Administrative Support

Özyeğin University has adopted a strong interdisciplinary research and innovation culture to address global challenges of the 21st century such as energy efficiency, sustainability, artificial intelligence, and climate change. In line with this vision, the administrative support provided serves as a fundamental mechanism that brings together experts from different academic fields to enable the realization of projects with high societal impact. Coordinated by the Office of the Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Impact (VPRII), these processes allow researchers to carry out their projects in alignment with strategic goals and transform scientific outputs into tangible initiatives. This ecosystem is sustained by a set of dedicated units - each playing a distinct yet complementary role: the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) bridges academia and industry; the Entrepreneurship Center nurtures innovative ideas into viable businesses; Openfab provides the physical and creative infrastructure for prototyping and production; and EÇEM brings together energy, environment, and economic expertise to deliver real-world impact. Completing this structure, the Sustainability Platform (SP) ties these efforts together under a holistic sustainability vision, linking research, education, and societal contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and fostering multi-stakeholder collaborations at both national and international levels. Together, these units form the backbone of ÖzÜ's commitment to turning interdisciplinary research into lasting societal change.

• TTO (Technology Transfer Office)
  As one of the first 10 TTOs supported by TÜBİTAK, Özyeğin University’s TTO has played a significant role in positioning the university as a leader in university–industry collaboration through strategic projects conducted with public and private sectors. Operating under ÖzÜ-X, the TTO serves as a critical bridge to implement the interdisciplinary research vision and disseminate its outcomes. The unit organizes workshops that bring together academics and entrepreneurs from different faculties in transformative fields such as artificial intelligence, big data, and robotics, paving the way for high-impact research.

• Entrepreneurship Center
  The Entrepreneurship Center and its subsidiary, the Entrepreneurship Factory, support the transformation of academic research and innovative ideas into tangible societal benefits. Since 2011, the center has received over 4,000 applications and guided more than 500 entrepreneurs, directly contributing to the establishment of over 100 new businesses. By offering mentorship, training, and a broad business network to researchers, it strengthens the entrepreneurial spirit within the university through an interdisciplinary perspective.

• Openfab
  Openfab, operating within ÖzÜ-X, serves as a central makerspace and educational platform connecting laboratories. With over 400 workshops organized since 2016 and reaching more than 10,000 participants, the unit supports processes from prototyping to production, enabling innovative ideas to come to life. This dynamic ecosystem, which combines design and production stages with innovative materials and methods, allows researchers, students, and entrepreneurs to work beyond traditional boundaries.

• EÇEM (Energy, Environment and Economy Center)
  EÇEM is an internationally recognized research and application center positioned at the intersection of energy, environment, and economy. It develops solutions by addressing energy systems, environmental impacts, and economic dimensions together. While integrating knowledge from different academic fields through both disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, it also reconstructs this knowledge in collaboration with industry, public institutions, and society within a transdisciplinary framework to produce tangible outputs. This structure transforms EÇEM from a purely analytical research unit into a platform that manages multi-stakeholder interactions and delivers results. By strategically designing academia–industry–public collaborations, EÇEM ensures the integration of scientific knowledge into decision-making processes and industrial applications through projects, training programs, and applied research. The approaches developed in this process aim to produce applicable, measurable, and scalable impact, as demonstrated by more than 20 completed projects. With this holistic approach, EÇEM stands as a reference center contributing to sustainability transformation and aiming to create lasting change in multi-actor systems in the fields of energy and environment.

• Sustainability Platform (SP)
  The Sustainability Platform (SP) is a structure that brings together the university’s knowledge production, practices, and collaborations in the field of sustainability through a holistic approach. By linking research, education, and societal contribution activities with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, it goes beyond simple mapping and develops models that support the creation of tangible impact in these areas. SP establishes bridges between academia, the private sector, and civil society, enabling national and international multi-stakeholder collaborations while developing joint projects and programs. Through capacity building, stakeholder dialogue, and practical tools, it systematically enhances the university’s ability to generate societal impact. In this respect, SP is one of the key pillars supporting the university’s vision of building a sustainable and inclusive future.