Our Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences faculty members Ersin Göğüş and Ali Koşar have been awarded by the FABED Scientific Board with Outstanding Achievement Award.

Our Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences faculty members Ersin Göğüş and Ali Koşar have been awarded by the FABED Scientific Board with Outstanding Achievement Award.

Consequent to the assessment of superior scientific works on the international level on “High energy astrophysics”, FABED Scientific Board decided to present the 2012 “FABED Eser Tümen Outstanding Achievement Award” in Physics to FENS Faculty Member faculty members of Sabancı University; Associate Professor Ersin Göğüş and to Associate Professor Ali Koşar; consequent to assessment of the outstanding international scientific work on "Nano and micro fluid mechanics”.

Feyzi Akkaya Scientific Activities Support Fund (FABED), presents outstanding achievement awards to young scientists of Turkish Republic origin identified to be superior with their scientific activities and to have the potential to provide a universal level of contribution to science in the future. 

Daniel Mokhtari
Sabanci University Trip
3/25/12 – 3/30/12

Trip to Sabanci University, Spring 2012

My trip to Sabanci University this past spring break has been one of my most amazing,
and rewarding experiences traveling abroad. When I was first accepted to the program, I was
very excited, but a bit nervous as well. What would Turkey be like? Would the food be to my
liking? How would the campus and dorms be? As I arrived at Sabanci for the first time, I
realized that these apprehensions were unfounded—I had left the familiarity of MIT only to
arrive at a place not so different from what I have grown to call home. Indeed, whether it be the manner and content of classes, campus facilities, or the students and faculty, my trip to Turkey showed me that Sabanci is a phenomenal institution of and most rigorous standards.

As part of my experience, I attended lectures and classes on campus throughout the week.
As part of this, I visited a variety of classes: plant ecology, philosophy (Science and Society),
western music, language and cognition, advanced illustration, introduction to signal processing
and information systems, and astronomy. Many of these classes lasted two to three hours in
length—something I was not accustomed to at MIT. This length allowed the teacher to delve
more in depth in a particular subject over the course of the class, which is something appreciated, but my jet lag did not help me stay focused the whole class for the first few days. Not only were all the professors courteous to us and allowed us to sit in, they often engaged directly with us as part of the class. Particularly, a few MIT students and I had a great experience discussing studies and current research in a smaller language and cognition class. Indeed, I found that some of Sabanci’s smaller classes were the most rewarding, like the advanced illustration class I attended, in which feedback could be given right away and conversations could occur between the students and professor.

The Sabanci campus is beautiful, and the organization of the buildings, separated by
subject type, is both intuitive and easy to navigate (even for a non Turkish speaker). Over the
course of this trip, I had the opportunity to see amazing places throughout the city of Istanbul.
Whether it was a bazaar or a mosque, each site we traveled to had it s own unique history,
heritage, and emotion. Indeed, I found Istanbul to be a vibrant city, spanning cultures, religions,
and eras. Despite the fact that I visited an assortment of mosques throughout my time in
Istanbul, I remember each one for its own distinctness—no two were alike. I remember vividly
the first day we arrived in Istanbul. The whole group was tired, but president Berker wanted to
take us into the city to see a mosque—the Blue Mosque. When we arrived, I was taken aback by its sheer size and magnitude; how could such a structure have been built nearly five hundred
years ago?

The richness of the Turkish culture is something I will never forget. The food was
delicious, and I particularly enjoyed the pistachio-filled kebob and baklava I ate at the Hamdi
Restaurant. Besides the food, the people I met had so much to share. Indeed, given Turkey’s
location in the world, many were better travelled than I, and had been across Asia and Europe.
Being a crossroad of the east and west, is one of Turkey’s most unique features I believe—the
people themselves possess a broader way of thinking that reflects a cross-cultural heritage.

This trip to Sabanci University has truly been a once in a lifetime experience for me. I
saw beautiful architecture, ate wonderful meals, and experienced a style of schooling that, while similar to that I was familiar with, was markedly unique. Most of all, however, I made new
friends among the Turkish students that gave much of their own time and effort to make sure we all had a phenomenal experience. I cannot thank enough President Berker, Sabanci University, MIT, Dean Hastings, and all the students who made this trip amazing. I look forward to visiting Turkey again, and hope to see my new friends there when I do!

The blog contest “Tell us your (Ex)change story” was launched by IRO in April and applications to the contest were received until 15 June 2012. All submitted posts have been evaluated by the jury based on the competition rules. Now the best six posts are open to vote on facebook.

You can vote for your favourite blog post and help your candidates get the highest point and increase their chance of winning until 2 July 2012, 8:30 am.

Prizes:

1st Prize: IPAD 2

2nd Prize: WII Nintendo Set

3rd Prize: Adidas Gift Card for 150 TL

Selected Blog Posts (Turkish, A-Z):
Avrupa'nın Güneydoğu Ucundan Kuzeydoğu Ucuna

Bir Erasmus Macerası: İspanya Notları

Devasa Gökyüzü, Bozuk Bagaj Kapağı ve Sıcak Pizzalar

Erasmus Demek ne Demek?

Florida, Amerika İçinde Bambaşka bir Ülke

Hollanda Notları ve Kendini Tanımak: Bu bir Kişisel Gelişim Yazısı Değildir

Winners of the competition will be announced on facebook and IRO website on July 2, 2012.

We wish candidates good luck!

Sabancı University has 602 new graduates in the 2011-2012 academic year

 
Sabancı University held a commencement ceremony for its 13th undergraduate and 10th graduate classes on Saturday, June 23rd, where 472 bachelor’s degrees, 118 master’s degrees and 12 doctorate degrees were awarded.  Among graduates this year were international students from the United States, Germany, Albania, Palestine, Iran, Spain, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Jordan and the Turkish Republic of Cyprus.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı gave advice to new graduates and discussed the international alliances and future objectives of Sabancı University.

This year’s closing lecture was given by Republican People’s Party Deputy Şafak Pavey.

The 13th undergraduate and 10th graduate classes of Sabancı University received their diplomas with a commencement ceremony held on Saturday, June 23rd.  The ceremony was held on campus in Tuzla with more than five thousand guests.  The top-ranking students of the three faculties received their awards during the ceremony.  These students were Beste Mutlu in the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Armanç Yıldız in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and Sevda Baysal in the School of Management.

Speakers at the ceremony were Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı and President Professor Nihat Berker as well as Zeynep Gülen Hashmi on behalf of graduate students and Emre Coşkun on behalf of undergraduate students.

Commemorative bricks were presented at the ceremony to Hüseyin Geliş representing Siemens Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi and Karl W. Lee representing SK Engineering Company, sponsors of Sabancı University other than the Sabancı Family and the Sabancı Foundation.

Güler Sabancı gave advice on life
Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı addressed graduates in her speech, giving advice on various aspects of life.  Güler Sabancı said, “Take care not to miss any valuable opportunities that life may bring you; do not fear change; some of the most important attributes your university instilled in you are liberal thought, freedom from prejudice and being open to different opinions and views.  Be flexible; create and lead the change.  Continue developing yourselves with a view towards the future, and think about how you can turn difficulties into opportunities instead of thinking about the difficult side of every opportunity.  Take what you have gained from your university wherever you go.”

Güler Sabancı said that Sabancı University alumni will make a difference wherever they go, and reminded young people of the importance of having aims and goals: “If you don’t know what port you will be calling at, no wind is the right wind for you.”

Güler Sabancı discussed the objectives of the university
Güler Sabancı said that Sabancı University will continue to improve and be a pioneer in many fields both in Turkey and on international platforms.

Some of the objectives Güler Sabancı mentioned for Sabancı University were:
• Becoming an effective and successful center of excellence in nanotechnology research and application;
• More research and academic publications on global issues;
• New alliances with international research institutions and reputable universities to advance the generation of knowledge;
• Increasing the number of international faculty and students.

Güler Sabancı explained that the Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center – SUNUM, which was inaugurated in July 2011, offers its scientific research facilities to all researchers in Turkey as well as the industry.

International alliances explained by Güler Sabancı
Güler Sabancı elaborated on the international alliances of Sabancı University.  Speaking on the results of the alliance between the Sabancı University School of Management and MIT Sloan School of Management, Sabancı said that distinguished scholars are giving lectures at MIT and Sabancı University, and that these courses were being taken by Sabancı and MIT students together.

Güler Sabancı also spoke on the alliance between the German Stiftung Mercator and the Istanbul Policy Center for developing public policies, saying, “Work has begun on issues such as climate change, German-Turkish-European relations and education.  More than 100 German students will attend courses on our campus this summer.  Established to deliver on our responsibility for the planet, the Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate has also begun working.  We will have new projects with the MIT Energy Initiative.  Our efforts continue for new alliances.”

President Nihat Berker: Time is the most valuable; work hard and play hard
Sabancı University President Professor Nihat Berker told graduates that they were embarking upon a journey to success, aided by their professional qualifications as well as their social abilities.

President Berker mentioned the achievements of the graduates during their years at the university, saying, “Our graduates proved to be high-achievers, building new materials and making inventions that make our lives easier.  Be it the winners of the Technology Enterprise Capital prizes of the Ministry of Science and Industry, the budding entrepreneurs who transformed their business ideas to startup companies and took part in the industry, the promising young artists who proved their talents in art projects, every one of our successful students have the energy and commitment of Sabancı University behind them.  There is no shortage of extraordinary stories in our school.”

Concluding his speech, President Berker said, “Commencement will take you to another crucial phase of your life.  In ten to twenty years, you will see a vast diversity of opinions and thoughts among your fellow students.  You will see that things that you enjoy doing will galvanize you against difficulties and improve your resilience.  You will take pleasure from fighting against difficulties.  The desire to succeed cannot simply be cast off.  Be resilient and don’t lose your student spirit so you may start over or take a different path.  Never forget that there is a lesson to be learned from everyone, wherever and whenever it may be.  Time is the most valuable; work hard and play hard.  The rest is just a loss of time.  I wish you hope, happiness and pride in the path that you will choose.”

Three graduates received Gürsel Sönmez Awards
Endowed in the memory of the late Gürsel Sönmez, a Sabancı University faculty member who passed away in 2006, the Dr. Gürsel Sönmez Research Awards were presented at the commencement ceremony.  Winners were Tolg Dinç from the Graduate Program in Electronic Engineering, Nurdagül Anbar from the Doctorate Program in Mathematics, and  Zeynep Altıntaş from the Doctorate Program in Biosciences and Bioengineering.

The hat-toss was followed by a dance show and live music by Ayhan Sicimoğlu.  Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı joined the dance to share the excitement of graduation with the students.

Closing lecture by Şafak Pavey
This year’s closing lecture was given by Republican People’s Party deputy Şafak Pavey on “People and Inventions.”

The Sabancı University Commencement Ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 23rd, 2012.  The countdown has begun for the commencement class.  Would you like to share your wishes with the commencement class and give them support during this important phase of their lives?

You can send your messages to gazetesu@sabanciuniv.edu and we will begin posting them on the gazeteSU/Commencement’12 page starting on Thursday, June 14.

Messages that you send through Sabancı University social media will be aired live at the cocktail area on the night of Saturday, June 23.

You can share your comments through our social media channels below:
 
f: susocial.sabanciuniv.edu

t: twitter.com/sabanciu

     #SUMezuniyet12

Sabancı University will be seeing off its 13th undergraduate and 10th graduate classes at the commencement ceremony to be held on Saturday, June 23rd, 2012.

As a signature event in commencement activities, a Closing Lecture will be given to the commencement class on the day before the ceremony.  This year’s closing lecture will take place on Friday, June 22nd, and will be given by Şafak Pavey, Deputy of Istanbul of the Republican People’s Party.

Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı and President A. Nihat Berker will also attend the Commencement Ceremony, where awards endowed in honor of Gürsel Sönmez, a member of Sabancı University faculty who passed away in 2006, will be given.

Following the hat-toss, the night will ignite with live music by Ayhan Sicimoğlu.

Previous commencement ceremony

Last month, Sabancı University School of Management students paid a 15 daylong visit to MIT Sloan School of Management in Boston.

In the frame of the first organized MIT Sloan School of Management excursion, 45 Sabancı Executive MBA students, holding executive and senior executive positions, went to MIT Sloan for two weeks and had a chance to become familiar with the work environment in the US. Students visited different companies located around Boston, participated in various seminars taught by MIT faculty and completed a global enterprise project in alliance with MIT Sloan Leadership Center. Students including Beste Aygün, Cihan Öztürk, Levent Kirazoğlu, Merter Pıcakçı, Merve Evran, Tuğba Akgün Konuş and Zeynep Karakaya shared their thoughts about MIT Sloan School of Management experience. Students, all very satisfied with the 15 daylong MIT Sloan School of Management visit, stated that the MIT Sloan collaboration was one of the main factors for choosing SU EMBA.

Beste Aygün: “It was a mind-blowing experience” 

1. Do you feel content with your educational trip to the US organized by Sabancı University School of Management and MIT Sloan? What impressed you the most during this trip?

I’m very satisfied with this trip. It has been an astonishingly mind-blowing experience for me. Plenty of things have impressed me during this trip but I find the extraordinary ecosystem uniting the entrepreneur, university and the capital triple very striking. Additionally, the governmental support for the growth of this powerful ecosystem was also remarkable and inspiring.

2. In which ways will the education you got at MIT Sloan be helpful and beneficial to you, your job and your carrier?

The first week of this educational trip was about leadership, which-I think-was extremely beneficial to all of us. This week made me question my own leadership skills. I gained valuable knowledge about leadership and how to improve my leadership skills. I firmly believe that I will profit a lot from this knowledge, when I start working with my own team. During the leadership week, the transition from revealing the mystical cover of “leadership” to making the concept of leadership more tangible and applicable to everyday life impressed me the most. In the second week dedicated to innovation, we had chance to thoroughly learn and think about the contemporary terms like “start-up”, “innovation”, “venture capital” and “angel investor”. We had chance to learn and discuss the examples of the world-wide known experts what these terms in real life mean, their tangible influences on thousands of people and most importantly steps to make an innovative startup idea a world-wide success. In my opinion, these two weeks were trip an unparalleled experience. The knowledge we gained about innovation is not only relevant for independent entrepreneurs, but also for people working for global companies and I will definitely apply the innovative strategies I learnt at the program for my own business.

3. Was the MIT Sloan alliance an important factor in your decision to choose SU EMBA?

Definitely!

4. Do you want to share any thoughts, experiences or impressions about your education and MIT trip for potential Sabancı EMBA students?

I will be very pleased to talk and share my great experiences about the EMBA at Sabanci as well as the MIT trip for the future participants.

Cihan Öztürk: “EMBA does not only provide a broad networking opportunity, it also enhances your theoretical and especially practical skills”. 

1. Do you feel content with your educational trip to the US organized by Sabancı University School of Management and MIT Sloan? What impressed you the most during this trip?

Yes, I feel very content with it and the leadership models impressed me the most.

2. In which ways will the education you got at MIT Sloan be helpful and beneficial to you, your job and your carrier?

I think that the MIT Program has improved my leadership skills and I will definitely experiment with the new methods on my team to manage them more influentially and to increase the overall efficiency.

3. Was the MIT Sloan alliance an important factor in your decision to choose SU EMBA?

Yes.

4. Do you want to share any thoughts, experiences or impressions about your education and MIT trip for potential Sabancı EMBA students?

I’m very pleased with the program. It provides students with broad networking opportunities and improves not only their theoretical knowledge, but also their practical skills.

Levent Kirazoğlu: “This program might make you say ‘I wish it never ends…’”

1. Do you feel content with your educational trip to the US organized by Sabancı University School of Management and MIT Sloan? What impressed you the most during this trip?

I feel very content with the trip. The MIT culture, dynamics of the professors and their passion for teaching have influenced me a lot. Like at Sabancı, one of the most remarkably distinguishing features of MIT is to leave the conventional educational methods and replace them by strong passion and commitment to combine the practical and theoretical knowledge together.

2. In which ways will the education you got at MIT Sloan be helpful and beneficial to you, your job and your carrier?

For me, the benefits related to my career goals and job comes later. First and foremost, this program has contributed significantly to my personal growth, which I will eventually reflect on my career- no doubts.

3. Was the MIT Sloan alliance an important factor in your decision to choose SU EMBA?

Yes, it was an important factor in my decision.

4. Do you want to share any thoughts, experiences or impressions about your education and MIT trip for potential Sabancı EMBA students?

Attending Sabancı EMBA Program means a challenging 1.5-year for employees. Nevertheless, friendships you make the sense of accomplishment you ultimately have, the experience and the quality of instructors, 2 week MIT program and a lot more make this arduous 1.5-year really enjoyable. EMBA might make you say “I wish it never ends” at the end.

Merter Pıçakçı: “One of the best features of the MIT trip was to get to know my friends better. It was an exceptional experience, which I definitely won’t forget for many years” 

1. Do you feel content with your educational trip to the US organized by Sabancı University School of Management and MIT Sloan? What impressed you the most during this trip?

I feel very content with the MIT Sloan trip. One of the most impressive parts of this trip was to see MIT’s innovative and entrepreneurial approach to practice. For instance, we visited the Deshpande Center, which supports innovation and saw the necessary steps and contributing channels to make an “idea” happen, which was definitely a genuine and valuable experience.

2. In which ways will the education you got at MIT Sloan be helpful and beneficial to you, your job and your carrier?

The most important thing I’ve learnt at MIT was the fact that even though product or service might be the most tech-savvy one available in the market, it still has to be responsive to customer’s needs. Complex products or services might be a great hindrance for you in your entrepreneurial adventure. The MIT courses were a great opportunity for the entrepreneurs and the ones experimenting with new strategies in a company. I firmly believe that this trip has broadened our perspectives by introducing us to different education and work environments.

3. Was the MIT Sloan alliance an important factor in your decision to choose SU EMBA?

I’ve been doing research about the EMBA programs in the last four years. Hence, I attended the EMBA Info Sessions at Sabancı University couple of times. To be honest, one of the main factors I’ve chosen Sabancı EMBA over others is the new MIT Sloan alliance along with the pioneer faculty.

4. Do you want to share any thoughts, experiences or impressions about your education and MIT trip for potential Sabancı EMBA students?

The differences of the Sabancı EMBA Program from other EMBA programs in Turkey are its proximity to industrial regions, great faculty and definitely the alliance with one of the world’s premier institutions: MIT. Especially during the MIT trip, I got to know the strategic, political and cultural structures of famous foreign companies better. This trip also encouraged students to get to know each other better, do more group projects and exchange ideas. The time constraint due to students’ professional lives does not encourage them to socialize a lot with each other during the regular term. Nevertheless, MIT trip gave us sufficient time to get to know each other better. It was an unforgettable experience.

Merve Evran: “I want to thank to Güler Sabancı and all others who put a great effort for making this alliance between Sabancı and MIT happen”  

1. Do you feel content with your educational trip to the US organized by Sabancı University School of Management and MIT Sloan? What impressed you the most during this trip?

I’m very pleased with this educational trip. What impressed me the most was the diverse methods and strategies used in the first week of the program, which were all though provoking and very far from recitation. Even though I went to college in the US, I have never had such courses. I’ve encountered lots of new methods I will definitely use in my future seminars.

2. In which ways will the education you got at MIT Sloan be helpful and beneficial to you, your job and your carrier?

MIT provided us with great tips about leadership and innovation. Simulations during the lessons have strengthened our knowledge.  We have encountered analytically designed methodologies of diverse approaches, which are not only applicable in the work environment but also in our daily lives. I will definitely consider these methodologies in my decision making process each time before I take any further steps.

3. Was the MIT Sloan alliance an important factor in your decision to choose SU EMBA?

It was the only reason for me to choose EMBA at Sabancı University. Since I completed my undergraduate degree overseas, I was planning to pursue my Masters overseas, but at the same time I was very content with my job here. When I found out about this program, I was very excited because it wouldn’t make me quit my job, yet, it will also give me an opportunity to study overseas.

4. Do you want to share any thoughts, experiences or impressions about your education and MIT trip for potential Sabancı EMBA students?

MIT is one of the institutions everyone should visit at some point. The presentation during the seminars, network opportunities and professors’ different points of view immensely contributed to my general knowledge and world-view. I think that I’ve broadened my horizon. Even though I lived in the US and was familiar with the US culture, the seminars fascinated me. I would like to thank Güler Sabancı and all other people who made this alliance possible for the program.

Tuğba Akgün Konuş: “It was a great privilege to be able to only concentrate on the courses with MIT quality”

1. Do you feel content with your educational trip to the US organized by Sabancı University School of Management and MIT Sloan? What impressed you the most during this trip?

I’m very satisfied. Transforming theory to practice appealed a lot to me. Everything I saw encompassed and combined the transformation of the theory to practice. I saw solutions to the problems I’ve encountered in my workplace. The quality of education was beyond words. The passion of the professors for teaching has motivated us more and more. By visiting various companies, we saw how to apply the information and the models our professors taught us in the courses.

2. In which ways will the education you got at MIT Sloan be helpful and beneficial to you, your job and your carrier?

It has already started to be beneficial… The first week of the MIT program was directed more to our personal leadership skills and contributed a lot to our personal growth. I discovered myself better and deeper, and I was more confident when I came back to Turkey.

3. Was the MIT Sloan alliance an important factor in your decision to choose SU EMBA?

Yes, it had a great influence on my decision.

4. Do you want to share any thoughts, experiences or impressions about your education and MIT trip for potential Sabancı EMBA students?

EMBA at Sabancı is obviously the premiere EMBA program in the Turkish market. Unfortunately, there is no other EMBA program available in Turkey, which extensively puts a great emphasis on the practical experience. Intensely concentrating on courses for two weeks with MIT quality is a unique privilege.

Zeynep Karakaya: “What makes Sabancı different is the strong, experienced and dynamic faculty along with the experience of successfully executing this program for a long time” 

1. Do you feel content with your educational trip to the US organized by Sabancı University School of Management and MIT Sloan? What impressed you the most during this trip?

I’m definitely very content with the trip. Not only it was extremely well thought and organized, but also it was very inspiring due to professors’ performances and their diverse points of view.  Courses were joyous and definitely left their mark on the participants. One of the workshops about leadership allowed me and my classmates to get to know ourselves better. The simulation activity was extremely effective. In the second week, it was impressive to see the unconventional culture of innovation. Additionally, I believe that a new environment helped me a lot to be able to fully concentrate on the courses and get as many things as possible out of this trip.

2. In which ways will the education you got at MIT Sloan be helpful and beneficial to you, your job and your carrier?

I think that our trip was very effective. Even though I took some seminars about self-development before, this trip made me think out of box. The experiences I had will also help me in my professional life as soon as I start applying them to my daily life. I even think that these two weeks enhanced my self-confidence.

3. Was the MIT Sloan alliance an important factor in your decision to choose SU EMBA?

Sabancı EMBA was one of the two programs I was considering but the MIT Sloan alliance made me eliminate my other option.

4. Do you want to share any thoughts, experiences or impressions about your education and MIT trip for potential Sabancı EMBA students?

I think that people become so focused at the sector they are working on their due intense workload that they begin to act as if not other sector exists apart from their own working area. First and foremost, EMBA takes people away from their trapped work-life and reminds them of another kind of life going on externally and independently. Sabancı EMBA helped me to understand how things work in different sectors and allowed me to meet people with diverse backgrounds, take lessons from them and perform useful analysis through versatile case studies. What make Sabancı University different is not only the years of expertise experience but also the strong dynamic administration and faculty. Additionally, having the 15 daylong MIT experience also differentiates Sabancı EMBA from other similar programs. Apart from these, Sabancı EMBA revitalized some of the facts that I forgot, made me think a lot and enhanced my self-confidence.

Our Alumni won the Altın Kelebek award for the best music video!
Our Alumni Sevil Kaynak (VACD'11) and Sinan Tuncay (VACD'10) won the Altın Kelebek award for the best music video of Sezen Aksu - "Vay" song.

Congratulations...

Alumni Relations Office
alumni@sabanciuniv.edu
http://alumni.sabanciuniv.edu
02164839352

Awards for the “Performance of the Turkish Economy during Global Crises”

Endowed by Sabancı University in memory of the late Sakıp Sabancı, the Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees, the “Sakıp Sabancı International Research Awards” were presented at a ceremony on Friday, June 8.  Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı said, “We hope that these studies will contribute to policies against future economic crises.”

Starting this year, the Sakıp Sabancı International Research Awards will also feature a “Jury Award on Islamic art and Culture.”  This award was given posthumously to Oleg Grabar for his lifelong contributions to Turkish and Islamic art.

Endowed by Sabancı University, the seventh  “Sakıp Sabancı International Research Awards” were presented on Friday, June 8 at the Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum - the Seed with a ceremony hosted by Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı and President Professor Nihat Berker.  

Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı made the opening speech of the ceremony, followed by Sabancı University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences member and Director of the TÜSİAD-Sabancı University Competition Forum İzak Atiyas, who addressed the audience on behalf of the jury panel and explained the decision.  Winners of the first prize, Florian Misch and Atılım Seymen spoke afterwards. 

This year’s theme of the awards was “Performance of the Turkish Economy during Global Crises” and the winners were coauthors Florian Misch and Atılım Seymen from the Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim, Germany with their article “The Effectiveness of Countercyclical Fiscal Policy in Turkey During the Recent Economic Crisis-Evidence from a Natural Experiment.”

The winners of the second prize were coauthors Alessina Le Turco and Daniella Maggioni of the Universita Politecnica delle Marche in Italy with their article titled “The Micro Evolution of Trade and Turnover in Turkey under Global Crisis.”

The winning article studies the 2009 crisis
The article explains whether the temporary reduction of value added tax and special consumption tax rates on some durable goods in 2009 help to stabilize the economy? The firm level data that is used in the inquiry enabled the authors to distinguish firms that benefit from tax cuts from that did not. They have shown that tax cuts led to significant changes in sales for the firms that benefitted. In other words, this particular fiscal policy instrument indeed worked as it was intended.  Based on this findings the authors conjecture that such temporary tax cuts, by stimulating domestic demand, may have contributed to stabilizing output.

Impact of the crisis on companies in Turkey
The second paper is a micro level study that aims to shed light on the question of the impact of trade collapse on Turkish manufacturing firms.  In particular, the study asks whether the decline in Turkey’s international trade relative to pre-crisis years is explained more by changes in the exports and imports of existing products by existing firms or by subtractions and additions of firms and products.  The study shows that, exit of firms or dropping of products is more important in explaining the decline in imports. By contrast, the decline of the average export volumes of the continuing firms is found to be the major factor behind the decline of manufacturing exports. The study also shows that exporters that sell their own products were more resilient than those that engaged in carry-along trade, i.e. those firms that export more than they produce. Another interesting finding of the study is that the foreign owned firms, in contrast to general perception, are not more resilient than their local counterparts.  These findings indicated that, one need to take into account Turkey’s mode of articulation to the global production network in order to assess the impact of the global crisis on Turkish manufacturing firms.

The Jury Award on Islamic art and Culture given posthumously to the late Oleg Grabar
Introduced this year, the “Jury Award on Islamic art and Culture” was given posthumously to Emeritus Professor and the inaugural holder of the Aga Khan Islamic Art and Architecture Chair at Harvard University, the late Oleg Grabar.  Oleg Grabar’s prize was given to the Oleg Grabar Memorial Fund, established to advance studies in Turkish and Islamic art and culture.

Oleg Grabar’s research has had a profound and far-reaching influence on the study of Islamic art and architecture.  His extensive archaeological expeditions and research trips cover the vast expanse of the Islamic world in Africa, the Middle East, and Muslim Asia.  Oleg Grabar favored a less conventional approach and studies the ideas and contexts of Islamic art rather than focusing on objects.  His visionary approach enabled his work to become universal and drew the attention of laypeople to Islamic art and architecture.  The prolific scholar wrote seminal books and articles on the subject, attended numerous conferences and lectures, undertook the curatorship of exhibitions and documentaries, took part in and led archeological expeditions, held memberships to the most prestigious academic institutions, and helped to publish leading academic journals.  He has helped to train more than seventy doctorate students who are currently university professors, museum directors and head curators all around the world.

The jury panel for the Jury Award on Islamic art and Culture was coordinated by Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum Director Nazan Ölçer and included Professor Doris Behrens-Abouseif (University of London, SOAS), Associate Professor Tülay Artan (Sabancı University), Professor François Déroche (Sorbonne University), Dr. Dorothea Duda (Austrian Academy of Sciences), Professor Gönül Öney (Ege University), Professor Priscilla Soucek (New York University Institute of Fine Arts) and Professor Zeren Tanındı (Sabancı University).

“We hope that these studies will contribute to policies against future economic crises.”
Speaking at the Sakıp Sabancı International Research Awards ceremony, Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı said, “The studies addressed a series of questions from the factors that define the resilience or vulnerability of the Turkish economy against crises to how firms and families were affected by the crisis and the types of public policies that will cushion the impact of crises facilitate the transition to growth, and we hope that these studies will contribute to policies against future economic crises.”

Sabancı announced the inaugural “Jury Award on Islamic art and Culture,” saying, “We have established a separate international and independent jury composed of the leading scholars in their fields.  It is my pleasure to give this award to an individual who has made great contributions to Islamic art and culture throughout his life.”

Winners received their prizes from Türkan Sabancı, wife of the late Sakıp Sabancı; Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı, and Sabancı University President Professor Nihat Berker’den aldılar.

The master of ceremonies was actress Meltem Cumbul.

About the 2012 Awards
This year’s awards received 20 submissions from Turkey, the United States, Europe, Middle East and Far East.  This year’s jury panel included Professor İzak Atiyas (Sabancı University), Professor Hasan Ersel (Sabancı University), Professor Jeffrey Nugent (University of Southern California, LA), Professor Ziya Öniş (Koç University) and Professor Dani Rodrik (Harvard University).