29/06/2026
Sabancı University graduated its 24th-year undergraduate and 27th-year graduate students at a ceremony held on its Tuzla campus. This year, nearly 1200 students from the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and Sabancı Business School received their diplomas. The ceremony was attended by Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Hayri Çulhacı, Sabancı University President Prof. Dr. Yusuf Leblebici, faculty members, and the families of the graduating students.
In his speech at the ceremony, Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Hayri Çulhacı said that Sabancı University, which has celebrated its 25 years, has a unique place in higher education. Çulhacı said, "A university is, above all, a human union. It is collective wisdom, an intellectual ecosystem. It is a place where knowledge is shared, discussed, tested, multiplied and produced again. The university is an environment where the right questions are asked; it is an environment that allows people to understand the world, society and themselves, and liberates the human mind. The founding story of Sabancı University was born from this understanding."
Hayri Çulhacı stated that Sabancı University has been designed with a participatory approach, focusing on collective wisdom, free thought, and the philosophy of "creating and developing together" since its establishment, and added: "Our university has a unique place in higher education with its structure that focuses on research, interdisciplinary education, civic involvement, and the student."
Hayri Çulhacı pointed out that scientific knowledge, ethical awareness, social responsibility, creativity, and cooperation are needed at the same time to understand and solve problems in today's world. Çulhacı addressed the graduates: "We are in an age where digitalization, artificial intelligence and new technologies transform every aspect of life. In the future, there will be a need for people who use technology well, as well as people who can direct technology with conscience, ethics and for the benefit of humanity. Our expectation from you is to see knowledge as power, but do not separate power from responsibility. Aim for success, but do not separate success from human values. No matter how difficult the conditions are, do not leave the light of science. Do not give up on human rights, the rule of law, equality, and peace."
In his speech, Hayri Çulhacı reminded the students of Atatürk's words, which are also on the university campus: "My spiritual heritage is science and reason." Çulhacı continued as follows: "This promise is also the compass of Sabancı University. It is a greater responsibility today than ever to maintain a libertarian and principled stance, in harmony with universal values, under the guidance of reason and science."
Sabancı University President Prof. Dr. Yusuf Leblebici, in his speech at the ceremony, said, “At Sabancı University, we have never compromised on our ambitious path, which we have pursued with the same energy and determination since our establishment. In recent years, we have accelerated these efforts even further, taking strong steps towards achieving the position we deserve among world universities. In this new era, where our institution has further increased its national and global ambitions, raised the bar even higher, and is now truly progressing towards becoming a world university, exciting achievements await us.”
Yusuf Leblebici, referring to the achievements of Sabancı University, stated the following: “Our unique and proven education system, unparalleled in Türkiye, and our approach that allows freedom of program choice, enable our graduates to enter working life as confident and fully equipped individuals who have received education in line with their own preferences. With a total of 5,000 students, we are raising competent graduates in the most sought-after disciplines who can respond quickly to the changing needs of the business world. Our female student ratio exceeds 40% across the university, including all our engineering and natural sciences programs. 97% of our graduates enter the workforce in their preferred sectors immediately after receiving their degrees, or they can continue their postgraduate education in any country and at any university they choose.”
Yusuf Leblebici emphasized that their goal is not only to be the best in Türkiye, but also to transform into a truly globally recognized and appreciated research university, stating: “Our success graph continues to rise every year. According to independent evaluations by London-based Times Higher Education, we are now ahead of many prestigious European universities in research quality. In the QS World University Rankings, we rose 47 places this year. In the last two years, we have risen a total of 159 places, becoming the fastest-rising university in Türkiye. We have an active budget of over $60 million for our research projects, funded solely by external sources. Last year, we stood out in this area with 42 new research projects supported by TÜBİTAK. In the last three years, 57 startups from our Incubation Center have qualified for TÜBİTAK entrepreneurship support. Our center, which alone produces 15% of the new startups supported in Türkiye, is currently ranked first in the country as the most successful incubation structure by far. These results show that we are beginning to achieve the ambitious goals we have set for ourselves. Of course, we still have a long way to go. However, as a relatively young university, the point we have reached so far fills us with pride."
Underlining that the world the graduates will enter is currently undergoing a very rapid process of change and is quite different from the world of just a few years ago, Yusuf Leblebici concluded his speech by saying, "In the world you will live in, geopolitical uncertainties, environmental and climate issues, energy, food security, as well as the opportunities and threats brought by artificial intelligence applications will be at the forefront. Just as business models are fundamentally changing in all sectors, we will see some global companies that are currently dominant in their fields disappear in just a few years, and completely new structures replace them. The most important keys to success in such a rapidly changing world are the ability to adapt quickly to change, to work in an interdisciplinary way, and to have the ability to constantly improve oneself."
Faculty Valedictorians Awarded
At the ceremony, the valedictorians of each faculty received awards provided by the fund established in the will of the late Sakıp Sabancı, Honorary Chair of the Sabancı University Board of Trustees. The awards were presented to Sude Tıraş, valedictorian of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences; Darya Skripnik, valedictorian of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; and İpek Ersalıcı, valedictorian of Sabancı Business School, by Melisa Sabancı Tapan, Member of the Sabancı University Board of Trustees.
Professor Dr. Ayşe Kıvılcım Coşkun, a faculty member at Boston University and Chief Scientist at Emerald AI, attended the ceremony as an honorary speaker. Professor Dr. Ayşe Kıvılcım Coşkun, one of Sabancı University's first graduates, began her speech by saying, "When we started at Sabancı University in 1999, we weren't actually enrolling in a university, but in the idea of creating a world-class university from scratch. Sabancı University didn't just give me a degree; it actually gave me a passport to the world." Ayşe Kıvılcım Coşkun continued: “Even today, my path crosses with people from Sabancı University at many important points in my life. In academia, technology, entrepreneurship, and in different countries around the world… Strong universities don’t just produce graduates; they create lifelong communities.” Touching on the importance of a culture of achieving together, Ayşe Kıvılcım Coşkun said, “Throughout my career, I have seen this: The common feature of significant achievements in science, technology, and entrepreneurship is that they are team efforts. How you build a team, what problems you decide to solve, and where you want to make an impact can lead to much greater results over time. The leaders of the future will also be people who can build bridges between different worlds.” At the end of her speech, Ayşe Kıvılcım Coşkun addressed the new graduates: “Don’t lose your curiosity. Don’t lose your courage. Don’t lose your desire to create together and your principles. Ideas that change the world often begin with someone stepping into the unknown. Now it’s your turn.”
The ceremony continued with a speech by Ahmet Emir Gül, the Alumni Student Representative and a student in the Industrial Engineering Program at the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences. Ahmet Emir Gül expressed his feelings as follows: “The years we spent at Sabancı University taught us not to accept established norms, but to question, to think together, and to reach the truth. Our path is clear, our compass is our conscience, and our Republic is our greatest source of inspiration. Those who build the future change it, not those who wait for it.”
Following the presentation of doctoral, master's, and bachelor's degrees, the Sabancı University 2026 graduates expressed their joy by throwing their caps into the air.
