Sabancı University International Relations Office (IRO) held special events for the International Staff Training Mobility Week, organized for the first time as part of the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project.

19 administrative and academic officials, mostly working in the field of internationalization, from 9 different countries including Argentina, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Iran, Colombia, Malaysia, Peru, Russia and Jordan attended the events held on Tuzla Campus between 18-22 July 2022.

On the first day of the event, information was given about the work of Sabancı University and the International Relations Office during the presentations delivered by Sabancı University Vice President Cem Güneri and International Relations Office Director Abdullah Daşçı. The presentations also included information about the activities carried out in the field of internationalization and digitalization at Sabancı University.

During the event week, good practice examples from Sabancı University and partner institutions were shared in line with the interests of the participants. In addition, the participants had one-on-one meetings with SU Gender, CIP, Internship and Alumni Relations Office, FENS, SBS, FDP, Student Resources and IRO officials. 

The closing speech was delivered by Meltem Müftüler-Baç, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. In the last two days of the event, guests visited the Sakıp Sabancı Museum and other historical and cultural sites of Istanbul.

The project, which ended with the mobility of 73 people as of July 31, 2022 under the coordination of Sabancı University International Relations Office, aims to strengthen the ties of universities and enhance their visibility at the international level.

Sabancı University hosts 8 participants from Turkey at the Asian Science Camp. Sabancı University carries out the selection of the Turkish Delegation and organizes the participation in the camp.

The Asian Science Camp, which since 2007has aimed to create an environment for scientific discussion by bringing gifted and talented young people between the ages of 16-19 who are interested in science together with distinguished researchers and Nobel prize-winning scientists, will be held on 24-30 July 2022, in Daejeon, South Korea.

This year's Nobel laureate speakers of the Camp, where 8 young people from Turkey are hosted at the Sabancı University Tuzla campus and participate online, are Tim Hunt, who won the Nobel prize in Physiology/Medicine in 2001, Randy Schekman, who received the same prize in 2013, and Stefan Hell, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014.

“An invaluable and unforgettable experience”

Zeynep Gülse Aydın (Sainte Pulchérie High School - ISTANBUL), one of the camp participants, noted that they have learned a lot from different fields at the Asian Science Camp. She said, “There are many subjects from physics and mathematics to historical narratives and current life. Since I want to work in the scientific field in the future, I can say that it has benefited me a lot”. She is also very pleased to meet new friends thanks to the camp. She added “I never thought we would get along so well. Everyone is so different. But we all found very nice synergies. We help each other. We answer questions”.

Eylül Ustaoğlu (Üsküdar American High School - ISTANBUL) thinks that one of the best aspects of the program is to experience Sabancı University. He said, “Thanks to this camp, I had the opportunity to visit Sabancı's campus for the first time. I think it is very nice to stay in the dormitory and benefit from the facilities of the university. Apart from the Asian Science Camp, Sabancı University's activities such as visiting Co-Space, SUNUM building and laboratories are also very well thought out. We also meet with Sabancı University professors in our fields of interest. Sabancı is accomplishing a great thing by bringing this program to Turkey. It is difficult for students from Turkey to communicate with Nobel laureates. The aim of all of us is to be useful to our country. It is important to increase the access of children in our country to education and academia. In this sense, it is a very valuable and unforgettable experience for me”.

Another participant, Onur Yiğit Taş (ISTEK Kemal Atatürk Anatolian High School - ISTANBUL), who shares the same opinion, said, “Physical participation in the Asian Science Camp could also be nice, but I think this is good, too. We can find the same opportunities at Sabancı University”.

Lessons from 3 Nobel Prize-winning Researchers

Since the Asian Science Camp is held in South Korea, the lesson hours are scheduled accordingly. Ömer Eren Koçyiğit (Hekimoğlu High School - KONYA) said that this created a bit of a jetlag effect on them. He said, “It is a little difficult to get up at 3 am and sleep during the day, but we got used to it. The course content is very rich. So far, we have taken lessons from 3 Nobel laureate researchers. The topics are also very interesting. We have the opportunity to take courses in many different fields such as molecular biology, nanophysics, and theoretical physics”.

Eren Umay (Robert College - ISTANBUL) pointed out that the camp has accomplished an important job in terms of the unconditional sharing of information. He said, “I believe that information should be in the public domain. The program ensures that information is freely available to students. Therefore, the goal of the program is quite nice and important. Although the content of the program is sometimes below my expectations, it is quite beautiful. It is also very nice to be able to benefit from Sabancı University's facilities and make new friends”.

Bora Menderes (Nazilli Science High School - AYDIN) says, "The camp is nice in general," and adds, "The lectures given by European scientists were particularly good. I am very pleased".

Alara Sayar (Çakır High School – BURSA) said, “Whatever you are interested in, there are many different topics that you can enjoy listening about. It is a very good environment”.

Senem Dila Yılmaz (FMV Işık High School – İSTANBUL) thinks that there are some aspects of the program that can be improved. She said, “The program is good, but there are also lessons that we have covered before. There are also other lessons that I heard for the first time. I plan to write popular science books for children in the future. I want to establish a museum. As a child, I would like to know what other children are doing. I think there are aspects that need improvement. It's great to be at Sabancı University, though”.

They brought the Best Poster Award to Turkey

Sabancı University Ph.D. Student Ebru Çetin is the Turkey Team Leader at the Asian Science Camp, where various events are organized in addition to scientific classes. In the poster competition, which is one of these events, the Turkish team received the best poster award, crowning their experience in the Asian Science Camp. We congratulate them on their success.

Sabancı Business School is pleased to announce that all SBS programs have been re-accredited by AACSB for a period of five years.

Established in 1916, AACSB International (AACSB), a global non-profit association, is the world’s largest business education alliance, connecting educators, learners, and business to create the next generation of great leaders. Synonymous with the highest standards of excellence since 1916, AACSB provides quality assurance, business education intelligence, and learning and development services to over 1,850-member organizations and more than 950 accredited business schools worldwide. AACSB's accreditation processes are ISO 9001:2015 certified.

When educational, professional, and business organizations become members of the AACSB Business Education Alliance, they are part of a movement united to improve the quality of business education around the world. AACSB connects, shares, and inspires innovation and quality throughout the member network, as well as the business community. The collective strength of the organization is founded on diverse perspectives, a global mindset, and a commitment to making a difference.

As of June 2022, The AACSB Peer Review Team confirmed that SBS outstandingly meets all the standards that AACSB requires. 

Remarking that the Sabancı Business School has extended its AACSB accreditation for the third time thanks to the endeavors of all SBS stakeholders, Dean Prof. Nihat Kasap commented: “We are proud to extend our accreditation for the third time, this achievement means a lot. It is the output of our efforts and demonstrates how Sabancı Business School focuses on excellence in all areas: research, teaching, curricula development, student learning. I would like to extend my special thanks to SBS AACSB Team for their dedicated focus, extra hours and collaboration. I also would like to thank for the support of our internal and external stakeholders attending sessions including our all Faculty members, advisory board members, students and alumni. Thanks, and congratulations to “All” for making SBS Continuous Improvement possible.” 

Representing our country and Sabancı University at the "European Universities Games" held in Lodz, Poland, our Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences student Mehmet Kani Polat became the European Universities Taekwondo Champion.

We congratulate our student, who won the gold medal and made us proud by bringing the first European championship to our university, and wish him continued success. 

Sabancı University has realized yet another cooperation project with Kordsa as part of university-industry collaborations. Created by Kordsa to prepare engineering students for professional life with mentors and to add value to the industry with their energies and new generation perspectives, RunIT, Sabancı University - Kordsa Campus Software Office, was inaugurated with a ceremony held at the Sabancı University Information Center on Monday, July 25, 2022.

The opening ceremony was attended by Yusuf Leblebici, President of Sabancı University, Ali Çalışkan, Secretary General, Mehmet Yıldız, Vice President for Research, Erkay Savaş, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Kordsa CEO İbrahim Özgür Yıldırım, and computer engineering program students who were entitled to work at the RunIT Software Office.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, Sabancı University Secretary General Ali Çalışkan stated that Sabancı University, which is Turkey's leading university, with the mission of "Creating and Developing Together", and Kordsa, which is the leader in its sector in Turkey, have taken a second step within the scope of university-industry cooperation by implementing the Campus Software Office RunIT, after jointly establishing a very strong structure like CTCE. Highlighting that he sees the software office as an entrepreneurship center for digitalization that will pave the way for young people, support their creativity and entrepreneurship, and serve Kordsa's needs and projects, Çalışkan thanked everyone who contributed to the realization of this cooperation.

Kordsa CEO İbrahim Özgür Yıldırım stated in his speech that employment is very important in Turkey and said to the students, “Kordsa is a very good company and what you do here today will directly affect your business life in the future. That's why we have very high expectations from you. I want you to know that I will follow the results closely”.

Emphasizing that there are over 900 Computer Engineering Program students at Sabancı University, at the Kordsa Campus Software Office RunIT opening ceremony, Erkay Savaş, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, said that it is a pleasure to be able to engage these students both in the university and in companies and to be able to recruit them in very good projects, and he thanked everyone who contributed to this cooperation.

Mehmet Yıldız, Sabancı University Vice President for Research, said, “After the start of this initiative, major institutions in different sectors of Turkey told me that they want to bring the bright young people we raise on our campus into their lives. Sabancı University has always broken new ground since its establishment. This software office is also a first for us. Achieving this together with Kordsa was of special value and a privilege. As a university, we have had an intense and institutional interaction with Kordsa for a very long time. I would like to thank all my friends for their hard work”. Addressing the students who will be working in the RunIT office, Yıldız said, “We have great expectations from you. Quality results that will emerge from here will be instrumental in the development of young people like you and the advancement of companies like Kordsa for the good of the country."

Computer Engineering Program students Görkem Yar, İsmail Çakmak, Kutay Önder, Nusret Ali Kızılaslan, Sermet Özgü and Tan Ufuk Çelik, who will work at Sabancı University - Kordsa Campus Software Office RunIT, said that they are happy and excited to work there.

Ayşe Kıvılcım Coşkun, 2003 alumna of the Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (FENS) Microelectronics Engineering Program, has been appointed as the next director of the Center for Information and Systems Engineering (CISE) of Boston University, one of the leading universities in the US. 

After graduating from Sabancı University Microelectronics Engineering Program and completing her doctorate at the University of California, San Diego, Ayşe Kıvılcım Coşkun became a faculty member at Boston University Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Being a Network Faculty Member of Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the same time, Coşkun will replace Professor of Engineering Yannis Paschalidis who has become the new director of the Hariri Institute.

“I’m excited to take on this opportunity,” says Coşkun. “If you think about a research center, it’s really a catalyst, bringing together people with different expertise to build something bigger. My goal in my new role at CISE is to continue this center’s strong tradition of collaborative research around the topic of intelligent systems, while fostering growth in the broader area of computer systems, and to make sure we have a coherent, unified center where all these different researchers are supported well and can interact and collaborate.”

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend Kıvanç, the most colorful, charismatic, sweetest resident of the SBS building.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our little lion, Kıvanç, one of the oldest residents of our school, whose friendship and love have warmed us for years. We would like to thank our friend for everything, who is well known to almost everyone who has joined Sabancı University as a student, academician, visitor, or administrative staff, and who has been beautifying our campus for more than ten years and bringing us peace and joy with his presence.

Kıvanç gives a great life lesson to all of us with his love that he is very generous in sharing with those who love him and his careless attitude towards those who do not like him, surprises everyone who sees him for the first time with his superior skill in using the elevator, acts as an academic advisor with his selectivity in the courses he prefers to attend, and impress everyone with his active participation in faculty meetings. Our beautiful friend will always remain in our memories.

Kıvanç's memory will be kept alive by planting a commemorative tree in November with the support of the General Secretariat of Sabancı University in the garden at the entrance of the SBS Building, where he is very happy to spend his time. It is believed that the fruits of the ginkgo biloba plant, which is chosen as a commemorative tree due to its similarity to Kıvanç with its yellow and fluffy flowers, prevent forgetting in Chinese medicine and strengthen memory. We will never forget you either, our Kivanc.

Sabancı University Sabanci Business School has announced that it will be taking part in a new project called SMART4FUTURE.

The project aims to support the capacity-building process of higher education institutes (HEIs) in innovation and entrepreneurship and to create all necessary preconditions for establishing higher education institutes as focal points of local and regional innovation ecosystems in 6 countries: Ireland, Italy, Poland, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey. The project supported capacity-building will make inroads into SMART4FUTURE HEI’s structures by creating start-up support mechanisms, mentoring schemes, improving technology transfer and technology transfer offices (TTOs), and by establishing new types of collaborations with external partners.

 The project will receive funding from the EIT HEI Initiative: Innovation Capacity Building for Higher Education. This initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) aims to boost the entrepreneurial and innovation capacity of higher education institutions (HEIs) across Europe.

As part of this project, we will be working together with the following partners:

• Algebra University College – project lead
• Griffith College
• University of Naples “Federico II
• Medical University of Lublin
• Infobip d.o.o.
• Mentortec Servicos de Apoio a Projectos Technologicos SA
• Link Group

Under the EIT HEI Initiative, the project will receive funding of €300.000, and it will run until December 2022, with the possibility of getting extended for 18 more months.

Stay tuned for more information about this project in the coming months!

About the EIT HEI Initiative

The EIT HEI Initiative is a key objective for the European Institute of Innovation and Technology as part of its new strategy. The initiative aims to support HEIs with expertise and coaching, access to the EIT innovation ecosystem, the largest in Europe,  and funding, enabling them to develop innovation action plans complementing the needs of individual HEIs. This is the EIT HEI Initiative’s second call for proposals, following the success of the 2021 Pilot Call. So far, the initiative has provided funding to nearly 50 projects. The next call for proposals is expected towards the end of 2022.

About the EIT

The EIT strengthens Europe’s ability to innovate by powering solutions to pressing global challenges and by nurturing entrepreneurial talent to create sustainable growth and skilled jobs in Europe. The EIT is an EU body and an integral part of Horizon Europe, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The Institute supports dynamic pan-European partnerships, EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities, among leading companies, research labs and universities.

The application deadline for non-thesis graduate programs offered by Sabancı University for professionals has been announced as August 5, 2022.

Sabancı University Non-Thesis (Professional) Graduate Programs, which include Executive MBA, Professional MBA, Finance, Business Analytics for Professionals, Information Technologies, Data Analytics, Cyber ​​Security and Energy Technologies and Management programs, raise managers and experts who can adapt to the speed of change and transformation of the global age.

Regarding professional graduate programs, Cüneyt Evirgen, Director of Sabancı University Executive Development Unit - EDU, said, “In addition to our full-time academics, executives and experts from the business world teach in our programs. Thus, we build a solid bridge between the university and the business world. We are proud of the momentum gained by the alumni of our professional graduate programs in their careers, the success they achieve in global companies, and the innovative practices in the new companies they establish by improving their entrepreneurial aspects.”

August 5 is the application deadline

The application deadline for Sabancı University Non-Thesis Graduate Programs for Professionals is August 5, 2022. You can click here to have more information about the programs and to attend promotional meetings.  

The Boeing Company and Sabancı University Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Research and Application Center (SU IMC) collaborate to develop advanced aerospace composite technologies. To this end, SU IMC and Boeing have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

Sabancı University Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Research and Application Center (SU IMC) and the Boeing Company have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore future collaboration on the development of advanced aerospace technologies.

Held in the Composite Technologies Center of Excellence building in Teknopark Istanbul, the signing ceremony was attended by José Enrique Román, Vice President of Boeing Research and Global Technology, and Ali Çalışkan, Secretary General of Sabancı University, in addition to Juan Carlos Campell, Director of Boeing Research and Technology Middle East, Professor Mehmet Yıldız, Sabancı University’s Vice President for Research and Development, Associate Professor Burcu Saner Okan, Academic Director of SU IMC, Devrim Özaydın, CEO of SU IMC, and project partners, faculty members, and researchers.  

With this Memorandum of Understanding, Sabancı University and Boeing aim to develop new projects for the aviation industry. Thanks to the MoU, collaborations for the development of advanced aviation composite materials will also be increased in order to meet the growing needs of the aviation industry both in Turkey and globally. In this context, especially cost- and energy-competitive thermoplastics and nanomaterials, functionalized thermoplastics, and structural health monitoring are the main areas of focus in this mutual cooperation. 

SUIMC is one of the only six worldwide, and the first university center in Turkey with AS9100 certification. The AS9100 Certificate has critical importance on an international level for institutions operating in the Aerospace and Defense Industry.