SABANCI UNIVERSITESI

Their core work

Sabanci University is a leading Turkish private research university in Istanbul with strong dual capacity in computational neuroscience and social sciences/humanities. On the technical side, they contribute to large-scale brain simulation, neuroinformatics, and high-performance computing through sustained involvement in the Human Brain Project. On the applied side, they run a long-standing SME innovation management program (INNOVIST series) helping Istanbul businesses adopt innovation strategies, and conduct significant research in EU governance, gender equality, and Ottoman legal history.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2014-2018, Sabanci focused heavily on two tracks: building SME innovation capacity in Istanbul (INNOVEEN, INNOVIST) and contributing to computational neuroscience through the Human Brain Project, alongside robotics (SWARMs) and graphene research. From 2019 onward, the university pivoted significantly toward social sciences and humanities — EU governance studies, gender equality, Ottoman legal history (their largest grant), and queer historiography — while maintaining the INNOVIST innovation program. The neuroscience work continued but the new funding shifted decisively toward law, history, and social policy questions.

Sabanci is increasingly positioning itself as a humanities and social sciences research hub with EU governance expertise, while maintaining its technical infrastructure through HPC and neuroscience commitments.

How they like to work

Sabanci operates as both a project leader and a flexible consortium partner, with a roughly 30/70 split between coordinator and participant roles. Their 624 unique partners across 46 countries indicate a broad, non-repetitive network — they join diverse consortia rather than relying on a fixed set of partners. Their coordination tends to concentrate in two areas: the recurring INNOVIST series (where they lead locally) and individual ERC/MSCA grants (where they lead as PI-driven research).

Sabanci has built an exceptionally wide network of 624 unique partners across 46 countries, reflecting their participation in large EU-wide consortia like the Human Brain Project and multi-partner governance studies. Their geographic reach spans well beyond Turkey into Western Europe, with additional connections to Brazil (CEBRABIC) and global academic networks.

What sets them apart

Sabanci is one of very few Turkish universities that bridges hard computational science (HPC, brain simulation, materials) with deep humanities and social science research at the EU funding level. Their INNOVIST series demonstrates rare hands-on experience running innovation support programs for SMEs in a major emerging-market city. For consortium builders, they offer a credible Turkish partner with genuine research capacity — not just geographic coverage — and an established track record of managing EU grants as coordinator.

Highlights from their portfolio

• OTTOLEGAL
  Their largest single grant at EUR 2M (ERC Consolidator), studying Ottoman lawmaking 1450-1650 — signals the university's growing strength in humanities research.
• HBP SGA3
  Sustained participation across all three phases of the Human Brain Project, one of the EU's flagship initiatives, demonstrating long-term commitment to computational neuroscience.
• INNOVIST 4.0
  Fourth iteration of a self-initiated innovation management program for Istanbul SMEs (EUR 240K), showing persistent local economic impact and rare continuity in EU-funded support actions.