A needle-like device designed by MSc in Materials Science and Engineering 2009 graduate Canan Dağdeviren detects broken links in the brain that causes diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, and enables the targeted delivery of drugs.

Visiting Bursa for a program, Harvard University Junior Fellow Dr. Dağdeviren spoke to an Anatolian Agency reporter, saying: "Patients have to take their medicine via the intravenous or oral routes. These substances do travel to the brain, but they harm other parts of the body as well. Recovery takes a long time. It took me three months to design a needle, but it works.  We tried it on chimpanzees and got results. It was a very difficult experiment."

Dağdeviren said that her efforts enable the detection of broken links in the brain.

Drugs are then administered directly to these broken links by a needle-like device.  Dağdeviren says: "What I did was to change the design. The device must be about 10 centimeters long and exceptionally thin, because we were experimenting on live animals. We can't cause them any suffering."

Dağdeviren says that her greatest influence when designing the device was the tallest building in the world, and that she worked with an architect to design the device.

"We will be working on 4-dimensional devices"

Dağdeviren explained that she was dedicated to designing devices that treat preexisting conditions.  Dağdeviren said her next project would take her to MIT where her work will be inspired by her aunt, who passed away 5 months ago due to breast cancer.

Saying that she would experiment with similar devices on the body, especially the breast region, Dağdeviren continued:

"My work began on a single dimension. When I was at Hacettepe University, I started working on fibers. I then built devices using these single-dimensional materials at Sabancı University. But this wasn't enough. I started working with a professor in America. I built two-dimensional devices that could be worn on the body. Now I'm working on three dimensions and a needle that can penetrate the body. Next, I will be working on four dimensions at MIT and you will hear about them soon. In the future, any drugs you take will contain minute circuits. We will be able to track the drug you take. We will be able to see where it goes and what it does. From one perspective, medicine today is much like a set of pajamas. You can put on your mom's, dad's or even sister's pajamas, but they won't fit comfortably. My work, on the other hand, is towards a personalized form of medicine that will fit you like a bespoke jacket. In the future, the wealth of individuals will be noticed by the number of electronic devices they wear on their bodies. This will make detecting any changes in your body a breeze."

Ventures and entrepreneurs supported by Sabancı University Entrepreneurship Council's pre-incubation center SUCool enjoy great success in Turkey and the world. Raklet, a SUCool-supported venture, was accepted to Microsoft's venture acceleration center and will work at Microsoft Ventures in Berlin for three months. Raklet will also make a presentation in the Demo Day on June 29, 2016 in Berlin.

Raklet also found the opportunity to participate in Hannover Messe, one of the most influential trade shows in the business, and meet with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Following appointments with US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Satya Nadella met with startups in the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator. One of the ventures that had a 45-minute appointment with Satya Nadella was Raklet. To date, 80% of Microsoft Ventures startups received an average funding of 2.1 million dollars.
Raklet’s appointment with Satya Nadella focused on 1 billion dollars of Azure Cloud support provided to foundations, associations and universities through Microsoft Philantrophies, and how Raklet helped these institutions develop. Raklet founder and Galatasaray University faculty member Assistant Professor Gönen Eren said, “Raklet enables institutions to build their own social network and increase their revenues, which leads to growth, development, and more benefits to the society."

About Raklet: 

Raklet is an integrated social platform that enables associations, foundations and nongovernmental organizations to keep their membership information current, send emails and text messages, collect membership fees and donations, and sell event tickets.

Professor Stupp will provide a lecture on Nanotechnology for energy and advanced medicine (see details below). This presentation will be followed by a networking and cocktails session. The events are open to the entire Northwestern community as well as alumni and friends of our peer U.S. and Turkish institutions.

There is no fee to attend these events, but space is limited and advance registration is required.

Event Details

Friday, May 27, 2016

Sabanci University

Karakoy Minerva Palas

Bankalar Caddesi No:2, 

Karakoy, 34420 Istanbul

Lecture - Nanotechnology for Energy and Advanced Medicine

4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Post-Lecture All-Alumni Networking Cocktail

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Nanotechnology for Energy and Advanced Medicine 

Professor Sam Stupp will discuss recent scientific advances that will impact the development of new technologies for advanced medicine and energy.  These advances are rooted in research on nanotechnology, chemistry and materials science, all areas of great strength at Northwestern. One example he will present about advanced medicine research is the design of new therapies to regenerate tissues and organs such as bone, the brain, heart muscle, cartilage, and others. In the area of energy, Professor Stupp will discuss efforts to create new materials that can generate fuels or convert carbon dioxide into useful chemicals when exposed to the sun.

About Samuel Stupp

Samuel Stupp is Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. He directs the Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology and the Energy Frontiers Research Center for Bio-Inspired Energy Science funded by the Department of Energy. Professor Stupp is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Spanish Royal Academy.  He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Materials Research Society, and his awards include the Department of Energy Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Materials Chemistry, the Materials Research Society Medal Award, the American Chemical Society Award in Polymer Chemistry, the American Chemical Society Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry, and the International Award from The Society of Polymer Science in Japan.  He has received honorary doctorates from Eindhoven Technical University in the Netherlands, the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and the National University of Costa Rica. 

http://stupp.northwestern.edu/vitae/index.html

http://www.chemistry.northwestern.edu/people/core-faculty/profiles/samue...

The USA Alumni Meeting took place over a nice dinner on Saturday, May 7th, at the Columbia University, Lerner Hall (New York).

Representing the University, in attendance were Güler Sabancı, President Nihat Berker, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Dean Ayşe Kadıoğlu, School of Management Dean Füsun Ülengin, Faculty Members Atilla Yaprak and Emre Haitpoğlu, SU Marketing and Institutional Communications Director Berna Özkul, Alumni Relations & Career Development Manager Şule Yalçın and SUMED President Zeynep Bahar. At the event the University representatives met with about 70 alumni (Total 104 participants) living in the USA, many of which who are either continuing their education and professional.

The alumni shared their projects and success stories with the other attendees at the event. Many in attendance also made a gift toward the "SU USA Alumni Scholarship", supporting current SU students that are academically successful, yet have a financial burden, in receiving their education.

Please click here for the all photos.

Alumni Relations Office

02164839352

alumni@sabanciuniv.edu

Students who have Bachelor's, Master's or Doctorate diplomas or students enrolled at universities other than Sabancı University can apply to the courses offered by Sabancı University to participate as special students. The candidates apply for special student status should firstly meet the requirements determined by the relevant Faculty/Graduate School for the level of English.

• To be registered as a student in a higher education institution to be able to take a course from undergraduate level,
• To be registered as a student in, or to be graduated from a higher education institution to be able to take a course from graduate level

Approval for special student application can not be considered as the approval of any diploma programs. Special students are not considered as Sabancı University student and can not benefit from the student rights.

 Transcript on which courses registered and course grades are printed can be given on demand to special students.

Deadline for application: May 30,2016.

2015-2016 Academic Year Summer School Special Student Application

2015-2016 Academic Year Summer School Modern Turkish Language Application

Mailing Address:
Sabancı University
Student Resources Unit
Orta Mahalle, Üniversite Cd. No:27
34956 Orhanlı-Tuzla
İSTANBUL, TR

Phone: 0216 483 90 93
Fax: 0216 483 90 73

E-mail: studentinfo@sabanciuniv.edu, ssadmission@sabanciuniv.edu

Sabancı School of Management entered into a partnership with the Executive Education program at Columbia Business School, one of the leading business schools of the world with a century of experience. The partnership will enable Sabancı University Executive MBA students to attend a two-week Executive Education leadership program at Columbia Business School in New York. 

The cooperation agreement between Sabancı University School of Management and Columbia Business School will enable Sabancı University Executive MBA students to attend a two-week leadership program in New York. Participants will attend lectures by Columbia Business School faculty and visit companies in the business capital of the world to gain a better understanding of the global business environment.

The first step in the partnership was taken with the signature ceremony at Columbia University on Friday, May 6, 2016.  Attending the meeting were Sabancı University Founding Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı, President Professor Nihat Berker, School of Management Dean Professor Füsun Ülengin, Glenn Hubbard, Dean of Columbia Business School, and Associate Dean of Executive Education Mike Malefakis.

“We are lifting up the careers of Executive MBA participants to the premier league”

Sabancı University Founding Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı said, "This agreement between Columbia Business School and our School of Management is an innovative step towards greater achievements and international partnership. This agreement will empower our School of Management to continue being a center of attraction and excellence in its field. Through this partnership with Columbia Business School Executive Education, we are taking the careers of Executive MBA participants to the premier league. I am confident that business leaders in Turkey will make the most of this opportunity and achieve great gains."

Sabancı University School of Management Dean Professor Füsun Ülengin said, “The Sabancı School of Management has been among the leading business schools in Turkey since our university was established. The School proved its quality of education by earning the AACSB Accreditation and was listed among the top Executive MBA programs by Financial Times. Our next objective is to run for regional leadership with such international partnerships. Business leaders today are expected not only to have an excellent grasp of their own country and the business environment there, but also to to have global competencies and international experience. Sharing of academic knowledge as well as local and regional experience within this partnership will expand the vision of both schools. The international experience will create unprecedented learning opportunities for both the participants and our institutions. As the School of Management, we will continue to make the best investments for our students in the future."

Associate Dean of Columbia Business School Executive Education, Mike Malefakis, said, “Columbia Business School Executive Education welcomes the opportunity to partner with Sabanci School of Management.  We are excited to offer Sabanci students the opportunity to learn from our world-renown thought leaders and to provide access to leading business practitioners here at the very center of business.  Our hope is that this experience will allow Turkish executives to take the lessons learned here and put them into practice in Turkey or wherever they chose to operate next in the world.” 

Nanographene wins third prize in the 5th Automotive Project Marketplace

SUNUM researcher Assistant Professor Burcu Saner Okan and Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Dean Professor Yusuf Menceloğlu won the third prize with Nanographene in the 5th Automotive Project Marketplace and 5th Component Design Contest held by the Uludağ Automotive Exporters Association (OİB) under the auspices of the Turkish Ministry of Economy and guidance of the Exporters' Assembly of Turkey on May 5 and 6, 2016 at the Tübitak MAM / Tüsside Gebze Campus.

The graphene material manufactured by Nanografen, a company established in December 2013, is used as a lightweight alternative for car bodies, making the structure safer and more resilient. Burcu Saner Okan received the prize from Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Fikri Işık.

SAS and Sabancı University Join Forces for Big Data Analytics

SAS Turkey became the analytical partner of the Sabancı University Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Laboratory as part of a project within the SAS Global Academic Program. Turkey's first big data lab will use advanced analytical methods with the support of SAS to make the big data held by businesses usable and meaningful, and train students to embrace an analytical vision.

SAS, a global leader in analytics, carries out the SAS Global Academic Program with universities and corporations around the world to support work on data science and advanced analytics. As part of the SAS Global Academic Program that includes more than 3000 universities worldwide, SAS Turkey became the analytical partner to the Sabancı University "Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Laboratory”, Turkey's first big data lab.

Speaking in the signature ceremony, Sabancı University President Professor A. Nihat Berker said, "Thanks to developing technologies and online networks, it is easier than ever to access information. This led to an abundance of data sources and data. What matters today is not simply accessing data, but using and interpreting data in an easy and accurate way. Since our establishment, joint projects and collaboration with the industry have been among our top priorities. At the Sabancı University Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Lab, we will compile data that sits suspended in the digital universe, and give them social meaningfulness. This will turn the data held by businesses into usable and meaningful information. We believe that our partnership with SAS will significantly boost our efforts in this area."

Also speaking at the signature ceremony, SAS Turkey General Manager Hakan Erdemli said, "The SAS Global Academic Program includes over 3000 universities worldwide, and we joined this program with Sabancı University as our partner. We are tremendously excited to be the analytical partner of Turkey's first big data lab. We support academic institutions with data science and advanced analytics in this project, helping students acquire an analytical vision before they start their careers while also showing how businesses can turn their data into usable and meaningful information."

The Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Laboratory is founded by Sabancı University in association with MIT and the strategic partnerships of Akbank and SAS, and carries out research in close collaboration with MIT Media Lab Human Dynamics Group researchers and faculty. Sabancı University Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Laboratory Director Associate Professor Burçin Bozkaya said, “This multifaceted agreement signed between SAS Turkey and Sabancı University contains elements of cooperation in both research and training. The analytical software support provided by SAS Turkey will help us continue our research efforts in the Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Lab, while the training they offer will help the graduates of our new Business Analytics master's and PhD programs acquire the qualifications required of them by businesses as well as academic institutions. As a result, this partnership is important to us and we believe that we will generate outcomes that are highly effective for Turkey."

The 3rd Sabancı University Search Conference took place at the Sabancı University campus on March 19 and 20, 2016.

Topics discussed in the Search Conference included prevalent trends in higher education, the design of the ideal university of the future, and the current situation of Sabancı University. Brainstorming and workshop sessions were held on the future of the university. The Search Conference was joined by 62 Sabancı University members and non-members from 10 countries. Participants included Sabancı University Board of Trustees members, faculty and alumni, academics, nongovernmental organization representatives and business executives.

In the introductory remarks, Sabancı University Founding Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı said that the founders of Sabancı University decided to have the first Search Conference 20 years ago, when the university was at the concept stage, and start the journey to build the "ideal global university." Güler Sabancı continued: "The participants of that conference put in great efforts to create the collective reason that defined what a global university looked like. Our university's motto of 'creating and developing together', the philosophy of our university, and many attributes that make us unique also emerged from that conference." Güler Sabancı added that they discussed where Sabancı University was and where the university intended to be in the next ten years at the 2nd Search Conference held in April 2006.

Güler Sabancı said: “We decided to hold a Search Conference every 10 years. Today, we continue to work with the same enthusiasm to discuss trends in education over the next decade and assess the opportunities and challenges that may face Sabancı University."

How will education look like in the future?  Trends in Higher Education

Two trends became manifest at the end of the two-day intensive conference moderated by Sabancı University School of Management faculty member Oğuz Babüroğlu.  

These trends were defined as "personalized education" and "increasing civil involvement." The overarching theme of the outputs was to preserve Sabancı University's existing structure while personalizing university practices, while striving for further industry and society integration at the same time.

Components of search conference outputs

A summary of outputs regarding the functions expected of a university follows.

1. Undergraduate education: Designing an education process that starts at high school level and continues beyond university education to introduce progressively higher value,
2. Research and civic involvement: Adopting a research philosophy that generates more solutions for social issues, and operating diverse and cross-disciplinary centers to implement these solutions.

It was noted that Sabancı University was a trendsetter in Turkish higher education and that it was critical that this is maintained.

The importance of “cross-disciplinary” centers in the future growth of Sabancı University was emphasized. Participants agreed to evolve these centers in a way that they will generate knowledge useful to the public while maintaining enough resilience to be integrated into personalized education. Also emphasized in this regard was the importance of the transformation that the teaching and project execution methods of faculty members must go through in order to keep up with the new trends.

Based on the outputs of the conference, three working groups on Undergraduate Education, Centers and Graduate Studies, and Governance will be established to design the action plans that will later be implemented at Sabancı University. The members and scopes of work for these groups have been established, and the groups will begin work under the direction of Sabancı University School of Management faculty member Oğuz Babüroğlu. The working groups are expected to complete preparatory work until the commencement of the new 5-Year Strategic Plan in the 2017-2018 academic year.