17/04/2026
Industry-Academia Meeting, held as part of the Industry-Focused Projects Program, where institutions' priority research topics are developed and implemented through projects in collaboration with Sabancı University, brought together representatives from the industry sector and academics from Sabancı University. The meeting addressed the possibilities of university-industry interaction and collaboration in technology development.
Sabancı University's Industry-Focused Projects Program, which brings industry and academia together under one roof, allows institutions to develop and implement their priority research topics through projects in collaboration with the university. Within the program, 4th-year undergraduate students develop projects under the guidance of faculty members and relevant institutions. The Industry-Academia Meeting, a significant event for the program which has successfully completed 156 projects with the participation of 72 companies to date, was held on April 15th in the foyer area of the Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM).
The meeting, which brought together industry representatives from various sectors, primarily technology, energy, manufacturing, and automotive, with academics from Sabancı University, addressed university-industry interaction and collaboration opportunities. Held under the theme “The Future is Now: Industry-Campus Interaction in Technology Development,” the event featured SOCAR Türkiye CEO Elchin Ibadov as a guest speaker. The meeting, moderated by Prof. Dr. Alpagut Kara, Director of the Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, was attended by Sabancı University President Prof. Dr. Yusuf Leblebici, Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Dean Prof. Dr. Erkay Savaş, and faculty members from the same faculty, Prof. Dr. Yusuf Menceloğlu, Prof. Dr. Kemal Kılıç, and Dr. Murat Kaya.
“Collaborations with universities are not a choice, but a necessity”
SOCAR Türkiye CEO Elchin Ibadov, in his speech at the event, emphasized the importance of collaboration between universities and industry in today's rapidly changing world. Ibadov said, “We are entering a period where approximately 44% of the skills used in the workforce will change in the next five years. Competition is no longer only between companies, but between ecosystems. This multi-dimensional transformation is progressing simultaneously in many areas, from artificial intelligence to energy, from biotechnology to digitalization. In such an environment, it is not possible for industry to manage this change alone. According to OECD data, companies that collaborate with universities achieve an average of 30% higher return on innovation expenditures. We see collaborations with universities not as a choice, but as a necessity. We believe that thinking and producing together is critical in the new era.”
“Industry and academia are becoming stakeholders contributing to each other”
Elchin Ibadov continued: “We are in an era where even thinking and decision-making processes are undergoing transformation. Until now, thinking in change has always belonged to humans. Today, humans are sharing the thinking part with a robot, a machine, a system. It is starting to think alongside us. According to PwC's report, the contribution of artificial intelligence productivity to global GDP is expected to be approximately $15 trillion in the next 10 years. In this transformation, universities are not only structures that train students, and industry is not only structures that produce. These two elements are becoming stakeholders contributing to each other's processes. At the heart of success in university-industry collaboration lies defining the right problem together, creating an open innovation culture, and developing competencies together. At SOCAR Türkiye, our vision is to contribute to Türkiye's energy and technology ecosystem with our university stakeholders until 2030.”
“Our students are undertaking an important bridging role”
Sabancı University President Prof. Dr. Yusuf Leblebici stated that Sabancı University has operated within a structure closely intertwined with industry since its establishment. Leblebici said, “We are aware of the necessity of collaboration to further advance the fields in which we are pioneers, especially in the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences. While we are pleased with where we are today, we believe there is still a long way to go. The only way forward is through the collaboration of the university and industry. As universities, we do not position ourselves as merely inaccessible structures that produce theoretical knowledge. On the contrary, we are here to make concrete contributions to industry and the country. We can only achieve this through strong collaborations with industry. In these collaborations, our students play an important bridging role. We want to create a structure where we involve our students in projects, jointly seeking answers to questions from the field, and actively involving them from the very beginning of the process. We consider it extremely important that this synergy, based on a win-win approach, creates value for our university, our students, the industrial sector, and our country.”
“We aim to move forward with much larger-scale and more effective collaborations”
Referring to the significant progress made in the Industry-Oriented Projects program, launched 10 years ago by Sabancı University, Yusuf Leblebici stated, “Our priority is to take the program further, bringing together more students and companies to develop more ambitious projects. At the heart of our strategic plan is the creation of a structure that learns together, produces together, and creates mutual value with industry, in addition to scientific publications. In this direction, we aim to move forward with much larger-scale and more effective collaborations in the coming period.”
Sabancı University students gain real work experience before graduation
The Industry-Oriented Projects Program, held for the 10th time this year, provides industrial institutions with opportunities such as feasibility studies for their planned R&D studies through university collaboration, the opportunity to jointly develop projects for application to TÜBİTAK-European Union R&D innovation support programs, an academic perspective on current industry problems, the opportunity to benefit from Sabancı University's physical and technological research facilities and promote projects, and the opportunity for institutions to meet and train potential colleagues. To date, 524 Sabancı University students have gained real-world work experience before graduation through this program.
