YASAR UNIVERSITESI

Their core work

Yaşar University is a private university in İzmir, Turkey, with active research groups spanning engineering and social sciences. In H2020, they focused on two distinct tracks: technical research in smart buildings, structural optimization, and IoT for smart cities through MSCA fellowships, and broader science-society initiatives around science literacy, gender equality, and green transition. They frequently coordinate projects themselves, indicating institutional capacity to manage EU-funded research despite their relatively modest funding volume.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2016-2018), Yaşar focused on engineering research — structural optimization and smart building controls — alongside broad science communication and literacy initiatives (SCI-ALL). From 2019 onward, their focus shifted toward societal challenges: gender equality in research institutions (CALIPER), IoT for smart cities, and green transition topics like energy and waste management. This evolution shows a university moving from pure technical research toward interdisciplinary work that connects engineering expertise with societal impact themes aligned with the European Green Deal.

Yaşar is aligning with EU Green Deal priorities and institutional transformation agendas, making them a relevant partner for projects combining technical sustainability research with societal engagement.

How they like to work

Yaşar predominantly leads projects — coordinating 4 out of 6 H2020 activities, which is unusual for a mid-sized Turkish university and signals strong project management capacity. With 34 unique partners across 16 countries, they maintain a broad but not deep network, suggesting they build new consortia rather than repeatedly working with the same partners. Their comfort with coordination roles makes them a viable lead partner for CSA and MSCA proposals, especially for consortia needing a non-Western European coordinator.

Yaşar has built a moderately wide network of 34 partners spanning 16 countries, indicating reach well beyond Turkey's immediate neighborhood. Their geographic spread across European and associated countries reflects the international character of MSCA mobility actions.

What sets them apart

Yaşar stands out as a Turkish university that consistently coordinates EU projects rather than joining as a junior partner — a role many Widening Country institutions struggle to assume. Their dual competence in engineering (buildings, IoT, optimization) and science-society topics (gender equality, science communication, green awareness) makes them unusually versatile. For consortium builders, they offer coordination experience, Turkish market access, and the ability to bridge technical research with public engagement work packages.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CALIPER
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 237k) and their most recent major project, focused on institutional gender equality — a growing priority in Horizon Europe proposals.
• BuildingControls
  Coordinated MSCA fellowship on smart grid-connected buildings with the highest coordinator-led budget (EUR 158k), demonstrating core engineering research capacity.
• GREEN NIGHT
  Most recent project (2021-2022) combining green energy, waste management, and public science engagement — signals their current strategic direction.