Koç University

Istanbul, Turkey

Founded in 1993, Koç University has quickly become one of the most prestigious universities in Turkey with over 7000 students.

7000

students

15067000

inhabitants

image of the university

The university

  • Established in 1993 as a non-profit private university.
  • Attracts students from various ethnic, religious, social, cultural and economic backgrounds; preferred by Turkey’s ethnic and religious minorities, due to its universal values.
  • Internationalization: academic personnel profile is wide due to the choice of English as language of education, which attracts students from all over Europe and North America for exchange programs.

The city

  • A cosmopolitan city, experiencing a rapid transition from emigration to immigration
  • A superdiverse city with most of Turkey’s religious and ethnic minorities today concentrated in Istanbul.
  • The growth and economic transition of Istanbul has brought many urban challenges in housing, employment, pollution, urban infrastructure, transportation, environmental preservation, and city administration.
image of the city

Koç University and UNIC

Koç University is well-aligned to cooperate as an active member of the UNIC University, as the principle mission of Koç University is to cultivate competent graduates, who are internationally qualified; who can think creatively, independently and objectively; and who are confident leaders.


An open-minded vision, with a clear focus on international cooperation with universities in Europe is a core value of the university. UNIC  offers an excellent opportunity to broaden our vision, to learn from other like-minded universities and to contribute to the education and research of a European University with our own knowledge, expertise and traditions. Concurrently, research conducted at Koç University contributes to scientific development on an international scale and bolsters technological, economic and social development. Koç University consistently strives to advance knowledge through its efforts and to serve Turkey, Europe and humanity as a model of institutional excellence. Recently Koç has installed a diversity and inclusion office. 


Aims and Activities

The key aims and activities of Koç University are centred around the large number of Koç research forums and centres. 


Among those, the ones that are directly relevant to this project are the following: Migration Research Centre at Koç University (MiReKoc); Koç University Social Impact Forum (KUSIF); Vehbi Koç and Ankara Research Centre (VEKAM); Centre for Research on Globalization, Peace, and Democratic Governance (GLODEM); Koç University Gender Studies Centre (KOÇ-KAM); and Koç University Social Policy Application and Research Centre (KU-SPM). Research and education from these forums and centres are used in the CityLabs and the Superdiversity Academy in order to have the best outcomes and results and to make  UNIC  sustainable in Turkey and in Europe.

Koç University plays a vital role in the connection and cooperation between  UNIC  and its members and the Mediterranean Basin, the MENA region, and West Asia. As such, Koç University is an important partner for the further development and sustainability of bottom-up networks of universities across and outside the EU which will enable students to obtain a degree by combining studies in several EU countries and contribute to the international competitiveness of European universities.