Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences will hold a special webinar entitled the “Future of Cryptographic Engineering” on June 18, 2021. The webinar will be online, and adding a different flavor to the usual online events, it will be held taking into account 4 different time zones convenient for the 6 scholars from 4 countries.

Organized by Sabancı University considering the recently growing importance of cryptography, the “Future of Cryptographic Engineering” webinar will host world-renowned scholars in the field from Germany, the USA, Belgium and Mexico, who will share not only the results of their most recent work, but also their past experience and their visions for the future.

Ranking first among Turkish universities and in the bracket of 201-250 among 827 world universities in the subject of Computer Science according to the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings by Subject, Sabancı University aims to share expertise and know-how in the fields of computer science, engineering and technology with every segment of society, and to disseminate science.

World-Renowned Scholars in the field of Cryptography Coming Together

In the real world, there are many obstacles to the secure, fast, efficient implementations of cryptographic techniques and algorithms in hardware and software. Organized to raise awareness and share the most recent developments in the field of cryptographic engineering, the “Future of Cryptographic Engineering” webinar will host scholars from around the world, who will attend the event from their respective countries and time zones to talk about the evolution and future of cryptographic engineering, in addition to their academic work in the field.

The webinar will start at 15:30 on June 18, 2021. Prof. Ingrid Verbauwhede, who leads the embedded systems team in the COSIC Research Group at the Department of Electrical Engineering at KU Leuven, will speak at 15:45; Thomas Eisenbarth, Professor of IT security at the University of Lübeck at 16:20; Patrick Schaumont, Professor of Computer Engineering at WPI at 16:55; Christof Paar who, together with Gilles Barthe, is the founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy in Bochum, Germany, and research professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst at 17:45; Francisco Rodriguez-Henriquez, professor in the Computer Science Department of the Advanced Research Center in Mexico City at 18:20; and Aydın Aysu, assistant professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of North Carolina State University at 18:55.

Why has cryptographic engineering come to prominence?

Being a set of mathematical methods to a great extent, cryptography has come to prominence as it proves to be an enabler for many advanced applications such as blockchain and privacy-preserving processing of data, including personal data. Thus, we are likely to see rapidly increasing use and importance of cryptography in the immediate future as digital technologies become an essential part of our daily lives, especially with the pandemic.

In this context, cryptographic engineering, which covers all work involving accurate, fast and secure implementation of cryptographic algorithms, which constitute the basis of cybersecurity, is playing an essential role.

Organized to bring together world-renowned scholars in the field of cryptographic engineering to enable exchange of the most recent scientific studies, the webinar is expected to raise awareness of the importance of cryptographic engineering, which provides security of online applications as a matter frequently highlighted during the pandemic

To register for the online webinar on the “Future of Cryptographic Engineering”, please visit  https://www.sabanciuniv.edu/tr/event-detail/future-of-cryptographic-engineering-webinar-23146

The “Future of Cryptographic Engineering” Webinar

Program

Friday, June 18 2021

15:45 Ingrid Verbauwhede, Belgium

Recent Result with EM attacks: Passive observation and active perturbation

16:20 Thomas Eisenbarth, Germany

New exhibition by Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM) titled From the Reformation to the Republic: Master Artists, Artist Students welcomed visitors on June 1. 

The exhibition presents the historical journey of the art of painting in Turkey and features a total of 115 artworks from the SSM Painting Collection, by artists including Hoca Ali Rıza, Halife Abdülmecid Efendi, Hüseyin Zekâi Paşa, Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, Şevket Dağ, Hikmet Onat, Hüseyin Avni Lifij, İbrahim Çallı, Nazmi Ziya Güran and also the pioneering woman artist Mihri (Müşfik) Hanım. 

Focusing on the relationship between masters and their apprentices, the exhibition makes visible the interaction and change between generations. Artwork by the masters and their apprentices, who acquired mastership by following in their masters’ footsteps, will be displayed side-by-side. The exhibition From the Reformation to the Republic: Master Artists, Artist Students allows us to trace the social and economic transformation of the country, via the late-discovered but quickly adopted medium of painting. 

The selection of artworks, displayed in chronological order, starts with paintings by artists belonging to the generation of Osman Hamdi Bey and Halil Bey, all of whom were sent abroad for art education, mainly to France, and who attended the studios of eminent artists like Jean-Leon Gerôome and Gustave Boulanger in Paris. The exhibition features landscapes and still lifes by these artists, as well as portraits emerging from their interest in figures and figurative depictions. The portraits of women in the selection reflect the evolution of female visibility in Ottoman society, starting during the Reformation Period. 

The exhibition tells the story of Istanbul via paintings by İbrahim Çallı, Nazmi Ziya, Avni Lifij, Feyhaman Duran, Namık İsmail and Hikmet Onat, the so-called “1914 Generation,” who had depicted the city with a focus on its streets, houses, historical sites, coastline and the Bosphorus, but at the same time telling the story of Turkey, a country undergoing profound changes. At this part of the exhibition, you will also find the Galatasaray Exhibitions; the primary event organized by artists from the 1914 Generation, introducing the artistic developments of the period. 

Artwork created by Turkey’s painters with a focus on the nude, an artistic theme they had encountered abroad, especially during their academic training in Paris, is presented as to reflect this process. It is a process from Halil Paşa’s figurative studies, reflecting academic discipline, to İbrahim Çallı’s sensuous nudes, painted with expressive sensitivity. Examples of the whole process are to be found in the exhibition, heralding a radical shift in attitude. 

The first artistic group of the Republic, called the Müstakiller (Independents), are represented in their full capacity, reflecting their fundamental importance in Turkish modern art history. The Independents were trained at the Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi (School of Fine Arts), at studios of such masters like İbrahim Çallı, Feyhaman Duran, Hikmet Onat who had been appointed to replace the foreign professors. 

The exhibition From the Reformation to the Republic: Master Artists, Artist Students can be visited every day except Sundays and Mondays between 10.00 and 18.00. Visitors with reservation will will have entrance priority. The exhibition is free for teachers and health workers. 

The multiple entry tickets for students that will be valid for one year after their first visit to the exhibition are available on https://bit.ly/3wOsW1E. 

Sakıp Sabancı Museum holds a Safe Tourism Certificate from Turkey’s Tourism Promotion and Development Agency. Please find about our hygiene and safety measures for visitors at the web site of the museum. 

Graduate students will be accepted for the 2021-2022 Fall Semester leading to the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in the following programs.
Detailed information on research areas including basic sciences can be obtained at http://fens.sabanciuniv.edu.
Academic inquiries should only be posted to contact names for each program given below; for administrative or procedure related questions please contact to Student Resources Office.
Phone: +90 (216) 483 9093, E-mail: studentinfo@sabanciuniv.edu

Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering
The program emphasizes the latest developments and technological innovations in this globally emerging field. Areas of specialization include molecular and cellular biology, bioinformatics, and plant biotechnology.

Academic Contact: Christopher Mayack
Phone: +90 (216) 568 7038 
E-mail: christopher.mayack@sabanciuniv.edu

Computer Science and Engineering
Research areas; natural language processing, pattern recognition, formal methods, software engineering, cryptography and information security, network security, computer architectures, distributed systems, database systems, data mining, computer graphics and virtual reality, embedded systems, knowledge representation and reasoning.

Academic Contact: Reyyan Yeniterzi
Phone: +90 (216) 568 7041
E-mail: reyyan.yeniterzi@sabanciuniv.edu

Cyber Security

Research areas; computer network security, cryptography, blockchains, biometric systems, cryptographic engineering, wireless system security, data security, software security. 

Academic Contact: Erdinç Öztürk
Phone: +90 (216) 483 9514
E-mail: erdinc.ozturk@sabanciuniv.edu

Data Science

Research areas; cloud computing, data mining, data privacy and security, data visualization, high performance computing, machine learning, optimization and decision making, statistics.

Academic Contact: Öznur Taştan Okan
Phone: +90 (216) 483 9883
E-mail: oznur.tastan@sabanciuniv.edu

Electronics Engineering 

Research areas; wireless communication, wireless networks, sensor networks, signal, speech and image processing, computer vision, pattern recognition, data networks, RF, microwaves, antennas and propagation, RF MEMS and RF Circuit design, photonics and fiber optic telecommunication, high-speed electronic devices, microsensors and microelectromechanical systems, medical and industrial ultrasonic imaging, medical instrumentation, analog and digital VLSI design, ASIC and FPGA design, computer-aided design and testing.

Academic Contact: Murat Kaya Yapıcı
Phone: +90 (216) 483 9553
E-mail: mkyapici@sabanciuniv.edu

Energy Technologies and Management Master Program (With Thesis)

An interdisciplinary program with focus on the following research areas: renewable energy systems; energy systems modeling; vehicle electrification; green transportation; economic, environmental and policy implications in energy systems; technology design, analysis and optimization. 

Academic Contact: Tuğçe Yüksel
Phone: +90 (216) 483 9987
E-mail: tyuksel@sabanciuniv.edu

Industrial Engineering 
The program focuses on production and service systems, integrated manufacturing, supply chain management, logistics, joint inventory-pricing decisions, product development process, modeling and analysis of manufacturing processes and equipment, manufacturing and technology strategies, fuzzy systems, combinatorial optimization and operations research approaches to telecommunication and energy systems. Emphasis is given to close collaboration with the industry.

Academic Contact: Burak Kocuk
Phone: +90 (216) 568 7039
E-mail: burakkocuk@sabanciuniv.edu

Manufacturing Engineering

The Manufacturing Engineering program focuses on advanced manufacturing technologies. The research areas include manufacturing processes and equipment, computer-aided design and manufacturing, integrated manufacturing systems, additive manufacturing (3D printing), biomanufacturing, nano-micro manufacturing, composite and polymer manufacturing, and manufacturing and technology strategies with special emphasis on industrial applications. 

Academic Contact: L.Taner Tunç
Phone: +90 (216) 300 1305
E-mail: taner.tunc@sabanciuniv.edu 

Materials Science and Nano Engineering  
The program focuses on the interrelationships between structure, properties, and processing of materials for advanced technological applications.  Areas of ongoing research include semiconductors, synthetic and biological polymers, ceramics and composites at the nanometer scale, with particular emphasis on applications in nano-technology.

Academic Contact: Emre Erdem
Phone: +90 (216) ) 483 9881
E-mail: emre.erdem@sabanciuniv.edu

Mathematics  
The program emphasizes the interaction between pure mathematics and its applications, including those leading to interdisciplinary work. The main areas of concentration are number theory and algebra with applications in coding theory and cryptography, analysis and applications.

Academic Contact: Nihat Gökhan Göğüş
Phone: +90 (216) 483 9615
E-mail: gokhan.gogus@sabanciuniv.edu

Mechatronics Engineering
Research areas;  smart product design, multi-disciplinary design optimization, topology design optimization, metamaterials, microsystems, intelligent control systems, robotics, machine vision, haptics, computer aided engineering, renewable energy systems, embedded systems, process control, hydro-turbines, advanced seals, turbine blade reverse engineering. Two-phase flow, Boiling heat transfer, MEMS, Boiling instabilities in microsystems, Convective heat transfer, Critical Heat Flux, Microchannels, Cavitation, Micro- and Nanofluidics, Micro pin-fins, Cross flow, Electronics cooling, Miniaturization of heat sinks. Vibration analysis and control of engineering systems, vibration modeling of continuous systems, experimental modal analysis methods, dynamics of micromachining, design and fabrication of miniature medical devices.

Academic Contact: Kemalettin Erbatur
Telefon: +90 (216) 483 9585
E-posta: kemalettin.erbatur@sabanciuniv.edu

Physics
In condensed matter physics the main research areas are experimental and theoretical semiconductor physics, mesoscopic and nanoscopic physics, and superconductivity. In high energy astrophysics, X-, gamma ray and optical obervations of compact objects (neutron stars and black holes) and their environments are the main areas of interest. Other research fields are quantum information and high energy physics.

Academic Contact: Emrah Kalemci
Phone: +90 (216) 483 9614
E-posta: ekalemci@sabanciuniv.edu

For Admisson :
Admission Requirements and the Necessary Documents for Graduate School of Engineering and Natural Sciences
Applicants must have completed their previous degree programs by September 01, 2021.

Financial Support:
Financial support is available in the form of a monthly stipend and/or tuition waiver. Decisions on scholarship will be made by the Admissions Committee .

Deadline:
Applications must be submitted by June, 4th 2021. After initial screening, interviews will be scheduled for potential candidates during 14 – 25th June,  2021. Applicants will be informed by e-mail. It is highly recommended to check e-mails for candidates.

Applications:
For the Applications to Graduate Programs of Engineering and Natural Sciences, please click here.
Please contact studentinfo@sabanciuniv.edu if you have any questions regarding your graduate application.
Applications should be submitted via online application system only. Applications sent via e-mail cannot be evaluated.
We would like to remind you that if you get admitted, originals of all official documents required to be submitted during university registrations.

Sabancı University Engineering and Natural Sciences Faculty Mechatronics Engineering 2015 graduate Atif Mahboob received 2021 Scientific Award from the prostep ivip, which is an international association that works towards developing innovative solutions and standards for Product Data Management and Virtual Product Creation. 

Our alumnus Atif Mahboob received the prostep ivip Scientific Award, given to young engineers focusing on virtual product creation and development, with his doctoral research on "The use of SysML behavior models for achieving dynamic use cases of technical products in different Virtual Reality Systems" that he conducted in Germany. 

Regarding this career achievement Atif Mahboob said, "My graduate education at Sabancı University between 2013 and 2015 and the studies, as well as the experiences, offered by Sabancı University played a vital role in this career success of mine."

You can watch the video about the prostep ivip 2021 Science Award received by Sabancı University alumnus Atif Mahboob below.

Sabancı University ranked 68^th on the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings.

The Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2021 results have been announced. Sabancı University ranked 68^th among all 551 universities on the list, and had the highest position among 43 Turkish universities included in the rankings. As in previous years, Sabancı University maintained its top position among Turkish universities. 

Similar to the World Universities Ranking, the Asia University Rankings consider 13 different performance indicators. The performance indicators are grouped in 5 areas, namely teaching (the learning environment); research (volume, income and reputation); international outlook (staff, students and research); citations (research influence); industry income (knowledge transfer). 

The other Turkish universities on the Asian University Rankings and their positions are: Koç University 73^rd, Çankaya University 80^th, Hacettepe University 125^th, Bilkent University 129^th, ITU 163^rd, and Boğaziçi University 167^th.

The top three Asian universities are Tsinghua University, Peking University (both in China), and The National University of Singapore.

Sabancı University has been ranked as the top Turkish institution in the Emerging Economies University Rankings this year.

Times Higher Education (THE) has announced the 2021 Emerging Economies University Rankings. The Times Higher Education Emerging Economies University Rankings 2021 includes institutions in countries classified by the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE Group as “advanced emerging”, “secondary emerging” or “frontier”. This year, 606 universities from 48 countries were included in the ranking.

Sabancı University has been ranked 44^th on the THE Emerging Economies University Rankings, becoming the best among the 34 Turkish universities on the list. 

The rankings use the same 13 performance indicators, under 5 main areas, as the THE World University Rankings to evaluate institutions on their teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industry income. The most prominent feature of the Emerging Economies University Ranking is that the weightings are specially recalibrated to reflect the characteristics of emerging economy universities. Thus, ‘Industry Income’ and ‘International Outlook’ have higher weightings in the Emerging Economies University Ranking  than in the World University Rankings. 

Turkish universities on THE's Emerging Economies University Rankings 2021 are: Sabancı (44^th), Koç (51^st), Çankaya (86^th), Bilkent (89^th), İTÜ (112^th), Hacettepe (134^th), Boğaziçi (136^th), and ODTÜ (154^th). Eskişehir Anadolu, İstanbul and Özyeğin  universities are ranked in the bracket of 201-250, Erciyes and Gazi universities in 251-300, Bahçeşehir, Bezmialem, Karabük and Yıldız Teknik universities in 301-350, Atatürk University in 351-400, Atılım, Çukurova, Dokuz Eylül, Düzce, Ege, Gebze Teknik, İzmir Yüksek Teknoloji, TOBB Ekonomi ve Teknoloji and Yeditepe universities in 401-500, Acıbadem, Akdeniz, Aksaray, Ankara, Başkent, Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal, Eskişehir Osmangazi, Gaziantep, İstanbul Medipol, Marmara, Ondokuz Mayıs, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Sakarya, Selçuk, Süleyman Demirel and Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa universities are in the bracket of 501+. 

Please click here for the complete THE Emerging Economies University Rankings.

Three projects of faculty members from Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (FENS) were found deserving of support in the framework of the TÜBİTAK 2247-A National Leading Researchers Program, which was launched in 2020.

Burak Kocuk, İsmail Çakmak, Murat Kaya Yapıcı

In the framework of the program, the projects of Burak Kocuk, İsmail Çakmak and Murat Kaya Yapıcı from FENS are supported. In addition to a total research grant of 2 million 750 thousand Turkish Lira for the projects, which will last three years, the support includes covering the scholarships of 5 PhD students/post-doctoral researchers whom each principal investigator will involve in their projects, a project incentive premium payable to researchers who will take part in the projects, and a financial contribution to the hosting institution for overhead expenses.

The project, of which Burak Kocuk is the principal researcher is supported under the “Young Researcher” category of the program. The name of the project is "Large Scale Optimization Problems with Matrix Multiplication and Applications", and the project will examine a class of optimization problems that are faced in many fields starting with biology and materials science & control. The problems in this class are identified as non-linear and usually discontinuous optimization problems that include multiplication of matrices selected from among a finite or non-finite family. In the scope of this project, the mathematical structure of this class of problems, which is a large scale and quite challenging one, will be examined and tailor-made solution methods will be developed for the problem. These methods will then be applied to Antibiotic Time Machine and Multilayer Thin Film Problems.

The project, of which İsmail Çakmak is the principal researcher, and which is supported in the “Experienced Researcher” category, is called "Nitrate: The barrier to transfer of iodine from the soil to plants, and from plants to animal milk". The aim of this project is to explore and reveal the impact of nitrate on the reception, transport and accumulation of iodine in the food chain from the soil to plants and thereafter to cow milk. Iodine deficiency is considered an important risk factor for mental development impairments, thyroid tissue defects and thyroid cancer. Cow milk is considered a mostly important source of food to meet the iodine needs of humans (particularly children).

Although many measures have been taken to fight iodine deficiency in humans, starting with the enrichment of table salt with iodine for more than 30 years, lack of iodine is still a global mineral nutrition problem. The growing iodine deficiency in humans is thought to be attributable, to a great extent, to nitrate, which is found in food and drinks that humans consume.

The third project, of which Murat Kaya Yapıcı is the principal researcher, and which is supported in the “Experienced Researcher” category of the program, is called “Development of Innovative Scanning Probe Chips and Acquisition of Scanning Probe-Based Accessible Micro/Nanofabrication Platforms”. In this project, scanning probe microscopes, which are very strong screening and characterization tools, will be transformed into cost-efficient scanners that are capable of creating designs at micro/nano scales in the desktop environment. Thanks to the original scanning probe chips and systems to be developed, a typical AFM platform can be used directly as a lithograph or bio-printer, thus a platform technology catering for a wide range of applications from nano-scale design to cell biomechanics will be acquired.

In the framework of 2247-A National Leading Researchers Program launched by TÜBİTAK in 2020, support is provided to projects that have the potential to make significant discoveries and / or inventions, which include targets for achieving groundbreaking developments in areas of strategic value for our country in every field of science and technology, offering the opportunity to meet important gaps in the field, and to give researchers a new perspective.

Some of the eligibility criteria for program support include number of publications of applicants in Q1 journals, the QS and THE rankings of the institutions hosting the applicants for the last 5 years, any previously earned TÜBİTAK and TÜBA awards, and any ERC and RIA/IA projects implemented. 

Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (FENS) member Yasemin Şengül Tezel qualifies for the TÜBİTAK Career Development Program Support (3501).   

TÜBİTAK 3501 is a career development program. The name of Yasemin Şengül Tezel’s project to be supported by this program is "Mathematical Analysis of Strain Rate-Dependent Viscoelasticity Models in the Context of Closed Body". 

Elastic and viscoelastic materials have a large area of application in many fields of physics and engineering, for example in the automotive industry, robotics and machinery technologies, electronics, construction and biomedicine. Upon the advancement of technology, viscoelastic materials had a growing importance, and examination of differential equations defining the viscous deformation of solid objects became important in terms of applications made with these materials. From a mathematical perspective, qualitative examination of solutions of pre-defined initial value and limit value problems for nonlinear partial differential equations with damping effect is a classical and important subject. 

Yasemin Şengül Tezel’s project uses the body relation corresponding to behaviors of solid materials dependent on strain rate as a new class of viscoelastic material. The project aims to make a mathematical examination for the one and three-dimensional differential equations and the coupled equation obtained by using the above-mentioned relation.

With its interdisciplinary structure involving mathematical analysis, modelling and mechanics, the project, supported by TÜBİTAK, is also intended to benefit researchers in fields other than mathematics. 

Our alumnus Zeynep Gürsoy tells her entrepreneurial story to gazeteSU: “I had a dream of creating a brand that made women feel strong, and encouraged them to live the life they wanted. I decided to create a women’s accessories brand for which I could put my design skills into play. I wanted to design handbags, which are always at women’s side like their best friends."

A graduate of Sabancı University Manufacturing Systems program, class of 2008, Zeynep Gürsoy had the inspiration to create her own brand after she started to listen to her inner voice. After working for her family company for 5 years, she took the first important step to creating her own brand by doing a master’s degree at the Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design in London. She then returned to Turkey, and introduced the ‘Tara Folks’ brand, which features accessories and handbags which she designs to make women feel strong.

Gürsoy tells her entrepreneurial story to gazeteSU saying, “I had a dream of creating a brand that made women feel strong, and encouraged them to live the life they wanted. I decided to create a women’s accessories brand for which I could put my design skills into play. I wanted to design handbags, which are always at women’s side like their best friends."

PS: With a wide collection ranging from leather bumbags to shoulder and backpacks, Tara Folks offers 15% discount to all Sabancı University family members. Sabancı University members can enjoy the discount by using the “SABANCILI15” code on the company’s website.                     

First of all, can you introduce yourself? Can you briefly mention your educational background and career?

Hello. I am Zeynep Gürsoy. After studying at the German High School of Istanbul, I graduated from Sabancı Üniversitesi Manufacturing Systems program in 2008. I postponed starting a career and moved to Florence for a couple of months to develop my Italian, which I had started to learn at Sabancı University. In January 2009, I started to work for Mamsan Gıda, our family company, which manufactures dairy products. I had the opportunity to gain experience for five years in different departments of the company from sales and marketing to production, supply chain and procurement. Back then, we manufactured dairy products as a subcontractor for other brands. With the idea of creating our own brand, we established a sub-brand, ‘Sütçüm’ in Edirne, where our facilities were located. This process, in which I was able to be involved in everything from design to sales channels development, enabled me to see the big picture when I established and developed my own brand.

As I do not have any experience of working in the corporate world, I cannot judge how things would have been today had I worked for other companies, but working with my father, I learned a lot from him about interpersonal relations and entrepreneurship, which I am currently using, and I feel very lucky for that reason.

I always had a dream of doing a master’s degree abroad. At the beginning, I wanted to move on with an MBA, as I was probably driven by the herd psychology. And although I received acceptance letters for MBA programs from some very good schools in Europe, I was not excited about an MBA. What I sought was to have specialization in a field in which I could use my creativity.  “MS Applied Imagination in the Creative Industries” at the Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design in London was exactly my cup of tea. When I was accepted to the program, I relocated to London. Thanks to this program, on top of my engineering background, I had friends from many different countries coming from various creative sectors such as graphic design, fashion design etc. Getting to know different cultures widened my perspective to a great extent. I then decided to create my own brand instead of going back to my family business.

When and how did you decide to establish Tara Folks? Can you talk about the startup stages of your business? 

I wanted to do something for women. I had a dream of creating a brand that somehow made women feel strong, and encouraged them to live the life they wanted. I decided to create a women’s accessories brand for which I could put my design skills into play. I wanted to design handbags, which are always at women’s side like their best friends. For this, I also completed an online handbag design course. My course teacher is still my mentor and has become a very close friend of mine over time.

I kind of dived into a sector, which I had not known at all, with my very strong motivation to realize my dream. I did not know any manufacturer, or any procurement managers of the companies that would be interested in buying my products, or any editors of the magazines where I could advertise my brand and products, or any stylists. After I had taken my designs beyond the sketching process, and turned them into cardboard mockups, I started to look for a manufacturer. After my product samples were ready, I started to take part in high-quality shopping events such as Çaba, TOGbazar, Zubizu, Canan&İris with my limited amount of stock. I was nearly alone in all this process. I was helped by a relative of mine, whom I called my sister. We used to set up our display table like modern stallholders, carry our handbags, and collect them back in the evening. As I attended such events, I could network with more and more people from the sector. Every network that I built opened a new door for me. First of all, I started to work with local boutique stores like RoomandRumours. Then, I started to sell my bags in large department stores in Istanbul like Galeries Lafayette and Harvey Nichols. And, finally, I sold my products online on websites such as WolfandBadger, which predominantly work for the US and the UK markets. Every step that I took turned out to be very valuable, as they moved me to the next stage. As I met and talked to different people from the fashion sector, I acquired various ideas about the steps to take to create my own brand. And I learned that there is no one and only truth, but there are many truths.

What is your target for Tara Folks?

In the short run, I aim to increase brand awareness for Tara Folks and grow my in-house domestic and international online sales volume. In addition, I want to expand my team and to be able to allocate some more time to the design aspect of my business. Moreover, I am planning to collaborate with related partners to produce short videos in order to reflect the essence of the brand in an entertaining way.

In the longer run, I would like to make Tara Folks a well-known and sought-after brand abroad for its designs and high-quality. Thus, I aim to be an example demonstrating the quality of Turkish leather and craft, and contribute to the economy of our country through my exports.

How did becoming a Sabancı University graduate contribute to you in terms of being involved in an entrepreneurial idea and acquiring entrepreneurial vision? How do you interpret being a Sabancı University member in that respect?   

I was so lucky to take a course on entrepreneurship from the late Ziya Boyacıgiller when I studied at Sabancı University. He was a person who greatly inspired me as a successful and modest professor with an engineering background. In addition, I was able to acquire know-how in different fields thanks to the interdisciplinary education and CIP programs offered by Sabancı. So, when I connected the dots derived from many different disciplines and visions, my creativity and originality made themselves manifest. I think being a Sabancı member means being curious about and also interested in fields other than your own, and being an individual who seeks ways to answer a question although you may not find the answer, and who asks new questions continuously for self-development.

Sabancı University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate (IICEC) has released the twenty-first issue of IICEC Energy Market Newsletter.

Please click to read IICEC Energy Market Newsletter