• ITU recently awarded its first international contract- a $13 million satellite Earth station project- to Datron, a California based Company.

• ITU's laboratories will host research and development projects representatives from Turkey's high-tech industries. ITU has 76.5 hectares of land available for the project in the Istanbul Municipality and it has submitted a $20 Million funding proposal to the world Bank. It aims to have a series of state-of-art labs in operation by the year 2000.
  

• The Tecnocity's R&D labs could also be used by US researchers requiring world class facilities at a fraction of their cost in the united States. These labs have received a $10 Million long term commitment from control for foodstuffs and for textiles, to polymer research, and to CAD-CAM manufacturing.
  

• ITU's next establishment priority is a cooparative defense project with Turkish Land forces requiring supercomputers and secure networks for Turkish Army. SSm, the financing arm of the Turkish Military, has made a commitment to this $29.6 Million project.
  

  Other Projects are as follows:
  

• English language project: Thirty percent of instruction will be in English at Othe ITU of future. ITU is currently discuss language training options with the Modern Language Department of the University of Connecticut.
  

  To this end, beginning with the 1997 academic year, the university will be requiring all students to successfully complete english preparatory studies and 30% of each students's undergraduate studies will be conducted in English.
  

• Electronic upgrades to the ITU's library system, budged at $500,000.
  

• A $10 Million autogeneration power project.
  

  Modifications to Akdeniz, a classical Turkish liner which ITU has just acquired, to permit its use as a floating enviromental platform as well as a cruise ship for earning revenue from tourism.
  

  About academic staff:

  • Two of the three Turkish members of the Academia Europea are members of the ITU faculty.
    

  • The Turkish Academy of Science includes eight full, four honory, and seven associate members from ITU.
    

  • During the 1966-1995 time frame, 18 ITU daculty members have won the turkish Scientific and Technical Research Institute (TUBITAK) awards, while 23 have won incentive and 17 have won service awards from that institution.
    

  • ITU is the national leader among all universities in the number of applied research projects being undertaken in enginnering and architectural studies.
    

ITU is one of the oldest and best regarded universities in Turkey. It has 15,500 undergraduate, 400 master and 1500 PhD. students, and a $60 Million yearly budget. It plans to conclude a $20 Million fund raising program in the next two years. The key to ITU's political and economic clout is the fact that its graduates -the best and brightest- are well represented in the ranks of the Nation's super achievers. ITU graduets head twenty of the nation's top construction companies. There are ITU graduets in the Treasury Ministry and the State Planning Organizations, essential arbiters of got investment decisions. Other alumni include President Demirel and Prime Minister Erbakan. This is an assurance that many of the projects mentioned above may become reality and may offer potentially huge opportunities.

Sources:

1. Http://www.tradeport.org/ts/countries/turkey/mrr/index.html

2. Istanbul Technical University Handbook, January 1997