In its 23rd academic year, Sabancı University, with its numerous future‑shaping applied strategic projects, continues in its vision of becoming a leading research university, and in educating self‑confident individuals who embrace universal values, show compassion for the needs of society, focusing on creating solutions, internalize cooperation in creation and development, are learners of learning, and are open to continuous development.
Research University title for Sabancı University
Foundation universities were included in 2021 in the Research‑Oriented Mission Differentiation Program implemented by the Council of Higher Education with the aim of producing knowledge within the framework of the priority objectives and fields of our country, encouraging interdisciplinary studies and collaborations, increasing the number of researchers with doctoral degrees, strengthening international cooperation, and making Turkish universities more visible in the international arena. In this framework, Sabancı University was included in the Research‑Oriented Mission Differentiation Program, and obtained the title of Research University.
At Sabancı University, research is carried out in faculties, centers and forums, with an interdisciplinary approach in the fields of science, technology and art. Sabancı University has 10 different centers and forums contributing to scientific development and supporting social research and development. Making research its focus since its establishment, Sabancı University has made 7100+ publications* and obtained 250+ patents***. As of the end of November 2021, the number of active research projects with external funding is 291, and the total budget of these projects is TL 446 million**. In 2021, 630+ scientific publications* were published and 8 patents*** were obtained by Sabancı University members.
Sabancı University’s Research Strategy
The main strategy within the scope of the Sabancı University 2020-2025 Strategic Plan is “to encourage cross-faculty and interdisciplinary research”. In order to achieve this main goal, the strategic goals in research determined by Sabancı University are: To improve the University’s interaction with the sectors and civil society in selected fields, to enable faculties and centers to support researches that will make highly effective impact on these areas. For that purpose to plan and encourage interdisciplinary and cross-faculty researches with centers and faculties for undergraduate/graduate research projects, and to increase the number of doctoral students, post‑doctoral researchers and researches.
A “World” university
In the listings of the world’s best universities in the Times Higher Education list (THE) and QS, Sabancı University holds its lead in the rankings among universities from Turkey.
- It is in the 501-600 band in the THE World Universities 2022 rankings.
- It is the first among the universities from Turkey in the THE 2022 Best Universities in Emerging Economies, and THE 2021 Best Universities in Asia rankings. According to the Times Higher Education (THE) 2022 Field Ranking, Sabancı University is in the 401-500 band among 891 universities in the field of Computer Science, and ranks first among foundation universities in Turkey.
- It is in the top 100 among the world’s best young universities in both THE and QS rankings (89th in 2021 THE Young Universities, and in the 81-90 band in 2021 QS Under 50 Universities). Sabancı University is also ranked 68th in THE 2021 Best Universities in Asia rankings, 44th in THE 2022 Best Universities in Emerging Economies, in the band 541-550 in 2022 QS World Universities, in the 81-90 band in the 2021 QS Universities Under 50, and 21st in QS Emerging Europe and Central Asian Countries.
- According to the European Business School Rankings prepared by the Financial Times (FT), Sabancı Business School ranks 67th in the world. Ranking in 50th place, the Sabancı Executive MBA program is among the top 50 Executive MBA programs in Europe.
- Sabancı University Executive Development Unit (EDU) has continued its steady rise in the list of corporate‑specific programs in the annual rankings announced by the Financial Times, reaching 55th in the 2020 list.
The most entrepreneurial and innovative foundation university
Sabancı University ranks first among foundation universities in the “Inter‑University Entrepreneurship and Innovation Index” 2021 ranking prepared by the Turkish Republic Ministry of Industry and Technology and TÜBİTAK.
Among the top universities in the world for graduate employability
Sabancı University was included the top 250 universities in the world in the “Global Employability University Ranking and Survey-2021” published by Times Higher Education, the London‑based global higher education ranking institution. One of the two universities from Turkey included in the rankings, and the top one among foundation universities, Sabancı University climbed an impressive 19 places in this year’s rankings and became 209th. According to the latest data, 98% of Sabancı University alumni are placed in a job within one year of graduation. 22% of alumni continue their graduate studies or their professional careers abroad.
Among young academics who join Sabancı University, the number of people who complete their doctoral studies in the best universities of the world after graduating from Sabancı University and who decide to come back to their university as a faculty member is increasing steadily. In the last two years, Sabancı University recruited 41 full‑time faculty members, of whom 93% obtained their PhD degrees from universities abroad. 22 of them are highly valuable academics who joined the university directly from abroad, and 7 others are Sabancı University alumni. With its young and dynamic staff members, Sabancı University continues to work ambitiously with its innovative educational approach and the opportunities made possible by digital technologies.
Striding into the future with new investments
Sabancı University attaches great importance to investing in its students and academic staff in addition to research and development. According to the Foundation Universities Report 2021, Sabancı University is among the institutions that invest the most in each of these fields. In terms of total research and development spending, Sabancı University ranked first among foundation universities in 2020-2021 with a spending amount of TL 97.5 million. Likewise, it is one of the foundation universities that invest the most in its students. Empowered by the research it conducts, Sabancı University continues its investments towards its goal of becoming one of the best campus universities in the world. Sabancı University inaugurated Altunizade Digital Campus and SUSAM, the new arts workshop under Sabancı University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
Sabancı University Altunizade Digital Campus
The Digital Campus will be a meeting point for the business world, researchers, academics and students.
Hosting businesspeople and professionals from all over Turkey on its new campus with its graduate programs tailored to the needs of the business world, Sabancı University provides education to students with a digital infrastructure, eliminating the difference between classroom and online education thanks to the HyFlex working method, which merges hybrid and flexible technologies and which is used for the first time in Turkey. The Digital Campus is home to an infrastructure where students can meet representatives of the business world and produce and develop projects with them.
SUSAM Workshop Building
The Arts Workshop under Sabancı University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences started its activities in the 2020-2021 academic year. Visual language, drawing language, art workshops and lessons are given in SUSAM. Fully equipped wood & metal and chemical paint workshops are each open for the use of students and upon special request to artists, assisting them in completing their activities. In addition, upgrading its dormitory capacity to 2730 people thanks to the new dormitories completed in 2021, Sabancı University enhanced the opportunities it offers to its students.
A model for remote education
Thanks to its strong technological infrastructure, Sabancı University was able to adapt promptly to a remote education system during the pandemic. With its internationally successful academic staff and an education system that makes a difference in higher education, it continued to provide uninterrupted and exemplary university education to its students at world standards. Sabancı University has been held up as an example in online education applications among universities in Turkey.
Continuing to take steps to further enrich its education and research infrastructure, Sabancı University equipped more than 70 classrooms and amphitheaters on its main campus in Tuzla with all the facilities of digital technologies offered to its students for a modern remote education infrastructure, and started 2021-2022 Academic Year by admitting all its students back to the campus.
The university with students scoring the highest in the Higher Education Institutions Exam
In 2021-2022 academic year, Sabancı University had a quota for 790 students. According to the 2021 Higher Education Institutions Exam results, Sabancı University was chosen by the highest‑scoring students of Turkey for the FENS Full Scholarship (501.279 points), FENS Half Scholarship (428.880 points), FASS Non‑Scholarship (280.345 points) scores, and the second highest‑scoring students of Turkey for the FASS Full Scholarship (453.977 points), FASS Half Scholarship (350.731 points), SBS Full Scholarship (472.383 points) scores. Sabancı University filled its student acceptance quota (100%) in the 2020-2021 Academic Year. According to the HEIE results in 2021, 106 of the students who chose to study at Sabancı University ranked in the top 1,000, 158 in the top 5,000, 204 in the top 10,000, and 651 in the top 100,000. Distribution of scholarships by quotas is as follows: 135 full scholarships (17%), 283 half scholarships (35%), 372 non‑scholarships (47%).
Continuous contribution to society and science
Adopting the mission of “creating and developing together” since its establishment, Sabancı University started further collaborations with the public and private sector and industry to continue its contribution to society and science. Aiming to develop the potential in tourism, which is one of the most important sectors for Turkish economy, and contribute to making it a sustainable sector, Sabancı University, Enerjisa Enerji and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) joined forces and established CENTRUM Coordination Office in the Sabancı University Creative Technologies Workshop located in Küçükköy in order to start the studies towards the development of a “Green Destination Model” and expansion of energy efficiency, renewable energy and other sustainable tourism practices in tourism businesses. The office aims to disseminate knowledge in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Campus University
The Sabancı University Tuzla campus covers a large living area with its health, sports, and performing arts centers, and the Information Center and dormitories host a fairly intense social life. In the “Foundation Higher Education Institutions 2020” report of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), Sabancı University, with a total area of 1,163,697 m2, is among the foundation universities with the most open areas/green areas within a total open area of 976,173 m2. This means that there are 234 square meters of green space per student. Sabancı University also has 1,200 Sakura trees on its Tuzla campus.
The environment and green energy
Sabancı University, by cooperating with its stakeholders in line with its people‑oriented approach and the philosophy of living in harmony with nature in all of its activities, continues its studies on environment and energy.
In the Sabancı University campus, some of the electrical energy is provided by the solar energy system and the cogeneration system, and the heat released from the cogeneration system is used for the heating of the campus. LED lighting with lower power consumption is used in building corridors and environmental lighting fixtures. For energy savings, lighting system motion sensors are used in all the building corridors (including dormitories) and WCs, dormitory study rooms and break rooms, and the classrooms in the School of Languages building. Air conditioning system motion sensors are used in all the meeting rooms and classrooms. Heating, cooling and ventilation systems equipment was renewed and more efficient equipment was introduced. With the renovation and improvement works in automation systems, savings in heating, cooling and ventilation, energy conservation is achieved. Studies are underway to make the campus carbon‑neutral at the earliest date possible.
Practices to reduce water consumption are carried out throughout Sabancı University. Water‑saving armatures are used and revisions are ongoing in existing armatures. The lake in the campus fills with rain in winter, and this water is used for garden irrigation in the summer. Water from the regular municipality network line is not used for any garden irrigation purposes.
Chemical waste collected on the campus is disposed of by licensed firms, and chemical wastewater is sent to a treatment plant by licensed vehicles. Certification studies are carried out within the scope of the zero‑waste project. A waste management plan is prepared and maintained throughout the year.
In addition to all these efforts, Sabancı University has brought international environmental standards to its campus by obtaining the ISO14001 Environmental Management System certificate.
COVID-19 Precautions
Within the scope of combating COVID-19, Sabancı University started to offer all undergraduate, graduate and doctoral courses remotely as of 23 March 2020 simultaneously with the announcement of country‑wide precautions in the 2020-2021 academic year. Thanks to its strong technological infrastructure, Sabancı University started 2021-2022 academic year with a hybrid education system merging face‑to‑face, on‑campus education with online education for all its students. All education units, student dormitories, administrative units and shared spaces are regularly disinfected on the campus. Rapid antigen tests are periodically applied to all the students staying in dormitories and the health condition of students is continuously monitored. In the case of detecting any positive case, dormitory quarantine blocks allocated for this purpose are used.
All the information students and employees may need is regularly shared under the leadership of the Health Center, which provides a 24/7 service on the campus, through the COVID-19 Information page and portals created on the university website. The automatic HES inquiry application continues for all employees and students at the entrance to the university.