14/10/2025
The Sabancı University Professional Graduate Programs 2025 Commencement Ceremony took place on the Tuzla Campus. Speaking at the ceremony, Sabancı University President Prof. Dr. Yusuf Leblebici said, "Our goal is not only to be the best in Türkiye, but to be a research university recognized and appreciated worldwide, and to take our well-deserved place."
The Sabancı University Professional Graduate Programs 2025 Commencement Ceremony was held on Saturday, October 11, 2025, on the Sabancı University Tuzla Campus. The ceremony, which saw the graduation of 206 students, was attended by Sabancı University President Prof. Dr. Yusuf Leblebici, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Dean Prof. Dr. Erkay Savaş, Sabancı Business School Dean Prof. Dr. Ayşegül Toker, as well as the families of the graduates.
"We are proud of our graduates' global achievements."
Speaking at the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Leblebici congratulated this year's graduates of Sabancı University's Professional Graduate Programs, which train professionals in the fields of Science and Management. Expressing pride in the achievements of Sabancı University graduates both nationally and internationally, Prof. Dr. Leblebici continued: "With our Graduate and Professional Graduate programs, we train Türkiye's most valuable professionals. It is a source of great joy to hear the stories of our graduates who, after graduating from Sabancı University, have started their own businesses and achieved global success. Our goal is not only to be the best in Türkiye, but to become a research university recognized and appreciated worldwide, earning our well-deserved place. We continue to work towards this goal."
President Leblebici stated that they always set the bar higher. He stated that, according to the latest rankings published by Times Higher Education, Sabancı University is one of three Turkish universities ranked in the top 400 globally. Leblebici also emphasized that Sabancı University, which jumped 112 places in the QS rankings in one year, has become one of the fastest-rising universities in the world. Furthermore, Prof. Dr. Leblebici stated that Sabancı University is the preferred choice of Türkiye's most successful students, adding, "For the last four years, we have been among the pioneering and leading universities that admit students with the highest scores in numerical and equal-weighted categories in the university entrance exam."
Hüsniye Ulu, a 2022 graduate of the Sabancı University Professional Master's in Finance Program, addressed the new graduates
The honorary speaker at the ceremony was Hüsniye Ulu, ING Türkiye's Executive Vice President of Business Banking. Ulu, a 2022 graduate of the MiF program, addressed the new graduates: “Sabancı University not only gave me academic depth, but also taught me to approach business problems from different perspectives and to think in a more analytical and visionary way in critical decision-making moments. I can say that every decision I make today bears the traces of my experience at Sabancı University. Throughout your careers, you too will face major decisions, challenging projects, and uncertainties. It is in those moments that the knowledge, discipline, and vision you gained at Sabancı University will guide you.”
Professional Graduate Programs are designed to develop qualified professionals
Sabancı University Professional Graduate Programs are designed to provide the sector with a qualified workforce. Professional Graduate Programs provide participants with the technical knowledge, solution-making skills, and competitiveness to meet rapidly changing industrial needs. The goal is to provide professionals with these skills for industry. The curriculum design takes industry expectations and new technologies into account, adopting a content and format that supports theoretical knowledge with practical application. The interdisciplinary approach provides candidates with a strong career foundation.
Developing senior executives ready for global competition
Professional Graduate Programs train professionals in two fields: Science and Management. To meet rapidly changing industrial needs, the Graduate School of Science offers theoretical and practical training in the fields of Information Technologies, Cybersecurity, and Data Analytics, which deeply strengthen their professional competencies and provide students with technical knowledge, solution-oriented skills, and practical training on global workforce competition.
The Graduate School of Business offers courses designed to provide aspiring executives with advanced professional competencies through programs in Action Research and Transformation, Finance, Business Analytics, Marketing, Executive MBA (EMBA), Master in Business Administration (MBA), and Professional MBA (PMBA). As part of the EMBA program, students participate in educational trips to Columbia Business School (CBS) in New York. During these trips, students take courses from CBS faculty members on Negotiation, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship. PMBA students and graduates gained international knowledge and experience this year during an educational trip to EADA Business School in Barcelona.
Barcode system used at ceremony
This year, a special application combining technology and innovation was used for the first time at the Professional Graduate Programs commencement ceremony. Graduates' names were announced by scanning the barcodes, using a barcode system developed by Prof. Dr. Ayhan Bozkurt, a faculty member at Sabancı University's Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences.
