Istanbul Technical University

Istanbul Technical University
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi

ITU Suleyman Demiral Cultural Center in the main Ayazaga Campus of ITU.
Motto Pioneer Through The Ages
Established 1773[1]
Type Public University
Rector Mehmet Karaca[2]
Academic staff
 1990, professor 404 [3]
Students 22,280[4]
Undergraduates 14,958[5]
Postgraduates 5,887[6]
Location Istanbul[7], Turkey
Colors Navy Blue and Honey Yellow          
Athletics Turkish Basketball Division II[8]
ITU Hornets (American football) Ünilig Super League
Mascot Bee
Affiliations EUA,[9] TIME,[10] CESAER Association,[11] EAIE[12] ATHENS[13]
Website itu.edu.tr

Istanbul Technical University (Tr. İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as ITU or Technical University) is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third oldest [14] technical university dedicated to engineering sciences as well as social sciences recently, and is one of the most prominent educational institutions in Turkey. ITU is ranked 108th worldwide and 1st nationwide in the field of engineering/technology by THES - QS World University Rankings in 2009.[15] Graduates of İstanbul technical university have received many TUBITAK science and TUBA awards. Numerous graduates have also become members of the academy of sciences in the U.S.A, Britain and Russia. The university's basketball team, ITUSpor, is in the Turkish Basketball Second League. The university has 39 undergraduate, 144 graduate programs, 13 colleges, 346 labs and 12 research centers. Its student-to-faculty ratio is 12:1.[16]

History

Ottoman Empire

  • Imperial School of Naval Engineering, 1773
  • Imperial School of Military Engineering, 1795
  • School of Civil Engineering, 1883
  • Engineering Academy, 1909
  • Istanbul Technical University, 1944

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 234 years, its modern teaching environment, and well-qualified teaching staff, Istanbul Technical University today is the personification of the 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

Main building of the campus Taşkışla .
ITU Suleyman Demirel Cultural Center
Courtyard of Taşkışla , the building of School of Architecture
Istanbul Technical University-ARIBA solar car racing team

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 engineering and telecommunications engineering.

College of Civil Engineering
College of Architecture
College of Mechanical Engineering
College of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
College of Computer and Informatics
College of Mines
College of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering
College of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
College of Sciences and Letters
College of Aeronautics and Astronautics
College of Management
Maritime College
Technologies and Design

Institutes and Research Centers

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

Planned Research Center Projects:[25]

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

University rankings
2014 2009 2008 2007
THE–QS World University Rankings Engineering/Technology 
 138 [26]
 108 [27] 133 [28] 157 [29]
THE–QS World University Rankings Natural Sciences 221 [30] 257 [31] 393 [32]
Global University Ranking 339 [33]
Times Higher Education World University Rankings BRICS & Emerging Economies 7 [34]
Times Higher Education World University Rankings Asia Rankings 24 [35]

23 engineering departments of ITU are accredited by ABET.[36] Also ITU's faculty of architecture is accredited by NAAB[37] 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.[38] Instruction is both in English and Turkish (roughly 70% and 30%, 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.

One of the three urban campuses of ITU is the Taşkışla Campus. It was a military barracks in the Ottoman era. Taşkışla is one of the most renowned historical buildings in Istanbul.

Gümuşsuyu (Mechanical Engineering Faculty) and Maçka (Management Faculty) campuses are close to Taksim Square, and they 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.[39]

Arı Technopolis

Since the foundation in 2003[40] 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.[41]

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).[42]

Student life

Athletics

ITU Stadium, home to university's football, American football and track&field athletics teams, also hosting numerous concerts.

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

Ayazağa Campus, ITU Lake
Ayazağa Campus, ITU Lake

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.[43] Additional dormitories are planned.

Entertainment

Lady Gaga performed at the stadium on September 16, 2014 as part of her artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball.

Noted faculty and alumni

Faculty

Noted alumni

Most of the engineers and architects who graduated from ITU are successful on their profession. 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.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ http://www.itu.edu.tr/?itu-hakkinda/tarihce
  2. ↑ http://www.oss.itu.edu.tr/Icerik.aspx?sid=713
  3. ↑ http://www.itu.edu.tr/datafiles/dosya/2009/2008-Faaliyet-Raporu-22-Mayis.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.itu.edu.tr/datafiles/dosya/2009/2008-Faaliyet-Raporu-22-Mayis.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.itu.edu.tr/datafiles/dosya/2009/2008-Faaliyet-Raporu-22-Mayis.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.itu.edu.tr/datafiles/dosya/2009/2008-Faaliyet-Raporu-22-Mayis.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.itu.edu.tr/en/?contact
  8. ↑ http://ituspor.org.tr/
  9. ↑ http://www.international.itu.edu.tr/Icerik.aspx?sid=1165
  10. ↑ http://www.international.itu.edu.tr/Icerik.aspx?sid=1164
  11. ↑ http://www.international.itu.edu.tr/Icerik.aspx?sid=1166
  12. ↑ http://www.international.itu.edu.tr/Icerik.aspx?sid=1167
  13. ↑ http://www.international.itu.edu.tr/Icerik.aspx?sid=4750
  14. ↑ World Oldest Universities
  15. ↑ http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2009/subject-rankings/technology
  16. ↑ http://www.itu.edu.tr/Facts-Figures.pdf
  17. ↑
  18. ↑
  19. ↑
  20. ↑
  21. ↑
  22. ↑
  23. ↑
  24. ↑
  25. ↑ http://www.itu.edu.tr/DataFiles/Dosya/2013/2013%20Kurumsal%20Mali%20Durum%20ve%20Beklentiler%20Raporu%20PDF.pdf
  26. ↑ http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2014/subject-rankings/technology/
  27. ↑ http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2009/subject-rankings/technology/
  28. ↑ http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/subject_rankings/technology/
  29. ↑ http://www.topuniversities.com/schools/data/school_profile/default/istanbultechnicaluniversity
  30. ↑ http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2009/subject-rankings/natural-sciences/
  31. ↑ http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/subject_rankings/natural_sciences/
  32. ↑ http://www.topuniversities.com/schools/data/school_profile/default/istanbultechnicaluniversity
  33. ↑ http://www.globaluniversitiesranking.org/images/banners/top-400%28eng%29.pdf
  34. ↑ http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2014/brics-and-emerging-economies
  35. ↑ http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013-14/regional-ranking/region/asia
  36. ↑ "İTÜ Makina Fakültesi". mkn.itu.edu.tr. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  37. ↑ http://www.mim.itu.edu.tr/aday.htm
  38. ↑ http://www.topuniversities.com
  39. ↑ http://www.energy.itu.edu.tr/triga.htm
  40. ↑ http://www.ariteknokent.com.tr
  41. ↑ http://www.itu.edu.tr/haber/?fe2d92cb-afa9-4e52-a8bb-49378c0a70d9
  42. ↑ http://www.top500.org/site/history/2703
  43. ↑ http://www.yurtburs.itu.edu.tr/

External links

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Coordinates: 41°06′20″N 29°01′25″E / 41.10548°N 29.02365°E