25/10/2025
Güler Sabancı: "Sabancı University's founding 25 years ago is the result of an anticipatory vision."
The " Anticipatory Leadership Summit," organized in collaboration with Sabancı University and the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA), addressed the future of leadership in light of science. Güler Sabancı, Founding Chair of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University, stated, "Leadership is not just about anticipation or defining purpose; it's about people—the team. When our university was founded 25 years ago, it was built on an interdisciplinary structure. This step we took 25 years ago was, in fact, a blueprint for what the university of the future should be. This approach was radical at the time, but today it emerges as an anticipatory vision."
Sabancı University's Executive Development Unit, EDU, hosted the Anticipatory Leadership Summit. The summit took place in Istanbul from October 20–23, 2025, in collaboration with the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA). Throughout the summit, numerous figures from the worlds of science, technology, politics, and business convened around the concept of anticipatory leadership. Sessions on the final day of the summit evaluated Türkiye's future leadership potential from a historical perspective. In inspiring speeches, Güler Sabancı, Founding Chair of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University, and Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, GESDA Chairman of Board, highlighted moments where leadership merges with innovation and anticipation. In the closing session, former Italian Prime Minister and Dean of the IE School of Politics, Economics, and Global Affairs, Enrico Letta, Sabancı University President Yusuf Leblebici, and GESDA Secretary General Stéphane Decoutère offered striking assessments of how science, diplomacy, and cooperation can shape the future.
Güler Sabancı, Founding Chair of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University, made the following remarks in her speech at the summit: “We are in an era where science, technology, diplomacy, and humanity must come together. We cannot produce solutions without the intertwining and collaboration of engineering and social sciences. Together, these fields form a collective intelligence. New scientists no longer work solely in their own laboratories but as part of global networks, contributing to collective intelligence worldwide. In such a world, we need people who understand not only data and analytics, but also human behavior and social dynamics. Collaboration, solidarity, and open communication have become as important as technical knowledge.”
"We found common ground with GESDA in line with our anticipatory leadership approach."
Güler Sabancı stated that Sabancı University's Data Science and Analytics Program, a joint effort between the Faculty of Engineering, the Business School, and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, is a good example of how scientific reasoning and human anticipation can be integrated. She continued, "The most fundamental skills for future leaders are the ability to work together, listen effectively, critically interpret data, and build collective intelligence. Leadership isn't just about anticipation or defining purpose; it's about people—the team. The team must believe, be convinced, and want to take action. Building consent is the essence of leadership. Today, the most critical element is an attitude of openness to change. We need to cultivate a culture of mutual openness, from leader to team, and from team to leader. We must be agile, flexible, and adaptable; an attitude of openness makes life easier and prepares us for the changing scenarios of the future. When our university was founded 25 years ago, it was built on an interdisciplinary structure. This approach was radical at the time, but today it emerges as an anticipatory vision. This step we took 25 years ago was, in fact, a blueprint for what the university of the future should be. GESDA is an institution working in this direction and began its activities after the founding of our university. Now, in line with our anticipatory leadership approach, we found common ground with GESDA. As we look to the future, it is our responsibility to maintain the same spirit of anticipation and innovation. I believe that the next generation of leaders, from the university president to the academic staff, will redesign the future. This vision and innovative spirit will continue to shape the success of Sabancı University."
Today's multi-crisis environment and new opportunities were discussed.
The opening day began with speeches by President Yusuf Leblebici and GESDA Secretary General Stéphane Decoutère. Following this, Marga Gual Soler spoke on "The importance of anticipation in science diplomacy and global governance," while Meltem Müftüler-Baç, the Dean of the Sabancı University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, assessed today's multi-crisis environment and new opportunities. Later sessions addressed the challenges of accessing accurate data in an age of information overload and the role of interdisciplinary collaboration in global scientific transformation. The day concluded with a joint reception by the Embassy of Switzerland and Sabancı University.
The second day, themed "Scientific Anticipation," and the third day, themed "The Future of People, Society, and the Planet," focused on future-shaping issues such as energy, food security, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies on the Sabancı University Tuzla campus. The "Energy of the Future" panel, which also featured a live interview between International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol and IICEC (Sabancı University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate) Director Bora Şekip Güray, brought together experts in the field to discuss energy security, opportunities, challenges, and priority issues that need to be addressed.
Science and technology anticipation translates into action, accelerating global collaboration.
GESDA, founded by the Swiss Federal Government and the Canton of Geneva and supported by Wellcome, is recognized as one of the world's most innovative platforms for advancing anticipatory science, diplomacy, and global collaboration. Its mission is to prepare societies for a world transformed by science and technology. GESDA brings together world-class universities, business schools, international organizations, and diplomatic leaders. GESDA equips leaders from diverse sectors with the anticipation, tools, and perspectives they need to act decisively on future challenges.
Preparing decision-makers for the future with the Global Curriculum for Anticipatory Leadership (GCAL)
The Anticipatory Leadership Summit, one of the world's most forward-thinking leadership initiatives, is part of a globally coordinated movement fueled by GESDA's commitment to shaping a better, more proactive world. GESDA also manages the Global Curriculum for Anticipatory Leadership (GCAL), a program that has been expanded globally to develop future-ready decision-makers. The Anticipatory Leadership Summit is considered a concrete reflection of the importance Sabancı University, one of the five official pilot centers of the GCAL initiative, places on scientific leadership, global collaborations, and future-shaping research.
