Istanbul Policy Center-Sabanci University-Stiftung Mercator Initiative and the Centre for Turkey Studies (CEFTUS) organized a public forum and roundtable on “Post Election Turkey” on November 17-18, 2015 in the Houses of Parliament, London, UK as part of a series of talks between IPC and CEFTUS.

Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, hosted the open panel on Tuesday, November 17 at the House of Lords. After the keynote speech from IPC Director and Sabanci University Professor Fuat Keyman, Dr. Ayla Göl from Aberystwyth University moderated the roundtable. Lord William Wallace of Saltaire, Lord David Owen, and Lord Peter Hain gave speeches on Turkey’s political momentum, specifically looking into topics such as Turkey-EU relations, the peace process, and regional politics, as well as Turkey’s economic and social prospects.

On Wednesday, November 18, Baroness Jan Royall chaired the roundtable held in the House of Commons. Professor Keyman, Sabanci University Professor Izak Atiyas, and Lord Peter Hain gave speeches on Turkey’s domestic dynamics and foreign policy following the November 2015 general elections.

The next talk in this series will be held in Istanbul on Friday, January 15, 2016.

The Sabancı University Gender and Women's Studies Forum held a symposium titled "International Gender and Esthetics: Art, Film and Literature" from November 6 to November 8, 2015.

The symposium at the Karaköy Minerva Palas began with introductory remarks by Banu Karaca. Banu Karaca spoke on “War, Gender and Visual Literacy." Karaca said that war was not a distant possibility in Turkey, and that while a war raged in the Middle East, Turkey was living in its own brand of war with news of death arriving on a daily basis.

Banu Karaca continued, “If we are not in a warzone itself, we witness war by the caskets that arrive. We are living proof of the argument that history consists of images. Rocking back and forth between extreme value or stark disregard attributed to images has always been under criticism. One such criticism has to do with the limits of visuality."

Karaca explained that some studied how images of war were being produced and consumed, and argued that the limits of war images had to be enforced.

Banu Karaca said, “Angela Davis says that such images are extremely complex and it is unimaginable that an image represents unadulterated truth. Davis argues that all images are created and viewed in a given economy. She has said that lack of visual literacy works for torture and sexual abuse. Failing to establish a frame and imposing limits on this perception will cause issues. It will lead to people not seeing what they don't wish to see."

Karaca also referred to Susan Sontag, specifically: "There is no war without photography. Consequently, there is no war without cameras and rifles. Technological advances spread war. All photographs are examples of this, from the American Civil War to the satellite images ot today." Karaca said that a similar trend was observed in violence against gender, arguing that the advancement of technology could serve to spread state violence. Karaca continued, “Nevertheless, one is the representation of war, and the other is a war on how war will be represented. These two wars are interlocked."

"The consequence of wars is social and political chaos with gender at the center."

Banu Karaca discussed the victimization of women when visualizing war and said that women were not outside of mobilization when in a hostile environment. Explaining that women took their places in battlefields and factories for the length of the war, continuing, "As soon as war is over, they are isolated from social life. Their experience is silenced and made invisible. They are never seen as warriors; they are depicted as wives and mothers."

Karaca said that in Western performing arts, the man was center stage and women only existed around them as images, and argued that the visibility of women was used to legitimize war. Karaca continued, "It is considered warmongering when young and beautiful women were portrayed in military uniforms just prior to the onset of war in Croatia. This is a call for the protection of women. Gender-based violence occurs in every war. Women warriors are always the part of the same eventuality. The use of women as symbols for power is time-sensitive. The outcome that awaits them is self-sacrifice." 

Banu Karaca argued that the consequence of wars was social and political chaos with gender at the center, mentioning the rise of issues related to masculinity as well.

Karaca said that the "war on terror" started a war on images, continuing, "There were restrictions on the imagery of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Caskets coming back home were almost never shown. This is because such visuals had been used extensively by anti-war activists in the aftermath of Vietnam. War is the most irresistible type of imagery, both today and in the past."

Karaca argued that anti-war documentaries too were unable to leave the war genre behind, concluding "Visual literacy has to do with what visual representation is capable of doing. Creating images must be subject to some rules of engagement. One must avoid images that are too vivid."

"Sisterhood is at the heart of storytelling."

The closing lecture of the symposium was given by Feride Çiçekoğlu from Bilgi University. Çiçekoğlu's lecture was titled “Five Sisters and No Mr. Darcy" and discussed three works of literature and cinema telling the stories of five sisters.

Feride Çiçekoğlu said that sisterhood was at the heart of storytelling and that reality was an area which remained mostly vacant until Jane Austen decided to change things. She said that the two important issues in the beginning of a narrative were identity of the lead character and through whose perspective the story is told.

Çiçekoğlu said that the plot in Austen’s "Pride and Prejudice" was used in numerous Hollywood productions, and went on to discuss how the issue was handled differently in the book and in films, continuing "In the film, the lead character Elisabeth is revealed in the first scene and the story is told from her perspective."

Feride Çiçekoğlu then discussed the book "The Virgin Suicides" and its film adaptation.  The story is about the five daughters of the Lisbon family, and although the story is being told by a group of young men 25 years after the incidents, the lead characters are the girls. Feride Çiçekoğlu commented, “From the beginning, there is confusion about who the protagonist of the story is. Whose is this story, and who is telling? If the story is told through someone else's perspective, how do we know that the protagonists have been wronged? Why don't we hear the voices of the protagonists?"  

Finally, Feride Çiçekoğlu discussed the film “Mustang.” Çiçekoğlu noted the fact that the film tells the story of five sisters and has no male subjects.  Çiçekoğlu also mentioned that director Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s first film was aptly titled. Commenting on the film, Çiçekoğlu said, "The director is passionate about women becoming subjects that act, instead of being acted upon. The women here both want to survive and to be free."  

Panel sessions during the symposium discussed the perception of gender, women and men across a wide range from cinema to plastic arts.

Symposium sessions were titled “The Philosophy of Feminist Knowledge”, “Gender and the Fiction of Nations”, “Masculinity in Literature”, “Gender and Sexuality on the Axes of Class and Genre”, “The Esthetics of Passion”, “Voices of Women in Literature” and “Re-Producing Gender.”

Panelists included distinguished academics and artists from Turkey and abroad.

Burçin Bozkaya authors a new book on Big Data

School of Management Faculty Member Burçin Bozkaya coauthored a new book with his colleague Vivek Kumar Singh of the MIT Media Lab, titled “Geo-Intelligence and Visualization Through Big Data Trends.”

The last decade has seen dramatic increase in the collection of digital data regarding personal and professional life. There is an increasing number of cognitive approaches to the analysis of this data as well as growing interest in the visualization and interpretation of the data. Geo-Intelligence and Visualization through Big Data Trends provides insight into the latest developments, application examples, visualization and analytics of big data, and an overview of location data and analytics. The book discusses emerging trends and latest applications in this dynamic field, and aims to be an innovative resource for both professionals and academics in the industry.  The studies explained in the book are along parallel lines with the efforts of the Behavioral Analytics and Visualization Lab established this year in Sabancı University in partnership with MIT.

For more information about the book: http://www.igi-global.com/book/geo-intelligence-visualization-through-big/123852

Our students, alumni, employees and Friends of SU took part in the 37^thIstanbul Marathon on Sunday, November 15 for the benefit of the Sabancı University Scholarship Fund.

Thanks to their supporting families and friends, we raised TL 2.820 for the fund.

The fund will be used for the monthly stipend of 9 of our successful students who are in financial need, and the balance will go towards the scholarship of another student.

We would like to thank all supporters, financial or otherwise, for making a difference and creating awareness.

Our donation campaign continues until November 30, 2015 so that we can assist even more students in financial aid.

Click here to donate online!

For wire transfers:

Akbank

“Sabancı Üniversitesi” Branch

Sorting Code: 713

Account: 30727

IBAN: TR870004600713888000030727   

SU Istanbul Marathon entrants:

Ahmet Atakan Demir

Aybüke Külünk

Bensu Ateş

Birden Tuluğ Siyahi

Can Kartoğlu

Ceren Ahisha

Çağatay Yılmaz

Dilek Tekdal

Ethem Utku Aktaş

Fatih Turhan

Gökşin Liu

Hacer Ezgi Karakaş-schüller

Ines Karmaus

İpek Özdemir

İzel Özman

Mahmut Asım Elliiki

Muhammed Burak Alver

Müge Erdem

Özlem Karadeniz

Pelinsu İçil

Peter Schüller

Reyhan Süzen

Senem Avaz

Sevgi Ceyda Şairoğlu

Umut Barut

Yaşar Mert Harzadın

Yunus Emre Bahar

Zeliha Algül

Supporters of Istanbul Marathon entrants for the benefit of the SU Scholarship Fund:

Abdülkadir Can Karaca

Armağan Kuru

Arzu Kıran

Aslı Tuan  Acer

Ayla Gürleyen

Bahadır Tavusbay

Banu Ayşe Kerse

Bensu Ateş

Cem Berksun

Ebru  Özgür Katı

Elif  Gülez

Engin  Peker

Ethem Utku  Aktaş

Fatma Kılıç

Fatma Onat

Gökhan Sezginer

Gülekşen Ulusoy

Gülseren  Caşın

Haluk Bal

Hüseyin  Şairoğlu

Kemal İnak

Mariam Öcal

Mehmet Akif Akçal

Meltem Kurt

Merve Duran

Müge Özbir Yılmaz

Neşe Uslu

Özden Caymaz

Özgür Algül

Pınar Kalaycı

Salih Arıman

Selin Kanyas

Serpil  Gürbüz

Sezen  Gülşen Kama

Sinem  Adik Alkan

Sinem  Kural

Sinem Eskin

Süreyya  Güneş

Şule Aktaş

Tezcan Yalçın

Tuğçe Kalyoncu

Tümer  Arıtürk

Uğur Kaan  Karşılıklı

Ümit Emre Erdoğan

Yasemin Birben

Zeliha Algül

Zuhal Tümay

Dr. Burcu Saner Okan, one of SUNUM’s researchers, and Prof. Yusuf Menceloglu from Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences won the 2nd place award among 60 projects with their project entitled as “Graphene production by recycling process and its use as a reinforcing and weight-reducing agent in automotive plastics” in the Project competition about new technologies in automotive sector organized by Yıldız Technical University Technology Transfer Office on November 18, 2015.

Their project was also granted by TÜBİTAK Technology and Innovation Grant Programs.

The Workshop for Business Against Domestic Violence Policy Development and Implementation Guide Draft Assessment was held at the Sabancı Center on November 4, 2015 as part of the "Business Against Domestic Violence" Project of the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum.

41 delegates from 30 institutions took part. Introductory remarks were delivered by Corporate Governance Forum Director Melsa Ararat. Melsa Ararat said, “We aim to ensure that woman employees and companies are not affected by domestic violence and policies are developed without injustice to women." Speaking on the workshop agenda, Melsa Ararat said that the Guideline would be revealed to the public on December 15, 2015.

Ayşe Yüksel from the Sabancı University Gender and Women's Studies Forum as well as representatives from the UN Population Fund, TÜSİAD and participating companies reviewed the draft guideline and submitted their recommendations.

The CDP 2015 Global Water Report and Turkey results compiled with the support of Garanti Bank were disclosed.

The Global Water Report issued by CDP, the world's strongest and most effective environmental civil society organization, and the results achieved in Turkey were revealed at a meeting in Salt Galata on October 27, 2015.

According to CDP’s Global Water Report titled "Accelerating Action," eight companies worldwide were included in the CDP Water A List for their approach to water management. There are no Turkish companies in that list.

This was the first year that Turkish results were disclosed, and 36% of the respondents report having been exposed to water-related adverse effects in the last financial year. 64% of the companies note that water has become an important risk for their business, while 86% report that water creates opportunities for their companies.

The CDP Water Program was implemented in Turkey for the first time in 2015 by Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum and with the support and cooperation of Garanti Bank. In addition to the outputs of the CDP 2015 Global Water Report, the CDP Turkey Water Results Report prepared with the support of Deloitte Turkey to analyze the responses of companies from Turkey was revealed to the public at the meeting in Salt Galata on Tuesday, October 27. 

Introductory remarks to the main outputs of the CDP Global Water Report and the results of the CDP Water Program in Turkey were given by Sabancı University Vice President Professor Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz and Garanti Bank Assistant General Manager Ebru Dildar Edin. Following a video message by CDP Water Program Director Cate Lamb, Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum Director Dr. Melsa Ararat presented the CDP Global Water Report and Turkey results.

"Calculations suggest that the business-as-usual approach will cause Turkey to be among nations that experience water shortage rather than water issues by 2030."

Sabancı University Vice President Professor Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz said, "Calculations suggest that the business-as-usual approach will cause Turkey to be among nations that experience water shortage rather than water issues by 2030.  As individuals, public institutions and private companies, we all have responsibilities in preventing this outcome.  Water is the greatest consumption input of almost all industrial sectors. I am certain that initiatives like the CDP Water Program will help to increase sensitivity to water issues in Turkey, and I know that the support of contributing companies will create awareness in business circles to create good and sustainable business models."

"Our support to the CDP Water Program aims to expand the outreach of integrated water management in Turkey and to help the private sector assume risks related to water resources."

Garanti Bank Assistant General Manager Ebru Dildar Edin said, "The CDP Global Water Report makes stark revelations about the situation of water in Turkey and indicates that if the present consumption habits were to continue and no measures were taken, water will soon become a global crisis affecting national economies, and as a result, societies. As Garanti Bank, we believe that the fundamental principle of responsible and sustainable banking is putting in thought to the consequences of any steps we take before we take them. Businesses must go beyond efficient use of water to apply precautions across their entire value chain. Therefore, our support to the CDP Water Program aims to expand the outreach of integrated water management in Turkey and to help the private sector assume risks related to water resources. We are also proud that 15 companies responded to the CDP Water Program in its first year in Turkey. We intend to increase this number year after year to join our forces for conserving water resources and preventing the devastating effects of water shortage on the society and environment."

"It has been a challenging year for water with the worsening water security and supply crisis being ranked as number one or the greatest risk facing society in terms of impact by the World Economic Forum this year."

CDP Water Program Director Cate Lamb said, "It has been a challenging year for water with the worsening water security and supply crisis being ranked as number one or the greatest risk facing society in terms of impact by the World Economic Forum this year. This year, water risk was number one; less than three years ago it wasn’t even in the top 20.  I believe that is the reflection of the increasing business awareness of this issue and the necessary steps that will be required in order to secure a more stable, resilient and growing economy into the future. What was recognized in our analysis this year that despite the fact that leading companies are breaking away from the rest of the pack, there is a significant gap in performance overall. Many companies still fail to address water risks in any meaningful way. CDP provides a framework that has been used by a large number of companies to change this business-as-usual approach."

"Our reason for starting the CDP Water Program is to mediate to reveal water risks in a more comprehensive and systematic way, and establish a reputable platform for dialog on the reestablishment of water security."

Presenting CDP Water Report outputs, Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum Director Melsa Ararat said, “Water-related risks have been gaining more and more weight among the climate change risks that companies have been reporting under the CDP Climate Change Program since 2010. It has been frequently said lately that Turkey is among high-risk countries with respect to water security. The reason for starting the CDP Water Program as part of CDP Turkey this year was to mediate to reveal water risks in a more comprehensive and systematic way, and establish a reputable platform for dialog on the reestablishment of water security."

CDP 2015 Global Water Report main outputs 

CDP has the world's most comprehensive corporate dataset on water risks and opportunities compiled through water questionnaires and responses. This year 617 institutional investors asked 1,073 of the world’s largest publicly listed companies across industry sectors with high water vulnerability or impacts to disclose how they are adapting and responding to worsening water security.  CDP’s new global water report analyzes the 405 company responses to this request, including those from Turkey.

CDP disclosed the results of CDP Water Ratings given to responding companies for the first time this year.  Asahi Group Holdings, Colgate Palmolive, Ford Motor Company and Toyota Motor Corporation are among the global corporations achieving an A rating for their efforts to improve water security and being included in the CDP Water A List. No Turkish companies were on the A List.

Key findings of the global report:

- Acting to improve water security remains a fundamental business imperative for many companies. Corporate water stewardship is becoming better understood, particularly by large corporations. Almost two-thirds of responding companies report exposure to water risk, with reported financial impacts in 2015 totaling more than US$2.5 billion.

- Oil and gas companies showed the least transparency to investors despite high exposure to water risk. Only 22% of the world’s largest publicly listed energy companies disclosed their water management strategies.

- The eight companies in the CDP Water A List will help to drive performance in the market. Analysis of responses over five years illustrates considerable progress in water management – but also serious areas of weakness. Supply chain risks, incomplete water risk assessments, a lack of meaningful water policies, and far from universal disclosure, all need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

- Tackling water challenges remains an issue and action is urgently needed to close the gap between large companies and others. Despite increasing investor involvement, the market is not transparent enough: Only 38% of the 1073 companies responded to CDP's disclosure request.

- Water stewardship offers clear benefits to at-risk companies. Transforming business as usual operational approaches to water management into strategic water stewardship efforts reduces risk, enhances strategic preparedness, improves investor appeal and makes businesses more resilient.

CDP Turkey 2015 Water Program Results

The CDP Water Program sent disclosure requests to 51 companies traded on the BIST-100 index that operate in sectors most vulnerable to water risks. In addition to 8 of these companies responding, 7 additional companies voluntarily disclosed data despite not being requested by CDP to do so, for a total of 15 respondents this year.

Key Findings:

- Turkish companies have a very low rate of response to CDP. 84% of the 51 companies receiving requests failed to respond to the CDP Water Program in 2015. On the other hand, 7 companies voluntarily disclosed their water data. The low rate of responses may be tied to many factors such as receiving a request from CDP for the first time, lack of an effective water policy, lack of water-related data, and the nonexistence of a national water strategy.

- 36% of the respondents report having been exposed to water-related adverse effects in the last financial year.  

- Water security is a key business issue for many Turkish companies. 64% of the respondents report that water has become a significant risk for their business.

- No company in Turkey has an effective and comprehensive water policy. Such a policy requires that water-related strategies are integrated into the overalls strategies of the company, performance standards are established for direct operations and supply chains, action steps are clearly defined, and water, health and hygiene are recognized as fundamental human rights.

- Physical risk factors like increasing water shortage or stress, degrading water quality and droughts are the risks most frequently reported by respondents. Three quarters of the 35 different water-related risks reported are physical risks.

- 86% of the respondents report that water presents operational, strategic or economic opportunities. The most important opportunities are in cost savings and increased water efficiency. Many companies believe that reducing water consumption may bring cost savings.

- There are great gaps in water risk assessment. Only 14% of these companies have completed a general risk assessment that covers their direct operations and supply chains. The majority of Turkish companies are yet to define comprehensive policies that involve suppliers in their value chains in the water issue.

- 79% of the respondents report that water policies, strategies and planning, or corporate water management as a whole, is handled at the Board level.

- Half of the respondents have set targets regarding water. 79% of the companies have set qualitative targets for improving water management, while 50% have set quantitative targets.

Among key quantitative targets are "reducing the quantity of water drawn," "improving the monitoring of water usage" and "reducing water intensity." Qualitative targets include "sustainable agriculture," "customer education" and "stronger ties with the communi

Click for Global Water Report 2015.

Click for CDP Turkey 2015 Water Program Results.

Sabancı University invited parents to the sixth annual “Family and Education Day.” Families learned more about a wide range of topics from science to entrepreneurship, energy, and politics.

Sabancı University “Family and Education Day” took place at the Sabancı University campus in Tuzla on Saturday, October 24, 2015.   The traditional Family and Education Day event started at the Sabancı University Performing Arts Center with introductory remarks by President Nihat Berker.

President Nihat Berker

The first presentation of the Family and Education Day was delivered by Vice President Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz. Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz spoke on “Global Energy and Water: Conjoined Twins and Other Siblings." This was followed by Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Dean Yusuf Menceloğlu on “Nanotechnology from Labs to Daily Life; Nanoengineering from Molecules to Material." School of Management faculty member Dilek Çetindamar gave a lecture titled“Being the Top Entrepreneur and Innovator is No Luck." Finally, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Emeritus Professor Ahmet Evin spoke on “Energy, Politics and States.” 

Parents were accompanied by Sabancı University faculty members during lunch, where they found the opportunity to ask questions. The afternoon session included tours of the Information Center and SUNUM, and Faculty Programs. Nanotechnology Research and Application Center Director Volkan Özgüz met parents at SUNUM and gave information about the facility.

Parents received general information about the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences from Assistant Dean Cem Güneri; the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences from Dean Ayşe Kadıoğlu, the School of Management from Assistant Dean Burçin Bozkaya, and the School of Languages from Director Jacqueline Einer.

2014-2015 Lecture Awards given

Foundations Development Year Instructor Awards category had Neslihan Demirdirek in first place, Sharon Turner in second and Michael John Thomas in third.

Contribution to First Year University Courses – Class Lectures Category Awards went to David Hill in first place, Brian Rodrigues in second place, and Ekrem Sabit Şimşek in third place.

Contribution to First Year University Courses – Hall Lectures Category Awards went to Hakan Erdem, Cemil Koçak and Akşin Somel in first, second and third places, respectively.

Graduates of the Year Award winners chosen with the votes of senior year undergraduate students were Murat Kaya, Güvenç Şahin and İlker Birbil.

In the First Year Teaching Assistant Awards category, Işın Taylan was first, Abba İbrahim Ramadan second and Hatice Sezer third.

In the Teaching Assistant Awards category for courses other than first-year university courses, first prize went to Marco Chiappetta, second prize to Can Çalışkan, and third prize to  Periklis Tsekouras.

Winners received their awards from President Nihat Berker, SoM Dean Füsun Ülengin, FASS Dean Ayşe Kadıoğlu and FENS Dean Yusun Menceloğlu.

Dance performances during the day

Performances by Sabancı University dance club SUDans livened up the atmosphere.

Applications are now open for the Akbank Entrepreneur Development Program held with the cooperation of Sabancı University and Akbank. The program is open to managing partners or executive directors of companies established in Turkey. The assessment considers the value created by projects and the objectives of the applicants.

The Akbank Entrepreneur Development Program held by Akbank in association with the Sabancı University Entrepreneurship Council will accept admissions until November 2, 2015. The program is open to managing partners or executive directors of companies established in Turkey. The assessment and selection criteria for the program include the value added by the project, the ground covered, growth potential, and objectives.  

Akbank Entrepreneur Development Program is a 5-day training that includes subjects such as strategy, innovation, marketing, operations, finance, human resources, law, intellectual property and government incentives that entrepreneurs need to know. The training will be held at the Karaköy Minerva Palas between November 23 and 27, 2015, and participants will be issued a Sabancı University certificate at completion. The keynote speaker at the certification ceremony will be Mehmet Buldurgan, founder of the active angel investor network Şirket Ortağım and former CEO of Temsa.

"Our support for entrepreneurs is not limited to financing; we offer many solutions that add value to the entrepreneurship ecosystem."

Speaking about the program, Akbank's Vice President of Small and Medium Enterprise Banking, Bülent Oğuz, said that supporting entrepreneurs was instrumental for dynamic and accelerated economic growth, continuing:
"Entrepreneurs play active part in creating new thought and giving rise to new industries, and bring dynamism to the economy they operate in by analyzing customer needs as quickly and accurately as possible. Therefore, Akbank's support for entrepreneurs is not limited to financing; we offer many solutions that add value to the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The Akbank Entrepreneur Development Program we implement with Sabancı University as a mini-MBA for small and medium enterprises aims to pave the way for a long-term development strategy and sustainable growth for participants. Taking a company to healthy growth and sustaining it are supremely important. Akbank Entrepreneur Development Program has given support to a great number of entrepreneurs since established, and this year we will extend our service to 50 carefully-selected entrepreneurs. We hope that the program will enable our entrepreneurs to further grow their businesses and gain an important position in tomorrow's world of business."

Trainings will be given by Sabancı University faculty members and business experts. Trainers and their subjects in the program will include Sabancı University Faculty Member Dilek Çetindamar on “Business Plans and Business Models in SMEs"”, Sabancı University Faculty Member Cenk Kocaş on “Creating value through marketing in SMEs", Lean Institute Specialist Hüsrev Yaman on “SME Operations, Competitive Advantage through Lean Production and Management", Sabancı University Faculty Member Işın Güler on “Making a Difference in SMEs with Strategy and Innovation", Sabancı University Entrepreneurship Council Director Kutlu Kazancı on “SME Growth through Right Finance Management”, Sabancı University Faculty Member on “Leadership and HR Management in SMEs", Diffusion Capital Partners Founding Partner Ömer Hızıroğlu on “Law and Intellectual Property for SMEs”, and Sabancı University Entrepreneurship Council Specialist Başar Kaya on “Government Incentives for SMEs".

Speaking on the Akbank Entrepreneur Development Program, Sabancı University Entrepreneurship Council Director Kutlu Kazancı emphasized the importance of leaps in innovation, speed and effectiveness in Turkish SMEs to compete on an international level, and said: “Akbank and us joined forces for a thorough certificate program to improve the competitive strength of 50 SMEs every year in order to support the backbone of the Turkish economy."

About the Akbank Entrepreneur Development Program:

Established in 2003 and supported by Endeavor, Kagider and Inovent, the Akbank Entrepreneur Development Program is designed to provide entrepreneurs with a sound basis for building an effective business, deliver the necessary training, and complete applied project work. During the 12 years since the first program, the training content was constantly updated and redesigned to reflect the outcomes and experiences around the world and to adapt to the circumstances in Turkey. The program aims to equip entrepreneurs who have started their ventures or ready to grow with knowledge on how growth will be achieved and sustained.

The selection jury for the Sabancı University-led training program aiming at entrepreneurs who want to grow their business determine the participants among applicants who have been in business for at least three years and are having growth issues, as opposed to applicants with only a business idea. SMEs from all over Turkey join the Akbank Entrepreneur Development Program for a week-long training free of charge. Trainings are open to entrepreneurs who already have a business.

Subjects in the Akbank Entrepreneur Development Program cover a wide range of issues from financial calculations in the growth stage of companies to operating and marketing plans varying by business model, and include informative sessions on loan and shareholders’ equity requirements and growth in domestic and foreign markets. Also included in the program are visits to successful entrepreneurs or lectures by visiting entrepreneurs who share their success stories. The keynote speaker in the certification ceremony of the 2014 Akbank Entrepreneur Development Program was Hasan Aslanoba.

The program is free of charge and applications will be open at www.akbank.com until November 2, 2015.   

The graduates of the 12th term of the Turquality Executive Development Program held under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy simultaneously at Sabancı, Koç, Istanbul and Bilkent Universities received their certificates at a ceremony at the Exporters’ Assembly of Turkey’s Foreign Trade Complex with the attendance of the Minister of Economy, Nihat Zeybekçi.  

Speaking at the ceremony, Sabancı University Vice President Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz spoke on the significance of the Turquality Program for Sabancı University. Saying that participants received courses from Sabancı University faculty who were recognized as among the best in their fields, Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz expressed their desire to expand the program worldwide and said that Sabancı University would continue to contribute to the program towards this objective.

The ceremony concluded with 12th term graduates receiving their certificates. 34 participants from Sabancı University received their certificates from Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekçi, TİM Chair Mehmet Büyükekşi, and Sabancı University Vice President Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz.