is no catching on.  You either have to pay a lot of money or know a lot of people to have your videos played on a number of TV stations.

You could make the best song in the world, but if it isn’t played on TV 50 times a day to hammer it into your head, that song is dead.  Even if people like a song, they download it for free instead of buying an album.  Performers make money not by selling albums or paid songs, but by stage performances.  In order to get a performing contract, you need to have made a name for yourself.  That means you need to have a good media agent who can promote you through the media, or you need to convince your studio to use their media connections for you, if they have any.  Some press agents ask for a lot of money, and then fail to put you on TV shows that they promised.  Producers prefer to milk the most out of singers who are already known rather than to invest in unknown people.  Those people –or people who pay a lot of money for it– get to appear on TV shows and have their videos played.  Producers make more money this way.  And you as an enthusiastic and talented singer wait forever for your debut.

Besides, nothing other than the popular has an audience in Turkey, which is the bitter truth.  Even the greatest song will fail to catch on if not made famous in the press and played over and over on music stations.  On the other hand, the cheesiest tune will get stuck in people’s minds as it is played virtually everywhere you go, and then it becomes a hit.  Being a hit or a flop in Turkey has nothing to do with the quality of the song, and everything to do with its promotion.

My advice is basically to do this job abroad.  It will not be any easier, but at least they will not drag you down there; they will give talent a chance.  If you are seeking to do it here, you will need to create your own audience.  You must be willing to pay for your songs and videos yourself, share your creations with your followers, and try to secure contracts in the future.  This is a long and difficult road.  But it is a clean one.

So if you are going to start the music business, I wish you good luck and godspeed!

Sabancı University Student Association Cochair Çağlar Genç: "We must transition to a student-centric education system for a better Turkish future.”

Sabancı University Student Association Cochair Çağlar Genç took part in the Youth Summit organized by the Boğaziçi University Student Body, speaking in a panel discussion titled “The Position of the Student in Higher Education in Turkey” moderated by Sabancı University Emeritus Professor Üstün Ergüder.

Çağlar Genç spoke on the shortcomings of the central admission exam and choice submission in advance, arguing that students should be admitted to schools and not major programs.  Çağlar argued in favor of an interdisciplinary education system for maximum student achievement and satisfaction, and discussed the Sabancı University system by association.  Çağlar gave an overview of the education system at Sabancı University, emphasizing that the transition to a student-centric system would be more promising for the future of Turkey.  Çağlar's presentation received wide interest.

Outstanding achievement by Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences student Mehmet Çağrı Çalpur in the TÜBİTAK 1512 Program

Outstanding achievement by Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences student Mehmet Çağrı Çalpur in the TÜBİTAK 1512 Program

Sabancı University Computer Science and Engineering doctorate student Mehmet Çağrı Çalpur successfully completed the second phase of the TÜBİTAK 1512 Entrepreneurship Support Program in Stages 2013, and was entitled to a capital grant of TL 100,000.

Held for the second time this year, the TÜBİTAK program received 1208 submissions for the first phase.  Advancing to the second stage were 441 business ideas, 377 of which were assessed and 140 were chosen for support.

Computer Science and Engineering doctorate student Mehmet Çağrı Çalpur's chosen business plan for “Systematic Testing of Multi-Threaded Software Systems” was developed as a result of the master’s thesis completed within SUSOFT – Software Engineering Research Group led by Assistant Professor Cemal Yılmaz of Sabancı University.  STA Technologies was founded as a startup by Mehmet Çağrı Çalpur, Assistant Professor Cemal Yılmaz and Inovent A.Ş., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sabancı University and the only technology commercialization company in Turkey, at the Gebze Organized Industrial Zone Technology Park according to this business plan, and is currently engaged in research for Test Automation Tools for Software Systems.

Sabancı University SUCOOL Program is now accepting applications

Start-Up Company League (SUCOOL) is Sabancı University’s pre-incubation facility for innovative enterprises.  Named the most innovative and entrepreneurial university of Turkey, Sabancı University partnered with MIT and the National University of Singapore for a facility that provides mentorship, training, business development and office space support to innovative startups.  SUCOOL is open to applications by all technology-based entrepreneurs.

Applications will be collected through November, and 5 to 10 projects will be chosen to start receiving supoort in December.

The SUCOOL Pre-Incubation Program consists of four stages:

The program begins with the “SUKur” training and mentorship phase between December and February, where entrepreneurs learn how to deisgn the right business model for the right product to the right market with the right team.

They implement their plans in the “SUYap” phase between March and May, and improve the plans through their learnings.

The “SUSat” phase in June involves presentations to investors and the ecosystem about their progress.

In the last phase of the program, one project each is chosen to represent Turkey in the entrepreneurship camp and competition of MIT and the National University of Singapore, respectively.  At the end of their training, participants make case presentations to international investors for prizes.  In 2013, teams competing at MIT and NUS returned with 15,000 dollars in prizes.  

SUCOOL has Turkey’s leading and growing mentor pool that includes Ali Karabey, Numan Numanbayraktaroğlu and Dilek Dayındarlı of the 212 Invesment Fund; Cloudarena CEO Arden Argopyan; Vistek CEO Aytül Erçil; Venturro CEO Burak Yaman; 3TS Fund Vice President Elbruz Yılmaz; GEDS CEO Gülay Özkan; Turkishwin founder Melek Pulatkonak; Yemeksepeti CIO Melih Ödemiş; Procter & Gamble Brussels R&D director Merih Pasin; İnovent CEO Ömer Hızıroğlu; and PEAK Games CEO Sidar Şahin.

SUCOOL is open to outside applications while teams that include Sabancı University students, researchers and alumni have priority.  The program supports projects and teams that respond to a need in the market, propose improved models for existing products and services, and aim for large markets and sustainable business models.  Other requirements are the presence of a team, business model and roadmap, and progress on the product and customer fronts.

Events were held during the Global Entrepreneurship Week to promote SUCOOL:

Meetings were held at the Sabancı University campus in Tuzla on Tuesday, November 19 between 18:30 and 21:30, amd at the Sabancı University building in Karaköy on Thursday, November 21 between 19:00 and 22:00.

For more information: sucool.sabanciuniv.edu 

The first conference in the “Independent Woman Directors” Project implemented by the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum was held on Thursday, November 14, 2013 at the Conrad Hotel.

Keynote speaker was Global Board Ready Women Founding Partner and Global Telecom’s Women Network President Bridget P. Cosgrave, followed by the presentation of Turkey’s first “Boards Empowered by Women” awards with the attendance of the Consul-General of Sweden, Jens Odlander.  The “2013 Independent Woman Directors Report” with a foreword by Capital Markets Board President Dr. Vahdettin Ertaş was also presented in the conference.

The first “Independent Woman Directors Conference” was held at the Istanbul Conrad Hotel on Thursday, November 14th as part of the “Independent Woman Directors” project implemented by the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum with the financial support of the Consulate of Sweden and the strategic support of Egon Zehnder International’s Turkey office. 

After a welcome speech by Sabancı University School of Management Dean Füsun Ülengin, the opening speech was given by one of Turkey’s first professional woman directors and Doğan Holding Board of Directors member İmre Barmanbek.

“Companies with more women in senior management positions achieve better organizational and financial performance.”

A video message sent by Viviane Reding, Vice-President and Commissioner Responsible for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship of the European Commission said that women still faced considerable obstacles in reaching decision-making positions.

Reding’s message continued: “Initiatives like Independent Woman Directors help women overcome obstacles and bring equality to the world of business.  I am recording this message because you are a member of the Global Board Ready Women Project – one that I wholeheartedly support.  My project and your project will help women shatter glass ceilings and reach higher positions around the world.”

Keynote speaker Bridget P. Cosgrave, Global Board Ready Women Founding Partner and Global Telecom’s Women Network President, discussed the ratio of women on the boards of European companies.

“Independent Woman Directors Project Report”

Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum and Independent Woman Directors Project Director Melsa Ararat presented the “Independent Woman Directors Turkey 2013” report prepared by Sabancı University.  Melsa Ararat said, “A greater number of women on boards will ensure that the social implications of economic decisions will be considered, and contribute to the rebuilding of the deteriorated social confidence in businesses, and help the humanization of workplaces.”

Companies with “Boards Empowered by Women” in Turkey

The first “Boards Empowered by Women Awards” were presented by Consul-General of Sweden, Jens Odlander.  Winners of the award were Turcas Petrol, Türk Tuborg, Martı Otel İşletmeleri, Logo Yazılım and Hürriyet Gazetecilik.  The awards were based on index calculations designed by Sabancı University faculty members Melsa Ararat, Işın Güler and Özgecan Koçak.  The index considers “Ratio of Woman Board Members,” “Ratio of Independent Woman Directors,” “Ratio of Women in Commissions,” and “Ratio of Women as Vice-Presidents of Boards” as well as confirming whether the threshold of at least three members has been met.  Awards were received by Turcas Petrol Board of Directors Chair Erdal Aksoy, Martı Otel Board of Directors Chair Pakize  Oya Narin, Logo Yazılım Board of Directors Chair Tuğrul Tekbulut, Hürriyet Gazetecilik senior management member Gönül Birkiye and Türk Tuborg senior management member Ayşe Keskinel on behalf of their respective companies.

The conference concluded with a speech by TAV Havalimanları, Migros and Doğan Holding Indepedent Board of Directors Member Tayfun Bayazıt on “Best Practices in Board Nominations.”

Selmiye Alkan Gürsel, professor of Materials Science in the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, was chosen to the editorial board of the reputable scientific journal 'Frontiers in Energy Research.'  Gürsel’s main interests include fuel cells.  We talked to Gürsel about her new role: that of an editor.

Can you tell us more about the academic merits of Frontiers in Energy Research?

Frontiers in Energy Research is a leading publication in the field of energy that publishes outstanding inventions and innovations.  Frontiers in Energy Research is a common platform for bioenergy and biofuels, energy storage, energy systems and policies, fuel cells, process and energy systems engineering, and solar energy.  My editorship is on energy storage, which focuses on the scientific, technological, engineering and application aspects of electrochemical energy storage systems (capacitors, various types of battery, and hybrid systems).  This field specializes on innovative, influential and high-profile articles in materials science and engineering, nanotechnology, physics, chemistry and electrochemistry.

What will be your duty on the editorial board?  What does your assignment cover?

I will be a 'Review Editor' in the Frontiers in Energy Research-Energy Storage journal.  Articles submitted to the journal are reviewed by several referees.  My task is to consolidate the opinions of referees, assess submissions in terms of scientific content, accuracy and relevance, and ultimately to make the final decision of whether a submission will be printed in the journal.

What would be the implications of having a Sabancı University faculty member on the editorial board of such a journal?

The editorial board of this journal is composed of professors from Korea, China, United States, Japan, Germany, Italy and Australia, who are experts in their respective fields.  Together with an esteemed professor from the Middle East Technical University who joined the editorial board just after me, we are the only members of the board from Turkey.  I am proud to be a member of the editorial board of a leading journal on behalf of Sabancı University.

Sabancı University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Professor Ersin Kalaycıoğlu and Koç University Professor disclosed the “Family, Work and Gender in Turkey” report prepared as part of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP).

The 2012 field survey of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) was conducted between February and April 2013 with 1555 respondents from 59 provinces.

The survey assessed family structure, how many children families wanted, opinions about women’s participation in the workforce, and whether the family was gaining strength as an institution.  Findings and discussions were presented by Professor Ali Çarkoğlu and Professor Ersin Kalaycıoğlu.

According to the information presented at the conference: As Turkey underwent rapid urbanization and industrialization after World War II, the three generations that started families during this period increasingly settled in urban areas and worked in the industrial and service sectors.  In this environment, a nuclear family composed of mother, father and at least one child became the norm.  This is confirmed by the findings in the report.  The majority accept the necessity for both men and women to work outside the home for income.  Nevertheless, a great majority of men and women still believe that the primary role of the woman is to raise children and do housework, and that the man must earn income outside the home and support the family.  It is clear that the idea of a woman working outside the home is not desirable unless necessary.

The outcome of this is the expectation that working women must perform effectively both in the workplace and at home.  This causes only one-fourth of women to enter the job market, while the majority only seek outside work when their children start school and they have free time at home.  This leads to wanting fewer children, with most of the respondents wanting two.  Secondly, the burden this brings onto the woman requires several times more time and energy than men.  Compared to the countries that took part in ISSP 2002 globally, this burden is considerable.

The situation becomes worse for the woman when there are elderly relatives who need care in the household.  Regardless of whether the relative is hers or her husband’s, the woman assumes the heavy burden first and foremost.  It is understood that men do not contribute to regular household work apart from small repairs around the house, leaving most of the task to women.

These findings may suggest an unfair task division in the family.  The majority of both men and women agree that women have an unfairly large share of the task.  However, it is also fact that not much is being done in the way of changing the situation.  All things considered, the high rate of satisfaction and the presence of a satisfied majority indicates that there is not much expectation for change. 

Government support is the most expected means of lightening the burden, and few consider private or nonprofit civil society organizations to be able to help.

The final remarks were that the data collected would be made publicly available within a year.  Sociological and socio-psychological statistical analysis of the data will make the findings of the report more significant, and comparative studies will provide more insight into the data presented in the report.

ATATURK REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY WILL TAKE PLACE ON THE MORNING OF MONDAY, 11 NOVEMBER AT THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER.

ATATURK REMEMBRANCE DAY PROGRAM

(PERFORMING ARTS CENTER)

8:45 Commencement

8:45-9.05 Slide Show

9.05 Moment of Silence & National Anthem

9:10 Remembrance Speech by A. Nihat Berker & Fuat Keyman


DUE TO THE CEREMONY, THERE WILL BE NO CLASSES BETWEEN  8:40 AND 10:30

Sabancı University hosts Unilever President Paul Polman
“Today is the best day to start building a better world!”

Bringing the global world of business to its students with more than 700 conferences every year, Sabancı University hosted a lecture by Paul Polman, President and CEO of Unilever, one of the world’s largest fast-moving consumer goods companies.  Paul Polman gave a lecture titled “Creating a Better Future Everyday Made By You.”

The lecture was hosted by Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı, President Professor Nihat Berker and School of Management Dean Professor Füsun Ülengin.

In her introductory remarks to almost 1000 university students, Professor Füsun Ülengin said that the growing interest in sustainable growth pleased everyone.  Ülengin noted that sustainability had become a strategic priority for the private sector in recent years, and that Unilever was a global leader in innovation for sustainability.

Füsun Ülengin said that by embracing a similar vision, Sabancı University topped the “University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Index” created by the Turkish Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology for the first time in 2012.  Ülengin noted that Sabancı University specifically invites global leaders on sustainability, informing the audience that Sabancı University is the first university signatory of the UN Global Compact in Turkey, that its MBA and Executive MBA are ranked in FT lists, and that the School of Management is a signatory of Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).  Ülengin also noted that the Corporate Governance Forum under the School of Management implements the Turkish leg of the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Independent Female Directors Project.  Füsun Ülengin concluded her remarks by saying that the objective of Sabancı University was to contribute to the creation of the future and develop leaders for the future.

Taking the floor, Paul Polman said, “Interdependent financial structures, emerging technologies and economic systems make management in a global world more complex.  A fast-changing, irresolute, complex and obscure future awaits us.  It is clear that the balance of the world has been disrupted, and we must all take the responsibility to work towards changing the world.”

Polman stressed the need to transition to a more fair and sustainable mode of capitalism in the light of the consequences of rapid globalization, and said that the secret to successful growth laid therein.

“The social and environmental issues we face are harder than ever.  Population is booming, the climate is changing at an increasing pace, and water resources are dwindling.  While one billion people suffer from hunger, another 1 billion people live in plenty, and over 1 billion children die every year of intestinal diseases” said Polman, and called for the youth to support sustainable life:

“Improving the current situation is our responsibility as today’s leaders, whether in business, government or civil society, and this responsibility will be yours in the future as the next generation of leaders.  Today is the best day to start building a better world.  This is our duty and our responsibility.”

Sustainability is a business model that can both be profitable and have positive impact on nature and humanity
Explaining that Unilever strives to lead global change, Paul Polman continued, “However, this is not something that we can manage alone.  This is why collaboration with NGOs, governments, businesses and universities is of great importance to us.”

Polman said: “At Unilever, our corporate objective is to grow our business by a factor of two while halving our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact.  Our Sustainable Life Plan helped us to grow our business by 30% in the past 4 years while reducing energy and water consumption and waste.  Our health and hygiene campaigns touched the lives of a quarter of a billion people.  We now obtain one-third of our raw materials from sustainable sources.  We enabled 450.000 small-scale farmers to receive training in sustainable agriculture.  We have thus proven that sustainability is a winning business model that pays dividends to both the environment and humanity.”

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