Sabancı University Program for Undergraduate Research (PURE) 2017-2018 Summer Term started on 25 June 2018.

The program, which is in the second year, accepts students outside of Sabancı University for the first time. PURE, which accepted almost half of its students from other universities and which also hosts international students as of 2017-2018 Summer Term, provides undergraduates with the opportunity to acquire scientific research experience for 7 weeks between 25 June and 10 August 2018. Accommodation is provided by the Sabancı University in the dormitories without the fee.

The orientation, held on 26 June 2018, started with the speeches by our Vice Presidents Cem Güneri and Şirin Tekinay and our faculty member Hüsnü Yenigün from the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences. In the orientation speeches, the opportunity of access to Sabancı University's research infrastructure for PURE students and the relevance of skills, which the students will acquire through the program such as asking the right questions and problem-solving, in both academic and professional settings was underlined. Orientation was followed by a campus and Collaboration Space tour.

Within the scope of Sabancı University Program for Undergraduate Research, students will fulfill tasks within scientific research projects under the supervision of Sabancı University Faculty Members and researchers and learn steps of scientific research by experience.

In 2017-2018 Summer Term, PURE accepted 142 students out of 433 applicants and the students were assigned to 55 research projects supervised by Sabancı University Faculty Members and researchers.

Sabancı University Founding Chairman of the Board of Trustees Güler Sabancı speaking at the Sabancı University Commencement Ceremony: 

• I stand with my optimism that the coming years will be better for democracy and human rights both in Turkey and the world. 

• Remember that being solution-oriented, constructive and open to cooperation, and able to function in a team will be your greatest competitive advantages in the future. 

• Your ability to improve and renew yourselves will be key to your success and happiness.

1200 students from 26 countries received their graduate and undergraduate degrees at the Sabancı University Commencement Ceremony. 

On Friday, June 22nd, 2018, Sabancı University held the commencement ceremony for its 19th graduate and 16th undergraduate classes. Graduates received their diplomas at a ceremony on the Sabancı University campus. 

The top ranking students of the three faculties also received their awards. Winners were Mehmet Oğuz Gök in the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Ebrar Nefes in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and Alexander Gruber in the School of Management. Among Sabancı University graduates this year were students from 26 countries.                              

Speaking in the ceremony were Sabancı University Founding Chairman of the Board of Trustees Güler Sabancı and President Zehra Sayers as well as Ebru Demir on behalf of graduate students, Selin Onat on behalf of undergraduate students, and Sabancı University Alumni Association President Zeynep Bahar Çelik. 

“Sabancı University is an organization that is consistently on international rankings”

Founding Chairman of the Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı began by thanking the Sabancı Foundation. She also remembered Sadıka Sabancı, who bequeathed her estate in 1974 to start the Sabancı Foundation, on the occasion of the 30th year of her passing. 

Güler Sabancı expressed her gratitude in Sakıp Sabancı, the Honorary Chairman of Sabancı University, for pursuing his vision that Turkey's ascent to the civilized world would be at the hands of a well-raised, well-educated youth and founding the university. 

Güler Sabancı added that they had set out to build a "global university" and create a globally-recognized, respected and accepted academic institution. She emphasized that Sabancı University was an organization that is consistently on international rankings. 

“I am confident that the Sakıp Sabancı Center for Turkish Studies will be a point of reference for Turkish Studies across the world” 

According to Güler Sabancı, a significant output of that vision was the Columbia University Sakıp Sabancı Center for Turkish Studies, an excellent match for its namesake, inugurated in New York this year. Güler Sabancı said, “I am confident that the Sakıp Sabancı Center for Turkish Studies will be a point of reference for Turkish Studies across the world with the support of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences." 

Addressing graduates, Güler Sabancı remarked, "You have been equipped with the competencies you need to become true 'global citizens'. You have the skills and capability to adapt and thrive wherever you go once you leave today."

Güler Sabancı noted the difference between the world of 1978, when she graduated from university, and the world today. Sabancı continued: "We have witnessed and continue to witness one of the most rapid transformations in human history with technology. We are discussing citizenship for robots, space colonies, 3D-printed human tissue. This is Industry 4.0, a historical turning point." 

"I stand with my optimism that the years to come will be better for democracy and human rights both in Turkey and the world."

Referring to issues that awaited resolution in Turkey and the world, Güler Sabancı said that while schooling rates increased, there were yet problems to be overcome in education systems. 

Although fewer people died in wars, the effects of those wars were profoundly felt elsewhere, said Güler Sabancı, pointing out dangerous inclinations such as "disrespect for different views", "exclusion of others" and "increased intolerance" both in Turkey and worldwide. Güler Sabancı continued, “But we know that such 'regressions' in history are temporary. I stand with my optimism that the years to come will be better for democracy and human rights both in Turkey and the world. That is because I trust you and the education you have received!" 

She reminded the audience that Sabancı University graduates not only received education in a scientific area or a profession, but were also raised to be youths who: 

• Adopt universal values such as human rights, equality and rule of law,
• Challenge and question issues,
• Believe in the power of knowledge and science, 

• Are "Free in mind, thought and conscience" as Atatürk always wanted.

No robot or artificial intelligence has been able to replace human consciousness

Güler Sabancı said that while there were intelligent robots to do a multitude of tasks, one step ahead of those robots were human beings who are thoroughly knowledgeable, use data to decide, know how to challenge, dream for a better future, and most importantly, have consciousness, conscience and emotions. 

Saying that sentience and the ability to manage feelings were the primary factor in differentiating humans from other life forms, Sabancı noted that no robot or artificial intelligence has been able to replace human consciousness. 

Words of advice by Güler Sabancı to graduates 

Güler Sabancı gave the following advice to graduates: 

• In an age when humanoid robots are being built, you must (absolutely!) avoid becoming roboticized humans. 

• Make your feelings an integral part of your thinking and reasoning. 

• Be aware of your emotions and work on how to manage them. 

• Remember that being:  

• solution-oriented,
• constructive and open to cooperation,
• and able to function in a team will be your greatest competitive advantages in the future." 

You will enjoy lifelong learning and renewing yourselves 

Güler Sabancı said that technology would enable many of them to live to be 100 years old, suggesting that they prepare for it and make long-term plans.  Claiming that they would change between not only employers but business sectors as well, Sabancı said that they would have to learn new specialties for which they were never trained, continuing: "By doing so, you will enjoy lifelong learning and renewing yourselves.  Your ability to improve and renew yourselves will be key to your success and happiness. So I recommend that you don't forget about your university and keep in contact." 

Continuing her advice to graduates, Güler Sabancı said that people could only be happy and successful in jobs that they like and find meaningful.  “A journey can only be pleasant and take you where you want if you put passion and significance into it" continued Sabancı, and concluded: 

• First and foremost, know yourself well. 

• Put your heart into whatever you do. 

• Concentrate and persevere. 

• But don't fear change. 

• Make your best effort and hang on all along, 

• Except, be brave enough to choose new paths after you put your mind, reasoning and capabilities to work. 

• I believe that you will do your best and make a difference wherever you work and whatever job you do.

Two reminders from the president 

Sabancı University President Zehra Sayers began by saying that people and institutions had to have solid foundations and a determined, disciplined approach to be able to follow the path they set for themselves. Sayers discussed the new strategic plan and the various organizational and academic changes that followed. 

Zehra Sayers continued, “We have been pioneers since we were founded, and our recent strategic plan is full of innovations for our institution. As ever, we were proud of the national and international achievements of our graduates and students." 

Zehra Sayers said that Sabancı University graduates thrived and generated value all across the world from North America to Asia, and gave two pieces of advice to graduates: 

Do not fear failure or mistakes. As long as you don't hurt someone deliberately and try to put yourselves in others' shoes and try to understand them, you can quickly overcome your mistakes. 

Confronting failure and being honest to ourselves creates valuable experiences. 

Experiences that we learn from. Once we rise from where we have fallen, we feel stronger and better aware. 

Secondly, don't be afraid to take risks. You will need to take them to reach your dreams. Have confidence in yourself and what you have. By taking risks, you can transform uncertainty into opportunity. At this point I need to quote Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg: 'The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that's changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks." 

Hat-tossing was followed by live music and dance shows by Ayhan Sicimoğlu. Sabancı University Founding Chairman of the Board of Trustees Güler Sabancı joined the dance to share the excitement of graduation with the students.

The worldwide "Art Conservation Project" implemented by Bank of America Merrill Lynch completed the conservation of and research about six paintings by Osman Hamdi Bey in the Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum Collection with a team that included Sabancı University scientists. An exhibition titled Osman Hamdi Bey: Beyond the Visible can now be visited at the Atlı Köşk and explains the phases of the project.

The research and conservation of six paintings by Osman Hamdi Bey in the Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum Collection had begun in 2016. Being part of the worldwide "Art Conservation Project" implemented by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and the most extensive conservation and research effort on Osman Hamdi Bey paintings in Turkey, the project is now made available to viewers as an exhibition in Atlı Köşk called Osman Hamdi Bey: Beyond the Visible.

The project involved a comparative study of painting techniques, previous restoration work, and other details of the artist's work and production based on his six paintings: Vazoda Çiçekler, Kuran Okuyan Hoca, Kokona Despina, Naile Hanım Portresi, Arzuhalci and Cami. The exhibition Osman Hamdi Bey: Beyond the Visible reveals the artist's painting technique and creates a detailed narrative of art conservation and a roadmap for future work.

As the first of its kind in Turkey, the project showed that scientific methods could be a way to garner more information about the technique of an artist, and provided other means to date an artist's works. The project also guided comparative work on the techniques and materials found in paintings attributed to Osman Hamdi Bey.

The first step in the project was to use X-ray imaging to reveal any previous restoration work, the locations of heavy metal-containing paint, and remnants in substrata that were not visible to the naked eye. These illustrated the sketches done by Osman Hamdi Bey prior to applying paint, his painting techniques, and the life cycle of the paintings. This was followed by chemical analyses to determine the structure of the materials used by the artist, as well as colors, layers of paint, and textures. The organic structures of the canvas in all six paintings were studied using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the data was classified using principal components analysis.

It was observed that the natural aging process led to cracks and peeling in the paint, and yellowing in the clear varnish. After the works were cleaned and reinforced, a conservation procedure was also applied.

Efforts to ensure the integrity of Osman Hamdi Bey paintings into the future entailed collaboration between Sabancı, Koç and Istanbul Technical Universities, while the Getty Conservation Institute contributed to test result assessment.

The 2018 Closing Lecture, which will be done within the scope of Commencement Days, is going to be given by Canan Dağdeviren on 22th of June, Friday.

We stream our 2018 Closing Lecture live from https://www.sabanciuniv.edu/en/. 

About Canan Dağdeviren 

Canan Dağdeviren was born in Istanbul on May 4, 1985 and graduated from Hacettepe University in Physics Engineering in June 2007. In June 2009, she completed his master's degree in Sabancı University's Materials Science and Engineering Program and earned the Fulbright Ph.D. Scholarship in the same year and started her doctoral studies in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign (UIUC). She worked with Professor John A. Rogers on flexible and foldable, in-body and on-skin-adherable / wearable electronic devices that fall under the scope of physics, electronics, chemistry, materials, mechanics and medicine. Between 2014-2016, Canan Dağdeviren worked with Prof. Worked with Robert Langer, the most highly regarded engineer in history so far in MIT, for her post-doctoral study. In December, 2014, she was elected for Junior Fellow of Harvard. She is the first person to win this award in the history of Turkey and received the highest vote given by Senior Fellows. Canan Dağdeviren has 26 articles, 5 patents and over 35 national and international awards. Among the awards she recently received won the Science & SciLifeLab Prize, the Nobel Prize of the youth, in the type field and received the prize in the Stockholm city of Sweden, and at the same time invited the Nobel Prize Ceremony. She is the first Innovation and Technology Delegate elected from Turkey in The American Academy of Achievement in 2017. She continues her research with her own research group at MIT Media Lab.

Sabancı University 2018 Commencement Ceremony will be held on Friday, June 22th.

We stream our Commencement Ceremony live from https://www.sabanciuniv.edu/en/, this means that friends and family of our graduating students, who are unable to attend, can join in the celebrations from afar. 

For further information please visit commencement.sabanciuniv.edu.

gazeteSU digests compiled from the highlights of gazeteSU every day will be emailed twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, between July 2 and September 17, 2018.

You can still check gazeteSU online for daily news about the university.

Dear Sabancı University Members,

Due to declared early election date; Undergraduate and Graduate (*) commencement days have been reorganized as 21-22 June 2018 with the suggestion of Commencement Committee and the decision of Academic Council. Commencement Ceremony will be held on 22 June 2018, Friday.

For further information please visit  commencement.sabanciuniv.edu.

(*) Commencement Ceremony for the master programs of EMBA, PMBA, MBA, MIF, BP, ETM, IT and DA will be held on a different date. Please follow up the announcements for detailed information.

For your kind information

The 2018 Closing Lecture, which will be done within the scope of Commencement Days, is going to be given by Canan Dağdeviren on 22th of June, Friday.

About Canan Dağdeviren 

Canan Dağdeviren was born in Istanbul on May 4, 1985 and graduated from Hacettepe University in Physics Engineering in June 2007. In June 2009, she completed his master's degree in Sabancı University's Materials Science and Engineering Program and earned the Fulbright Ph.D. Scholarship in the same year and started her doctoral studies in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign (UIUC). She worked with Professor John A. Rogers on flexible and foldable, in-body and on-skin-adherable / wearable electronic devices that fall under the scope of physics, electronics, chemistry, materials, mechanics and medicine. Between 2014-2016, Canan Dağdeviren worked with Prof. Worked with Robert Langer, the most highly regarded engineer in history so far in MIT, for her post-doctoral study. In December, 2014, she was elected for Junior Fellow of Harvard. She is the first person to win this award in the history of Turkey and received the highest vote given by Senior Fellows. Canan Dağdeviren has 26 articles, 5 patents and over 35 national and international awards. Among the awards she recently received won the Science & SciLifeLab Prize, the Nobel Prize of the youth, in the type field and received the prize in the Stockholm city of Sweden, and at the same time invited the Nobel Prize Ceremony. She is the first Innovation and Technology Delegate elected from Turkey in The American Academy of Achievement in 2017. She continues her research with her own research group at MIT Media Lab.

Sabancı and Koç Universities take another step towards cooperation that will yield benefits both on a regional and global scale. Sabancı and Koç Universities signed a protocol to join their forces with a view towards creating value in teaching, research, and associated activities.

The protocol to establish specific action steps and guidelines was signed in a ceremony attended by Sabancı University Vice President of Research and Development Şirin Tekinay and Koç University Vice President of Research and Development İrşadi Aksun on June 5, 2018.

The protocol will encourage direct interaction, partnership and collaboration between the faculty, departments, institutes, research and application centers, and students of the two universities. The cooperation also includes focused workshops to innovate beyond what is available and plan a variety of events. 

Sabancı University climbed to 43rd place on Times Higher Education's (THE) "250 Under 50" list of top universities under 50 years old.

Having improved its ranking by 8 places in 2017 compared to 2016, Sabancı University is the only university from Turkey in the Rankings to improve its position for two consecutive years.

Commenting on the subject, Sabancı University Acting President Zehra Sayers said: "We are delighted and proud that Sabancı University is the only Turkish university to improve its position for two consecutive years and ranks 43rd on the "Top 250 Universities Under 50" Rankings.

Sabancı University owes this success to the hard work and dedication of its undergraduate and graduate students, faculty members, employees, supporters and friends.  It is due to the human-focused, performance- and merit-based approach to our students, faculty and employees that encourages a questioning and free spirit, and provides leading services in education and research."  

Methodology

The performance indicators used in the rankings are: 

Research: volume, income and reputation (worth 30%)

Citations: research influence (worth 30%)

Teaching: the learning environment (worth 30%)

International Outlook: staff, students and research (worth 7.5%)

Industry Income: innovation (worth 2.5%) 

Sabancı University improved its score in three of the five indicators covered in the ranking methodology:

Research from 48.4 to 52.1; Citations from 61.6 to 62.1; and Industry Income from 77.7 to 87.8.  

Global "250 Under 50" Rankings 

This year, 9 Turkish universities were included on THE's "250 Under 50" list as opposed to 5 last year. The Turkish universities and their respective rankings are: Koç University 40th (2017: 36th), Bilkent University 91st (2017: 76th), Atılım University 151st to 200th (2017: 98th), Gebze Technical University 151st to 200th; and Akdeniz, Erciyes, İzmir Technology and TOBB Universities 201st to 250th.