24/10/2013
Sabancı University one of top three institutions in reverse intellectual migration
Turkish Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Nihat Ergün said that TÜBİTAK’s fellowship program for Turkish researchers living abroad received great interest and 117 researchers returned to Turkey within the first 9 months of 2013.
According to Nihat Ergün, the top 3 choices of researchers wishing to return to Turkey were the Middle East Technical, Bilkent and Sabancı Universities.
The TÜBİTAK Office for Scientist Support initiated the ‘2232 Returning Scientist Fellowship Program’ which provides returning Turkish researchers with a stipend of TL 3250 for 2 years and a research funding of TL 25,000. Turkish citizens with undergraduate, graduate or doctorate degrees who live and work as a researcher abroad are eligible to apply. Applications may be made on an ongoing basis, and submissions in the fields of Natural Sciences, Engineering and Technological Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, and Medical Sciences are accepted. The TÜBİTAK 2232 Returning Scientist Fellowship Program enables researchers living abroad to return to Turkey and start related work in a university, public R&D office or a private business.
According to TÜBİTAK data, 117 Turkish scientists applied to the program since the beginning of 2013, 74 of which were accepted. Returning scientists mostly preferred to work in universities, and the top three choices were Middle East Technical (METU) with 16 researchers, Bilkent with 15, and Sabancı University with 10 returning scientists. The number of full-time faculty members of these universities in the 2012-2013 academic year is 745 at METU, 608 at Bilkent and 205 at Sabancı, which, considering the ratio of returning scientists to the number of current full-time faculty, is an outstanding achievement for Sabancı University.
Among returning scientists who have chosen Sabancı University are Serhat Gül from the US with the project “Optimization in the Provision of Medical Services” and advisor İlker Birbil from the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences; Tolga Güver from the US with the project “A Comprehensive Study of X-ray Spectrum Properties of Magnetars” and advisor Ersin Göğüş; Özgür Demircan from Japan with the project “Experimental and Numeric (FEM) Analysis of the Mechanical Properties of Composites Manufactured with the RTM Technique Using Innovative Types of Weaving” and advisor Mehmet Yıldız; and Yasemin Yozgat from the US with the project “The Use of TALEN Technology to Create Targeted Genomic Mutations and Study of Their Effects on Cancer Resistance Mechanisms” and advisor Batu Erman. We wish all of our returning fellows success in their endeavors.
Sabancı University continues to receive applications for the 2232 Returning Scientist Program. There are a number of applications submitted in 2013 that are currently under assessment.