Sabanci University

Sabancı Group took the decision to establish Sabancı University in 1994, under the leadership of Sabancı Foundation, Turkey's largest family foundation.

With the vision of establishing a "world university" in Turkey, in August 1995, more than 50 scientists, researchers, students and business people working in different disciplines from 22 countries came together at a search conference held in Istanbul. At the conference, the philosophy of a world university to be established in Istanbul was established: "Creating and developing together".

The search conference was followed by the work of the design committees, supported by research on student trends. During the design process, 13 design committees were formed to work on programs and courses within the framework of interdisciplinary approaches. In addition to design studies in the academic field, the University Administration Project was launched together with Deloitte & Touche consultancy firm to establish the business processes and management structure of the university. 

At the end of Sabancı University's design studies, a new and original university model was created, rather than choosing a single university as a model or imitating different examples and practices. 

The groundbreaking ceremony of Sabancı University was held on July 31, 1997. In October 1998, following the emergence of the general structure of the university, an application was made to become a member of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). Our university is the first university from Turkey to apply to EFQM and be accepted as a member. 

Sabancı University started education by welcoming its first students in October 1999. Today, our university is taken as an example by many universities in Turkey and abroad.