During the next three years, Limak Foundation will provide financial support to the MIT - Boğaziçi University international research, education and outreach program designed within the framework of MISTI (MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives). The program aims to support collaborative research projects carried out by faculty and students of MIT and Boğaziçi University. Limak’s objective is to contribute to Turkey’s research infrastructure and pioneer new projects.
The MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) – BU “Seed Fund” is designed to support joint research projects and increase collaboration between the two institutions on research projects. The program will receive financial support from Limak Foundation for a period of three years. The MIT- BU Seed Fund was established in 2016 as part of MISTI, MIT’s international academic collaboration programs. The program aims to encourage faculty and students of MIT and Boğaziçi University to work on collaborative research projects and help enhance Turkey’s research infrastructure.
Limak Foundation was established by Limak Holding with the objective of transforming Turkey’s young and dynamic potential into qualified manpower. Limak Foundation will provide $100,000 per year to MISTI’s MIT-Boğaziçi Program. The total amount of $300,000 provided in three years will be used to support young researchers in Turkey and pioneer new, influential research to serve humanity.
Applicants from MIT and Boğaziçi University are expected to submit their collaborative research proposals by September each year. The proposals are evaluated by a joint academic committee and applicants are informed of the results in December. MIT and BU teams complement each other’s research areas; student participation and new project proposals are encouraged.
The first project is on earthquakes
Of the proposals submitted in response to the 2016 call for proposals, the first one to be accepted is the joint project of Professor Oral Büyüköztürk from MIT Civil Engineering Department and Associate Prof. Cem Yalçın from BU Civil Engineering Department, titled “Energy Based Structural Analysis of Single Degree of Freedom (SDOF) Systems by Shake Table Tests”. The project team includes faculty members as well as Master’s and Phd Degree students from both universities. The project involves designing safer buildings that can withstand major earthquakes.
Prof. Mehmed Özkan, President of BU, said, “We are thrilled about the academic partnership established in the framework of the “Seed Funds” between the two institutions - MIT, one of the world’s preeminent technical universities and BU, one of the outstanding academic institutions in Turkey and abroad.”
Prof. Özkan said that BU had a strong research infrastructure, and with the achievements this academic collaboration would bring, the university’s field of influence would increase in the global arena.”
Ebru Özdemir, Chair of Limak Investment Board of Directors, expressed their pleasure in supporting this collaboration.
Özdemir said, “Our objective is to contribute to enhancing Turkey’s research infrastructure; to create environments where knowledge is shared and transformed into a value, where people learn by sharing and develop new ideas.” She added that as one of the leading companies in the business world, Limak would always support such outstanding projects.
$11.7 million provided for 530 projects
MISTI’s global Seed Fund program makes it possible for MIT faculty to build global collaborations with their counterparts all around the world. Within the framework of the program, a total of $11.7 million has been provided for 530 projects so far. Boğaziçi University is the first Turkish university to participate in the MISTI program.
The projects to be developed in the Seed Fund program seek a balanced participation between MIT and BU participants; complementarity between MIT and BU research interests and teams; and student participation. The objective is to increase academic collaboration between researchers of the two institutions and to finance at least three projects each year.
The program gives priority to projects that bring students together, thus supporting Turkey’s research infrastructure. The research projects are not only in fields the science, engineering and technology but also in social sciences and humanities.
Within the framework of the program, Boğaziçi University faculty members and researchers will set up a joint academic committee with MIT, an institution that boasts 72 Nobel Prize winners among its students and alumni. The program will not only increase academic interaction between the two institutions, but will also have the opportunity to increase complementarity through international viewpoints.
News: Office of Corporate Communications