Sabancı University’s 18^th undergraduate and 21^st graduate classes’ alumni gathering was held physically on the campus in Tuzla. The ceremony was realized with the participation of Sabancı University President Yusuf Leblebici. Güler Sabancı, the Founding Chair of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University addressed the alumni with a video message. Guests of Honor of the 2020 Alumni Reunion were Professor Uğur Şahin and Doctor Özlem Türeci, founders of the BioNTech company.

Sabancı University’s 18^th undergraduate and 21^st graduate classes’ alumni reunion was held physically on the University’s campus. During the ceremony, upon the invitation of Yusuf Leblebici, the President of Sabancı University, a big round of applause was given to Professor Uğur Şahin and Doctor Özlem Türeci for their work for humanity, and to healthcare professionals for their services to people during the pandemic. On behalf of graduate students, Halime Ömrüuzun Seyrek delivered a speech, as well as Ayşenur Öykü Erçin on behalf of undergraduate students.

Addressing the alumni with a video message, Güler Sabancı said they had decided to hold the 2020 alumni reunion considering the acceleration of normalization and vaccination processes and taking all the necessary measures.

Highlighting that 2020 was a challenging year and we faced a totally different world due to the pandemic, Güler Sabancı said, “In this new world, everything is revisited, redesigned, replanned, and organizations’ roles are redefined. To succeed in such a period, two things come to the forefront: First, the ability to find solutions with a versatile perspective, and second, resilience... These two elements are very important not only for individuals but also for companies and institutions. At the heart of this is the ability to embrace and adapt to change quickly. When we talk about the importance of emotional resilience for individuals, we talk about becoming individuals who embrace change, are flexible, adapt to change, and produce solutions instead of complaining. With the education you have received from our University, you will be the leaders who provide solutions to new problems of the new world and contribute to society”.

WE AIM ALWAYS TO BE AHEAD OF OUR TIME

Pointing out that Sabancı University always aimed to be ahead of its time, Güler Sabancı said the following: “Last year, we built an effective learning environment through a scientific, rational and participatory process, using all the means made available by technology. You are the first alumni of this education period. Today, as our ambassadors, you represent Sabancı University all around the world. I am sure that, although each of you will head to different directions in your future lives, you will all have great achievements in your own fields. Whether you go for a corporate life or follow an academic career, your achievements will help us promote our university further”.

ALWAYS GUIDED BY THE LIGHT OF REASON AND SCIENCE

Sabancı University President Yusuf Leblebici said they were and would always be guided by the light of reason and science. Underlining that the COVID-19 pandemic was a difficult challenge for humanity, Yusuf Leblebici said, “As you all know, we had to tackle the extraordinary conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic during the last 1.5 years. This process presented a really difficult challenge for all of us as individuals, for our families and friends, for the society and institutions as a whole. However, I can proudly say that our University demonstrated the capability to overcome this difficult process with great success, thanks to practices setting examples for other universities. As our distinguished Guests of Honor emphasized, we have been and continue to be guided by the light of reason and science”.

Pointing out that their objective was to become a well-known and appreciated university not only in Turkey but also all around the world, Yusuf Leblebici said, “At Sabancı University, we are proud to be one of the best universities in the country in terms of both the quality and originality of education programs, and of research outputs, which represent the university’s contributions to the world of science. As of last year, among all the universities in Turkey, we are the university with the highest minimum required entry score in Engineering and Natural Sciences and in Arts and Social Sciences, and the second highest minimum required score in the Business School. Our centers established in recent years are hosting very large-scale projects in collaboration with huge industrial companies. The TÜBİTAK and EU projects with enormous budgets, implemented by our Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Center and Nanotechnology Research Center, are the sources of the support that will enable our University to make further scientific leaps in these areas”.

LIFELONG INSPIRING MESSAGES FROM SCIENTISTS

Professor Uğur Şahin and Doctor Özlem Türeci, founders of the BioNTech company, gave lifelong inspiring messages to the alumni as guests of honor of the Sabancı University 2020 Alumni Gathering. 

Emphasizing that the pandemic showed the whole world how science and research could make a difference, Professor Uğur Şahin said that, as scientists, they managed to make a difference thanks to their education and more than ten years of research in collaboration with their colleagues, experts and trusted fellows. Congratulating Sabancı University alumni on their graduation, Şahin said, “What you have achieved today will have an impact on your future. Always keep this day in mind because this day is very special for three reasons.” Şahin continued, “First, today is your celebration day. A day you celebrate all the hard work and curiosity that got you to this moment. Stay curious. Stand up for the things you care about. By doing so, you will go far and won’t get tired of what you are doing. Keep exploring new destinations even if you don’t know where this will lead you. What I love most about my work is that every day I can learn from scientific papers, news, data, my wife, my colleagues and even from strangers. Stay open-minded. 

“Second, today is a day of gratitude. A day to thank those who have helped you to get there. The people who believed in you, supported you, taught you, cheered you on and dried your tears. Stay close to people who are as motivated as you. Together you will contribute to bigger achievements. Together you can make a difference.

“Third, today is also a day of reflection. Today marks the end of one era of your life and, at the same time, it is the beginning of a new era. It is the perfect time to ask yourself, “What is important to me? How can I contribute to society by fulfilling my duty?” To me, contributing to a certain purpose is what fills me with joy and gratitude. Dedicating my work to improving the lives of many. I am very grateful that we have been able to contribute to the fight against the pandemic and help so many people with our research and work. Today is your work. Be ready to start a new chapter for you, for your families and for future generations. First and foremost, make a difference and try to be useful. Many little things can lead to something big. Be humble, be curious, be faithful. I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin a new chapter in your life, I wish that for you.” 

“VACCINATION HELPS TO GET A CONTROL OF THIS PANDEMIC” 

Uğur Şahin shared his views about his work and the evolution of the vaccination process. 

Highlighting that their research focus was to develop medicines for cancer patients and, specifically, to develop medicines to help individual patients, Şahin said, “What turned out is that the technology that we have developed is not only able to develop medicines for individual cancer patients, but the same medicine can be used to develop a vaccine which is useful for mankind.” He continued, “The scale does not play a big role. I feel happy if I can help a single individual, as happy as I am that our vaccine has helped humanity to go back to our normal lives.” Şahin shared his views of the vaccination and normalization process. 

WE WILL GO BACK TO OUR NORMAL LIVES

“I am very confident that we will go back to our normal lives. So, what we are seeing is that vaccination helps to get a control of this pandemic. It is important, of course, that everyone is getting vaccinated. That will most likely happen in Turkey in the next 3-4 months, allowing us really to get not only the infections under control but also reduce hospitalization and continue with our normal life. It is important to consider the lessons from this pandemic that science and collaboration could make such a big difference. Therefore, we should have an optimistic view of the future  and invest in science, invest in education, invest in research, and stay open to collaborations.”

You can watch Prof Şahin's speech in full from the link below. 

IF YOU ARE NOT FAILING, YOU ARE NOT GROWING

Pointing out that she was honored to address the alumni at the commencement ceremony of Sabancı University, which she named as one of the finest universities in the world, Dr Özlem Türeci said, “The skills you have developed over the past years will guide you in the future. They will support you in having an impact on science and society. And, you are in good company. Many alumni from this university including Canan Dağdeviren have made a difference for society.” 

Stating that, on their personal journey, she and Uğur Şahin had to make many decisions without knowing the consequences or the outcome in advance, Türeci said they were guided by three virtues, namely: courage, humility and perseverance. 

Advising Sabancı University alumni to act with courage and humility in all that they did, Türeci said they should not be afraid to fail. She continued, “Continued effort is the key to unlocking your potential, your own superpowers. Failing twenty times and succeeding the twenty-first time. Yes, that is a recurring theme in Uğur’s and my life. Early in my career, I realized that if I wanted to accomplish something greater, I had to deal with both success and failure. Don’t waste energy trying to cover up failure. If you are not failing, you are not growing.”

In her messages to Sabancı University alumni based on her own life experiences, Özlem Türeci said that the easiest, straightforward path was not always the right one and might not necessarily bring them closer to their goal; having the courage to take a left or right on the path might be the route to their actual destination. Stating that it was the path that served their goal, Türeci said, “our goal was to turn science into survival and into a better life for humanity.” 

You can watch Dr Özlem Türeci’s speech in full from the link below.

You can watch our 2020 Alumni Gathering from the link below.

Sabancı University has started the countdown for commencement programs on July 3-4, 2021, when 2021 prospective graduates and 2020 alumni will come together back on the campus.

In the framework of commencement programs, the Commencement Day for  2021 prospective graduates will be held on Saturday, July 3, 2021 and, the Alumni Gathering for 2020 alumni on Sunday, July 4, 2021, on Sabancı University Campus. The ceremony can be watched live on the Sabancı University Youtube account from 17:00.

Commencement Day - July 3

Alumni Gathering - July 4

Program

13:00-15:00 Registration and distribution of caps and gowns (At the stations to be established at Şekerpınar Akbank Banking Center Carpark Area)

From 13:00, there will be ring shuttle service from Akbank carpark to the Campus. (Transport time is approximately 6 minutes.)

14:30-16:00 Catering for the alumni (Mealbox at the University’s Central Open Space)

16:00-16:45 Taking places according to the seating plan (amphitheater)

17:00-19:00 Commencement Ceremony

19:00-19:30 Return of caps and gowns (at the points of return on the campus)

From 19:00 there will be a ring shuttle service from the Campus to Akbank carpark.

You can visit http://commencement.sabanciuniv.edu/  for details of the commencement programs, which are being planned observing necessary social distancing and hygiene rules in line with the pandemic conditions.

You can follow up updates about our commencement programs on our social media accounts with the hashtags #yenibaşarılara and  #tümgücümüzlegeleceğe.

https://www.youtube.com/user/sabanciuniversity

https://www.instagram.com/sabanci_university/

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

https://twitter.com/sabanciu                   

https://twitter.com/gazeteSU_edu

Sabancı University Engineering and Natural Sciences Faculty Member Meltem Elitaş and her Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering Program graduate student Esra Şengül's article "Single-Cell Mechanophenotyping in Microfluidics to Evaluate Behavior of U87 Glioma Cells" became one of Hot Papers since it was published in the MDPI Micromachines journal. 

This paper conducts research on Glioblastoma multiforme, the most invasive and aggressive type of brain cancers. These brain cancers develop treatment resistance, recurrence, and very poor survival. In this study, authors used microfluidics to perform mechanophenotyping to link mechanical properties of glioma cancer cells with their invasive nature. 

Micromachines is a journal published by MDPI that focuses on science and technology of small devices, structures, and systems. It points interdisciplinary studies, with a 5-year impact value of 2.553. 

http://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/11/9/845 

Sakıp Sabancı Museum digitalSSM Archive and Research Space published the first ebook for its project Technological Arts Preservation. The book edited by Sabancı University’s faculty members Selçuk Artut and Cemal Yılmaz, as well as Osman Serhat Karaman, the director of digitalSSM, offers international content on its subject matter.

Focusing on art produced with the help of technology, or that require technology to work, and the cultural institutions responsible for conserving cultural heritage accordingly; the project Technological Arts Preservation aims at cooperation and information-sharing between professionals from various disciplines and areas of expertise. 

First chapter of the ebook, brought together as part of this project, presents the topics of media archaeology, internet art, Web archiving; and features 12 articles penned by scholars (among whom is also Prof. Siegfried Zielinski,  founder of  media archaeology) from prominent institutions including INA (Institut national de l‘audiovisuel), Rhizome, and ZKM. The second part chronicles answers of the artists Alp Tuğan, Bager Akbay, Büşra Tunç, Can Büyükberber, Candaş Şişman, Ecem Dilan Köse, Eda Sütunç, Lara Kamhi, Onur Sönmez, Ozan Türkkan, Refik Anadol, and Selçuk Artut to a questionnaire on the preservation of their work. The third and last part of the publication includes the Technological Arts Preservation events realized in collaboration with Digilogue from 2019 to 2020. This section also features QR codes with links to video documentation of the conferences held as part of the project.

The book titled Technological Arts Preservation, published in English, aims to make an original contribution to the efforts of carrying digital art’s heritage into the future, and constitute a well-rounded source of reference. The publication is available for free in both PDF and EPUB formats on the museum’s website.

https://www.sakipsabancimuzesi.org/en/page/technological-arts-preservation

Sabancı University 2021-2022 Academic Year Fall Semester Graduate Programs Quotas

Melsa Ararat, Director of the Corporate Governance Forum of Sabancı University, will be one of the speakers of “Future Readiness – Reinventing Leadership: Board Perspectives” panel organized by Odgers Berndtson.

With the participation of Sabancı University International Board of Overseers Virginia Bottemley, the answers to the below questions will be evaluated in the panel titled “Future Readiness – Reinventing Leadership: Board Perspectives” on Wednesday June 30, 2021 at 17.00.

• How can new generation boards and diversity support sustainable and better performance?
• How do women board members add value in the transformation challenge of the post covid era?
• How will boards adapt, individually and collectively, in times of great uncertainty?
• Are traditional leadership principles still valid in a future “new normal”?
• How should leaders be developed for the future?
• How should boards be composed for the future?

Please click to register the panel.

The solo exhibition of Murat Germen, member of Sabancı University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), entitled “Oblivion-Ancient Antalya at Present” is at the Antalya Culture and Arts Museum. Due to the pandemic, the exhibition could only be visited online so far, but with the museum opening its doors, it will be possible to visit the exhibition physically from June 1, 2021.

The exhibition of Murat Germen, member of FASS, city planner and artist, whose work focuses on the city and the environment, looks at Antalya from Germen’s objective and tries to understand the city at present, while trying to attract the attention of visitors to the city’s ‘custody carried from ancient times to the present’ and ‘betrayals carried from the present to the future’. 

Yeşim Demir is the curatorial designer of the exhibition, which is held on two floors of the Museum. On one floor, the exhibition has a micro perspective on the city’s images that people get used to although passing by them every day, the images people don’t realize whether they are custody or betrayals. On the other floor, the objective has a broader perspective, displays the city with panoramic views from different angles, and exhibits custody and betrayals at a macro scale. With this perspective, the transformation of the city in the past 20 years is presented to viewers through satellite photos. 

Prepared under the guidance of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality in addition to Antalya branches of the Chamber of City Planners, the Chamber of Architects, the Chamber of Civil Engineers, the Chamber of Environmental Engineers, the Chamber of Landscape Architects, and the Antalya Urban Platform, the exhibition received materials support from ANKUTSAN, one of the leading packaging companies in Turkey.  

The visual expression language of the exhibition “Oblivion-Ancient Antalya at Present” is enriched with excerpts from poems by Ferruh Tunç, one of the leading poets in modern Turkish poetry. The exhibition invites residents and lovers of Antalya not to some nostalgia and sighing, but to see what has been happening in their city and think about their own stake and responsibility in it. 

In the concept text he prepared as “the artist’s statement” in the context of the “Oblivion-Ancient Antalya at Present” exhibition, Murat Germen says the following:    

Memory is a concept necessary to maintain existence. What gathers in memory is later converted into a body of knowledge we call experience, guiding our stance in life, our reactions, and our instincts.

Recollection on the personal scale is called memory; on a communal and national scale, it is rather called history. Both are redeeming concepts. Individuals and societies remember what they like and forget what they don’t, even pretending they never happened. “Human memory is marred with oblivion” is a saying that implies humans are inclined to forget uncomfortable truths in order to go on living.

It is possible to connect states of forgetting to the concepts of custody and betrayal. Things in our custody are remembered almost eternally as they are “bigger” than individuals, loved and respected. Betrayal, on the other hand, is a conscious effort to willfully forget, involving the legitimization of despising others and regarding them as “small” in order to gain access to power or to survive.

Forgetting what’s in your custody may knowingly or unknowingly lead to betrayal.

Today, due to the speed and competition forced upon us, we have come to forget sharing / giving / helping, making do, modesty, politeness, elegance, simplicity, thrift, becoming smaller, and protecting what is in our custody; instead, we seem to have taken up endless growth, waste and excess, vanity, taking without giving, a loud tastelessness, crudity, cruelty, hypocrisy, insult, victimization, evilness, and betrayal.

Such oblivion must lead to a revolt for every individual, or else we are surely doomed.

Nature can remember its own systemic structure and regenerate it; but humans, due to their endless greed, forget the internal structure of the system they belong to, degenerate it instead of regenerating it, and thus cause the demise of their own kind.

The only war humans cannot win is the one waged against nature, sublime and indestructible; they will win when they lose…  

Sabancı University Gender Studies PhD student Oğuz Can Ok receives TÜBİTAK ARDEB-1002 support.

Oğuz Can Ok’s project, which will be supported in TÜBİTAK ARDEB-1002 Short Term R&D Funding Program, is entitled "Neoliberalism in the Kitchen?: Challenging Interactions among Food, Body and Gender in Turkey".

This project aims at examining the participation of men in unpaid domestic work from the perspective of critical masculinity studies through looking at the ways in which men relate to the kitchen, cooking and preparing food.

This project will be carried out by Oğuz Can OK (Doctoral Candidate in Gender Studies Program – Sabancı University) within the scope of his own doctoral dissertation and it will last one year. Asst. Prof. Ayşecan Terzioğlu (Sabancı University-Cultural Studies and Gender Studies Programs) and Asst. Prof. Selin Akyüz (TED University-Department of Political Science and International Relations) will be the project's consultants. At the same time, an undergraduate student will work as a scholarship student within the scope of the project.

Oğuz Can Ok said the following regarding the project’s significance: The research based on quantitative data, such as Time Use Surveys, points out that women still devote more time to food preparation that is a considerable part of unpaid domestic work. Focusing on gender inequality, this project will critically examine the sources of motivation and performances of masculinity of men who take active responsibility in their home kitchens. The project aims at contributing to discussions on different typologies of masculinity and production of an egalitarian masculinity. For this purpose, in addition to deploying qualitative data collection tools such as in-depth interviews, a new creative qualitative data collection tool called Kitchen Diaries will be used. As a result, this project will contribute to both theoretical and methodological scholarship in gender studies. At the same time, outputs of the study can be used to create public policy proposals and materials that can be employed by the civil society stakeholders for the elimination of gender inequalities.

The Fine Arts Diploma Program, McNally School of Fine Arts, and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (VAVCD Program), Sabancı University will be making an online collaborative project activity entitled, Project 3V (Visualize, Voice and Vision).

This collaborative activity between Sabancı University and LASALLE is a continuation of artistic activities we had in the past namely; Now and Then, Here and There (2010), Takeaways (2010), SPARKS (2011), NINE+- (2012), Creating Together (2013), and sMall iDeas (2014), these projects were based on the mutual understanding and exchanges between the two academic institutions.

The objective of this project is to encourage university students (artists and designers) to collectively engage in critical analysis, reflection, and research to investigate the issues that revolve topics via its social, cultural, environmental, and contemporary artistic practice. The learning approach will include online discussions together with students and supervisors from both sides.

The intended outcome will be collaborative digital media and art project created by students of both academic institutions, which will be showcased at LASALLE College of the Arts and Sabancı University gallery.

FASS Faculty Member Asst. Prof. Dr. Alex Wong, Dr. Cedric van Eenoo, and Mr. Salleh Japar, Senior Lecturer will be the supervising faculty members for this project. In addition, these are the participating students: Berna Yıldıran, Fazera Makrof, Gamar Karimli, John Marie Mabale Andrada, Kang Ah Young, Le Kinh Dien, Nur Nurdoğdu, Pan Fei, Pauline Wong, Sinem Başar, Şevval Tufan, Yeraz Arslan ve Zeynep Erkman.

June 16-17th ELAE result code explanations are as follows:

SL (Satisfactory in the ELAE): indicates students who have received the required grade or above in the June 16-17th ELAE.

UL (Unsatisfactory in the ELAE): indicates students who have not been able to obtain the required grade in the ELAE.

NA (Non-attendance): indicates students who did not attend the exam and is equivalent to a “UL” grade.

Grade bands are as below:

*Students who receive a minimum grade of 65% overall with a minimum grade of 47,5% from each section (writing and speaking) become Freshman students.

Students who hold their right to study at FDY Summer School as a result of their end of course results and/or ELAE results will automatically be registered to the Summer School.

Those students who hold their right to study at School of Languages Online Summer School but do not wish to study at the Foundation Development Year Programme have to complete “Application Form to Study Outside FDY” and send it to basak.tezcan@sabanciuniv.edu by 12:00 on 22nd June, 2021

Postgraduate candidates who have taken the June 16-17th ELAE will be informed of their results by their institues.

Please see the link for your ELAE results.

We wish you success in your studies,

The School of Languages Directorate