Özyeğin University (OzU)
Özyeğin University (ÖzU), founded in 2007, in Istanbul, Turkiye as a non-profit foundation university, positions itself to be one of the most innovative and research-oriented universities in Turkiye. ÖzU has ranked in the top 10 in the Entrepreneurial and Innovative University Index, prepared under the leadership of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) since 2012. In the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2024, ÖzU is ranked in the top 400 universities and named one of the top five universities in Turkey.
There are seven Faculties (Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Business, Faculty of Aviation and Aeronautical Science, Faculty of Architecture and Design and Faculty of Applied Sciences), three Graduate Schools (Graduate School of Engineering, Graduate School of Business and Graduate School of Social Sciences), one School (School of Languages) and eight Research Centers (Center for Computational Finance, Center for Energy, Environment and Economy (EÇEM), Research, Development, Training and Application Center for Energy Efficient LED Lighting (EVATEG), Centre of Excellence in Optical Wireless Communication Technologies Applied Research (OKATEM), Center of Technology Products, Center for Entrepreneurship, Alp Alkas Retail & Real Estate Center, German Law Application and Research Center) hosting 6872 undergraduate, 570 graduate and 194 doctorate students and 529 academic and 364 administrative staff in ÖzU.
In 2012, to contribute to the leading research university role of ÖzU, the Technology Transfer Office was established to support researchers about national and international grant applications, promote, and contribute university-industry collaborations, and to manage all Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights (IPR). Additionally, ÖzU has launched the first business acceleration program, Start-up Factory, to create, guide, and develop high potential and sustainable entrepreneurs. The units Openfab, Continuing Education Center, Sustainability Platform and Gender Office support and consult academics, researchers, and students, as well as involve projects.
As of January 2025, ÖzU’s research portfolio reached 355,4 million TL with 949 projects. This budget mainly comes from the European Union and TÜBİTAK funds, and the rest from industrial partnerships and other funding institutions. Since 2013, ÖzU has 434 pending national and international patent applications, 168 of which have been filled with industry and other universities. ÖzU’s IP portfolio currently contains 159 registered patents and 5 registered utility models. Since 2020, transfer of 8 patents in IPR portfolio, has been carried out.
Team
Dr. Cengiz Hakan AYDIN
Cengiz Hakan AYDIN, PhD, has offered courses in the fields of open and distance learning, educational communications and technology, and designining learning processes, experiences, media. After having served as an instructional designer, department chair, director and dean in Anadolu University, Dr. AYDIN joined Ozyegin University as the Director of the Office of learning and Teaching Enhancement (OLTE) and as a full professor at Communication and Design Department in 2024. Dr. AYDIN’s research interests focus on a range of topics, such as innovative and flexible learning processes, environments and in higher education and in corporate settings, design and development of learning environments, integration of new technologies (AI, VR, AR, MR, etc.) into education and training, Open Educational Resources (OERs), Open Educational Practices (OEPs), Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and current trends in higher education and corporate education. Dr. AYDIN has been serving as a steering committee member of the OpenupEd initiative of the European Council for Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU), board member of Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), and member of the Centre for Distance Education Research (COER). He is also on the editorial boards the OpenPraxis, the Journal of Open, Distance, and Digital Education (JODDE), and the International Journal of Changes in Education (IJCE).
Dr. Bahar HASIRCI
Dr. Bahar Hasırcı works as a Level Coordinator at ScOLa. She received her BA degree in English Language Literature from Ege University in 2003 and her MA in English Language Teaching from Southampton University in 2006. She earned her Ph.D. degree in 2024 in the English Language Teaching department at Bahçeşehir University, specializing in English Medium instruction, internationalism, and professional development. She also holds a Cambridge DELTA diploma (2009), a postgraduate Mentoring and Coaching diploma from Nottingham University (2013), and an English Medium Instruction Teacher Education certificate from Oxford University (2015). Prior to Özyeğin University, she worked at Edinka Language Schools as an English teacher, at Ege University for two years, and at Bilkent University for six years as an instructor. Her roles at Bilkent University included being a mentor for novice teachers and a CELTA and ICELT trainer. She worked as a Teacher Development Unit member and language instructor at ScOLa before taking on her current role.