10/01/2026
We asked Ziya Alpay, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Sabancı University, what the driving force is that has elevated Sabancı University to the level of one of the leading universities in our country. Alpay, explaining all the components that make up the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem one by one, including Inovent (which he heads) and the university's incubator SUCool, also drew attention to how important the collaboration with all stakeholders is as an educational institution.
Ziya Alpay, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Sabancı University and General Manager of Inovent, argues, based on his experience, that scientists, by their nature, do not like to be swept away by economic uncertainties. Alpay stated that they have implemented a different approach with Inovent and SUCool incubation center to facilitate risk avoidance for academics and commercialization of inventions for entrepreneurs, emphasizing that these supports have played a significant role in Sabancı University becoming one of Türkiye's leading universities.
SUCool's Support
Ziya Alpay explains that SUCool is an acceleration program created to support the commercialization of innovative ideas: “This program offers early-stage entrepreneurs financial support, mentorship, business development opportunities and access to a wide network. It has been providing comprehensive support services since 2013. The center, opened in 2023, includes a workspace for 100 people and an event space for 250 people, and supports startups in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Materials Technologies, Financial Technologies, Educational Technologies, Smart Cities, Digital Health, Data and Cyber Security.”
Strategic Consulting Company Inovent
“Inovent, established in 2006 and fully-owned by Sabancı University, is Türkiye’s first technology commercialization and seed fund company,” says the General Manager, summarizing the company’s activities as follows: “In short, Inovent is a strategic consulting, business development, and investment company. In addition to consulting services provided to startups, it runs projects and programs that develop the ecosystem. Inovent currently has 26 companies in its portfolio. We aim to increase this number to 50 within the next five years.”
Providing information about the J-START Venture Capital Investment Fund, Alpay said, “Financial resources are at the forefront of the support to be provided to entrepreneurs. J-START, with Sabancı Holding and Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) as funders, will prioritize early-stage ventures with a deep technology focus when making investment decisions under the consultancy of Inovent.”
TÜBİTAK 1812 - BİGG Investment-Based Entrepreneurship Support Program
Ziya Alpay emphasizes that Sabancı University's privileged position has once again come to light within the scope of the "TÜBİTAK 1812 BiGG Investment-Based Support Program".
TÜBİTAK, with its Individual Young Entrepreneur "BİGG" program, helps young and innovative entrepreneurial candidates realize their dreams. Since its launch in 2012, a total of 2578 entrepreneurs have established their companies and brought their business ideas to life within the scope of the program. Alpay announced that in the 2nd Call period of the TÜBİTAK BİGG Investment Program, for which Inovent is the implementing organization, a total of 109 entrepreneurs across the country were awarded the "Seal of Excellence". Out of these 109 companies in Türkiye, 16 startups specifically selected and trained by Inovent were entitled to receive this prestigious award, along with 900,000 TL in capital support. Thus, the number of startups under the Inovent umbrella, and selected as eligible for investment with the BIGG program “Seal of Excellence”, reached 31 in 2025.
Sabancı University's successes have been noteworthy in previous years as well. According to the results of the TÜBİTAK BiGG Investment Program; 7 out of 117 startups that qualified for support nationwide in the 2024-1 call period, 11 out of 134 startups in the 2024-2 call period, 15 out of 101 startups in the 2025-1 call period, and 16 out of 109 startups in the 2025-2 call period are graduates of the BiGG3INN Program, led by Sabancı University’s Inovent. These results are a concrete indication that our university is clearly leading the way.
Successful Companies
Ziya Alpay stated that the research outputs carried out within the university have been transformed into successful companies with a total valuation exceeding 50 million USD, adding, "Our aim is to contribute to the financial sustainability of our university by converting the research into economic benefit through entrepreneurship."
Preparation of the Regulation
Alpay explained that the regulation to be applied in the field of entrepreneurship was prepared by taking Oxford University as an example, and he is hopeful about the future of the support they provide to the university's entrepreneurial researchers: "With the experience we have gained in the entrepreneurship ecosystem under the umbrella of Inovent since 2006 and with SUCool since 2013, we know that the ventures we support in the early stages today can turn into global success stories of tomorrow. At Inovent, we lead the way in equipping our entrepreneurs with the competencies to compete at an international level at every step."
The Next Step: SUCool TEKMER
Sabancı University Events and Social Media Specialist Pınar Keskin announces the good news about SUCool Tekmer, a new technology development and incubation center that will bring together entrepreneurship and innovation structures under one roof and whose preliminary application has been approved by KOSGEB to be established on Altunizade and Tuzla campuses: “Every year, approximately 30-35 startups graduate from the Sabancı ecosystem within the scope of the TÜBİTAK 1812 BiGG Program, and Sabancı TEKMER is naturally designed as a “next step” for these startups. Along with the physical spaces in Altunizade and Tuzla, Sabancı TEKMER is also open to all qualified technology startups across the country, beyond the Sabancı ecosystem.
Preliminary applications are now being accepted, and technology and innovation-focused startups with scalable business models will be offered opportunities for business development, mentorship, access to investors, and direct access to Sabancı University's academic/research infrastructure.”
A new generation education platform for young entrepreneurs: MasterSUCool
Sabancı University SUCool is bringing its experience in entrepreneurship and innovation to a new digital education platform that brings together leading experts from Türkiye and the world: MasterSUCool. Keskin explains MasterSUCool's mission as follows: “It brings together leaders who make a difference in the business world, academics, investors, technology pioneers, and inspiring figures from creative sectors with young entrepreneurs. The platform's aim is to create a learning ecosystem that guides participants at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey with short but intensive information content based on hundreds of real-life experiences.
Each episode of MasterSUCool consists of 8-15-minute videos where experts in their fields share their experiences. The content is far from the classic lecture format; on the contrary, it offers a structure where experts convey their own stories, perspectives, and lessons learned in a simple and understandable way.
The presentations are prepared with professional shooting quality by reading specially prepared texts from a teleprompter. Thus, each piece of content is presented with a fluent and engaging integrity that draws the viewer in. The first recordings started at the Sabancı University Tuzla Campus SUCool building and will continue in the professional studio in Beşiktaş from May onwards.”
About Ziya Alpay
He graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Civil Engineering in 1994. He served as the Deputy Secretary General at Bahçeşehir University between 2001-2004, General Manager at Uğur Information Technologies between 2004-2008, Secretary General at Bahçeşehir University between 2008-2018, Member of the Board of Trustees of Bahçeşehir University between 2018-2021, CEO at the American University of Malta between 2020-2022, and Managing Partner at his own company, Digital Transformation Group, since 2022. Since November 2022, Alpay has been serving as the Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative at Sabancı University. He is the General Manager of İnovent.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program within the Scope of the High School Summer School
Pınar Keskin, speaking on behalf of Sabancı University SUCool and Inovent, stated their belief that entrepreneurship at the high school level is essential for young people to discover themselves early on, explore areas of interest, and gain the courage to create: “By adapting our programs to the high school age group, we aim to provide students with the opportunity to develop 21st-century skills and to prepare more consciously for the future by experiencing the process of bringing their ideas to life. In line with this, this year we launched the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program within the scope of the Sabancı University High School Summer School. Twenty students selected from leading high schools in Türkiye embarked on a journey focused on self-discovery and idea development.
This positive impact of the program also paved the way for a new four-month program with Vizyon College, involving 98 students. The training programs were designed as workshops based entirely on active participation, allowing young people to express themselves in the best way. In the program, where each team is paired with a mentor to support the process, students develop their projects through at least three meetings. In the finals, the teams gain entrepreneurial experience on the ‘Demo Day’ stage by presenting their ideas to the jury. After the program, students are supported in following and developing their projects through entrepreneurship clubs that will be established in schools.”
