The second of the conference series organized to introduce Sabancı University's new undergraduate program "Data Science and Analytics" was held on November 6, 2024, on the university's Tuzla Campus. The second guest of the conference series was SAP Turkey's Managing Director Uğur Candan.
The conference entitled "Restless Change of Enterprise Applications Market: The Impact of AI" began with the opening speech of Sabancı University Vice President for Education Cem Güneri. Güneri stated that an interdisciplinary approach is adopted in both research and education with regards to the Data Science and Analytics program to be opened. Güneri stated that Uğur Candan, who received his undergraduate degree from Boğaziçi University and his master's degree from the University of Nottingham, is one of the founders of SAP Turkey, and handed the floor over to the speaker.
Uğur Candan began his speech by touching on the impact of artificial intelligence on our lives and its developments to date. He stated that artificial intelligence has entered our lives as the third wave that will change everything we see around us after many technological developments such as the internet, mobility, social media, Bitcoin, and mobile devices. He emphasized the questions of “What should happen, what should you expect, and what can you do to get prepared?”, stating that people will be working in a different world in 20 to 25 years.
Candan continued his speech by stating that SAP, a 50-year-old company, has been occupied with solving only business problems since the first day. Uğur Candan, who drew a general framework about the work and development of SAP, a global leader in the field of enterprise applications and business artificial intelligence since 1972, answered many questions from students on matters such as the SAP Young Professionals Program, the start-up ecosystem, the size of companies using SAP and projects, and whether artificial intelligence will replace SAP consultancy.