09/11/2026
Sabancı University’s Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (FENS) hosted the EPFL–FENS Research Workshop on 5–6 November 2026, bringing together researchers from Sabancı University and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) to explore new opportunities for scientific collaboration and joint research projects.
The event was a continuation of the first joint workshop held at EPFL in Lausanne in June 2026. Building on the scientific exchanges and potential collaboration areas identified during the initial meeting, the November workshop aimed to deepen interactions between research groups, identify complementary expertise, and develop opportunities for future joint research initiatives.
The workshop focused on several rapidly advancing research areas, including 2D semiconductor materials and low-power electronics, steep-slope transistors and ferroelectric devices, edge-AI architectures, VLSI systems and hardware accelerators, machine learning, computer vision, and medical imaging.
The EPFL delegation included Prof. Andras Kis, Prof. Adrian Ionescu, Prof. Andreas Burg, and Prof. Jean-Philippe Thiran, who shared their research activities and perspectives on emerging scientific and technological challenges.
Representing Sabancı University, Karim Ali Abdeltawwab Ahmed, Alhun Aydın, Ongun Özçelik, Burcu Saner Okan, Emre Erdem, Korkut Kaan Tokgöz, Çağlar Tunç, Mert Kalfa, Özcan Öztürk, Ömer Ceylan, Erchan Aptoula, and Berrin Yanıkoğlu delivered presentations highlighting ongoing research at FENS and potential areas of collaboration with EPFL.
The scientific program was complemented by laboratory visits, interactions with graduate students, and roundtable discussions aimed at identifying common research interests and opportunities for cooperation between the two institutions.
An important topic of discussion was the potential establishment of a bilateral seed funding mechanism to support joint research activities between EPFL and Sabancı University. Such an initiative could facilitate researcher exchanges, encourage the development of collaborative projects, and provide a foundation for larger joint research proposals.
The workshop represented another step toward strengthening the institutional partnership between Sabancı University and EPFL. Both institutions aim to build on the momentum generated by the two workshops and translate the identified research synergies into sustainable scientific collaborations.
