Istanbul Technical University

Ottoman Empire

Considered as the world's third institution of higher learning specifically dedicated to engineering education, Istanbul Technical University (ITU) has a long and distinguished history which began in 1773. ITU was founded by Sultan Mustafa III as the Imperial School of Naval Engineering (Ottoman Turkish: Mühendishane-i Bahr-i Hümayun‎), and it was originally dedicated to the training of ship builders and cartographers. In 1795 the scope of the school was broadened to train technical military staff for the modernization of the Ottoman army. In 1845 the engineering function of the school was further widened with the addition of a program devoted to the training of architects. The scope and name of the school were extended and changed again in 1883 and in 1909 the school became a public engineering school which was aimed at training civil engineers who could provide the infrastructure for the rapidly developing country.

Modern Turkey

By 1928 the institution had gained formal recognition as a university of engineering which provided education in both engineering and architecture. In 1944 the name of the institution was changed to Istanbul Technical University and in 1946 the institution became an autonomous university with architecture, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering faculties.

With its long history of 243 years, its modern teaching environment, and well-qualified teaching staff, Istanbul Technical University today is the personification of engineering and architectural education in Turkey. Istanbul Technical University not only played a leading role in the modernization movement of the Ottoman Empire, but has also maintained its leadership position in the changes and innovations taking place in the construction, industrialization, and technological realms during the modern days of the Turkish Republic. Engineers and architects trained at Istanbul Technical University have played significant roles in the construction of Turkey. Alumni also played a significant role in Turkish politics.

Academics

The structure of each "faculty" at ITU is comparable to those of "colleges" in the U.S. institutions, where each faculty is composed of two or more departments. For example, the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering consists of the departments of electrical engineering, control engineering, electronics and communication engineering

Institutes and Research Centers

There are a lot of Research Groups in ITU. Besides of these are listed below.

Planned Research Center Projects:

Finally, ITU also has the following departments / educational institutes that are not tied to any of the faculties, but serve as independent departments. These include

International perspective

23 engineering departments of ITU are accredited by ABET. Also ITU's faculty of architecture is accredited by NAAB and faculty of maritime is accredited by IMO. Minimum score of 213 from TOEFL CBT, or success in the English proficiency exam is one of the prerequisites to register the Bachelor, Master, or Doctorate level courses at ITU. According to THES - QS World University Rankings, Istanbul Technical University is among the top 500 universities in the world and is the top university in Turkey in the field of technology and engineering. Instruction is both in English and Turkish (roughly 30% and 70%, respectively or 100% for some disciplines). Master and Doctorate courses are mostly held in English. ITU is highly recognized institution in the area of engineering science in the Europe. So, ITU provides a broad range of options to its students for the Erasmus Mobility.

Campus

ITU is a public (state) university. It has five campuses, which are located in the most important areas of Istanbul. Among ITU's five campuses, the main campus of Maslak is a suburban campus, covering a total area of 2.64 km². The University Rectorate, swimming pool, stadium, along with most of the faculties, student residence halls and the central library of ITU are located there.

Another suburban campus of ITU is the Tuzla Campus. It serves the Maritime Faculty students and faculty members. It is located in the Tuzla district of Istanbul, which is a dockyard area.

The three urban campuses are near to one another and are situated close to Taksim Square.

Taşkışla campus is where the Faculty of Architecture is located. The Taşkışla building is one of the most renowned historical buildings in Istanbul. It dates backs to the Ottoman era and was used as military barracks.

Gümuşsuyu (Mechanical Engineering Faculty) and Maçka (Management Faculty) campuses are also among the important historical buildings of Istanbul.

Mustafa İnan Library

Triga Mark-2 Nuclear Reactor

ITU's nuclear reactor of Triga Mark-2 is in the Maslak campus. It is located at the Energy Institute.

Arı Technopolis

Since the foundation in 2003 Arı Technopolis, which is located at the Ayazağa Campus, provides companies with research, technology development and production opportunities at the university, in cooperation with the researchers and academicians. The technopolis have two buildings:Arı-1 and Arı-2. Arı-3 building in Maslak and another building in Floria are announced to build. Arı Technopolis has the 49% of export among technopolises in Turkey.

National High Performance Computing Center

NHPCC, is located at the Ayazağa Campus. It is the national center for high performance computing. The super computer of this center was one of the world's top 500 list super computers (240th).

Athletics

Having a suburban campus like Maslak has created the opportunity of building many sports areas. Ayazağa Gymnasium is the center of sports in ITU. Ayazağa Gymnasium also has a stadium with a seating capacity of 3500 for basketball and volleyball matches. A fitness center is also located there.

Basketball matches are among the most important sports activities in ITU. ITU Basketball Team, which won the Turkish Basketball League Championship for 5 times, currently plays in the Turkish Basketball League's 2nd Division (TB2L). Ayazağa Gymnasium is the home of the ITU Basketball Team. Needless to mention that the students are the team's biggest supporters.

Despite the successes in basketball, the football team of ITU plays in the amateur league. A football stadium is also located in Ayazağa, where the football team plays its matches.

Tennis courts and an indoor olympic swimming pool, which is opened in May 2007, are also available in the Ayazaga Campus. An open-air swimming pool serves the ITU faculties.

ITU's American football team ITU Hornets has won the Unilig (Turkish University Sports Leagues) Super League of American football in the 2013-2014 season and is a finalist in 2014-2015 season.

Other sports clubs/activities in ITU are: Badminton, ultimate, fencing, diving, winter sports, dancing and gymnastics, tennis, paintball, aikido, athletics, mountaineering, bridge, swimming, cycling and triathlon, skiing, parachuting, korfball, handball, iaido, capoeira, wrestling, archery and sailing.

Social Life

ITU offers many options to students who like doing extra-curricular work during their studying years. The most popular ones are Rock Club, Cinema Club, Model United Nations, EPGIK, International Engineering Club. Also ITU has an option for those who like to organise events and socialise with people from various European countries in the Local Board of European Students of Technology Group which had 40 members in 2007. Despite all these, it can still be a little quiet in the campus from time to time because students can choose the city of Istanbul over the campus life.

ITU Model United Nations (ITUMUN)

Model United Nations Society of ITU is one of the most active students club in the University. Participating in MUN conferences regularly, both domestic and international, MUN society offers an unrejectable opportunity for personal development with great fun.

Model United Nations is a conference where students participate as United Nations delegates. Participants research and formulate political positions based on the actual policies of the countries they represent.

Housing

ITU dormitories have a capacity of 3000 students. They include Lakeside Housings, IMKB Dormitory, Verda Urundul, Ayazaga Dormitory and Gumussuyu dormitory. Additional dormitories are planned.

Entertainment

Lady Gaga performed at the stadium on September 16, 2014 to a sold out crowd of 19,157 people as part of her artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball.

Faculty

Notable alumni

Many of the graduates take role in the development of Turkey, with many of them playing significant roles in constructing bridges, roads and buildings. For instance, Emin Halid Onat and Ahmet Orhan Arda are architects of Anıtkabir. Süleyman Demirel (civil engineer) and Turgut Özal (electrical engineer) are the two former presidents of Turkey. Necmettin Erbakan (mechanical engineer) is a former prime minister of Turkey. Binali Yıldırım is the current prime minister of Turkey.