To celebrate the 20th year of our university, we have prepared a set of four questions to ask faculty and administrative personnel who have been with us since the beginning, and to our first students. They all tell "the story of 20 years" from their own perspectives.
Going in alphabetical order, this week's interviewee for "The Story of 20 Years" is Kağan Kurşungöz.
Kağan Kurşungöz has been a member of the Sabancı University family for 21 years. He is one of the first 251 undergraduate students of 1999, when the university opened its doors. Kağan Kurşungöz graduated from the Computer Science and Engineering Program of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (FENS) in 2004 and completed his Master's Degree in mathematics at the Pennsylvania State University in the United States in 2006 and his Doctorate at the same university in 2009. Kağan Kurşungöz has been a faculty member at the FENS since September 2011.
Kağan Kurşungöz’s answers to our four questions are below.
What was your initial memory / impression of when you met Sabancı University for the first time?
K.K: I have a photo in front of the rough construction of the current building of the Faculty of of Management Sciences (I think it is not somewhere I can find right now). I remember the first year of the school whenever I look at it.
What are the differences between yourself 20 years ago and yourself today, and how did Sabancı University contribute to that change?
K.K: I am doing the job I dreamed of 20 years ago. I am an academic, a mathematician. After studying in a completely different education system beyond its time, we have learned to listen to other ideas and value and evaluate them, be open to differences and innovations. We have also had the opportunity to work one-on-one with the best teachers in their respective fields, and this, of course, has made a huge contribution to our education.
What comes into your mind when you think of Sabancı University in 20 years? What are your dreams for Sabancı University for the next 20 years? What about yourself?
K.K: When I think about Sabancı University, I mostly think of the good times I spent both as a student and as a faculty member. For 20 years from now, my dream is that Sabancı University will continue to move forward, adhering to the principles that it was formed around and made a difference.
Where and how would you be now if your paths hadn't crossed with Sabancı University?
K.K: I would still be an, doing research at another university. But I feel like I would not be in Istanbul. I would probably be in a smaller city in Turkey, and maybe abroad.