SAS and Sabancı University Join Forces for Big Data Analytics
SAS Turkey became the analytical partner of the Sabancı University Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Laboratory as part of a project within the SAS Global Academic Program. Turkey's first big data lab will use advanced analytical methods with the support of SAS to make the big data held by businesses usable and meaningful, and train students to embrace an analytical vision.
SAS, a global leader in analytics, carries out the SAS Global Academic Program with universities and corporations around the world to support work on data science and advanced analytics. As part of the SAS Global Academic Program that includes more than 3000 universities worldwide, SAS Turkey became the analytical partner to the Sabancı University "Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Laboratory”, Turkey's first big data lab.
Speaking in the signature ceremony, Sabancı University President Professor A. Nihat Berker said, "Thanks to developing technologies and online networks, it is easier than ever to access information. This led to an abundance of data sources and data. What matters today is not simply accessing data, but using and interpreting data in an easy and accurate way. Since our establishment, joint projects and collaboration with the industry have been among our top priorities. At the Sabancı University Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Lab, we will compile data that sits suspended in the digital universe, and give them social meaningfulness. This will turn the data held by businesses into usable and meaningful information. We believe that our partnership with SAS will significantly boost our efforts in this area."
Also speaking at the signature ceremony, SAS Turkey General Manager Hakan Erdemli said, "The SAS Global Academic Program includes over 3000 universities worldwide, and we joined this program with Sabancı University as our partner. We are tremendously excited to be the analytical partner of Turkey's first big data lab. We support academic institutions with data science and advanced analytics in this project, helping students acquire an analytical vision before they start their careers while also showing how businesses can turn their data into usable and meaningful information."
The Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Laboratory is founded by Sabancı University in association with MIT and the strategic partnerships of Akbank and SAS, and carries out research in close collaboration with MIT Media Lab Human Dynamics Group researchers and faculty. Sabancı University Big Data Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Laboratory Director Associate Professor Burçin Bozkaya said, “This multifaceted agreement signed between SAS Turkey and Sabancı University contains elements of cooperation in both research and training. The analytical software support provided by SAS Turkey will help us continue our research efforts in the Behavioral Analysis and Visualization Lab, while the training they offer will help the graduates of our new Business Analytics master's and PhD programs acquire the qualifications required of them by businesses as well as academic institutions. As a result, this partnership is important to us and we believe that we will generate outcomes that are highly effective for Turkey."