Partners - Istanbul Technical University (ITU)

ITU was established in 1773, during the time of the Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III. With its original name "Muhendishane-i Bahr-i Humayun", The Royal School of Naval Engineering, its responsibility was to educate chart masters and ship builders. In 1795, the "Muhendishane-i Berr-i Humayun", The Royal School of Military Engineering, was established to educate the technical staff in the army. In 1847, education in the field of architecture was also introduced.

Established in 1883, the School of Civil Engineering assumed the name "Engineering Academy", with the aim of teaching essentials skills needed in planning and implementing the country's new infrastructure projects. Gaining university status in 1928, the Engineering Academy continued to provide education in the fields of engineering and architecture until it was incorporated into ITU in 1944. Finally, in 1946, ITU became an autonomous university which included the Faculties of Architecture, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

With a history stretching back over 227 years, providing technical education within a modern educational environment and strong academic staff, ITU is strongly identified with architectural and engineering education in Turkey. Since its inception and foundation under Ottoman rule, ITU has constantly lead the way in reform movements, and in the latter era of the Republic of Turkey, ITU has assumed pivotal roles in the reconstruction, modernization, and administration of the country. The efforts and expertise of ITU graduates have been major contributors in the planning and construction of Turkey's roads, bridges, dams, factories, buildings, energy plants, communication networks, villages and cities. ITU is a state university which defines and continues to update methods of engineering and architecture in Turkey. It provides its students with modern educational facilities while retaining traditional values, as well as using its strong international contacts to mould young, talented individuals who can compete in the global arena.

The mission of ITU is to provide:

• A professionally recognized, premium education that prepares engineers to identify, evaluate and solve complex problems involving science and engineering
• Recently the spectrum of education has been broadened to arts and social sciences
• Excellence in teaching and research
• A global and inter-disciplinary perspective in real-world issues
• Proficient expertise generating from the departments have been sought after locally, nationally and internationally.

More specifically, the Environmental Engineering Department (EED) at Istanbul Technical University was founded in 1978. It offers one undergraduate program together with two graduate programs, i.e. Environmental Biotechnology (EnviroBioTech) and Environmental Science and Engineering (EnvSciEng). This department accommodates a total of five laboratories for research (4) and education (1) together with several lab-and pilot-scale systems. The faculty has a prosperous structure with members from different fields including Marine Sciences, Biology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Civil Engineering, contributing to the multi-disciplinary structure of the Environmental Science and Engineering Programme.

The main objective of the EED in the field of environmental studies is to conduct high-quality fundamental and applied research while encouraging cross-disciplinary, multi-level and multi-stage collaborations with national and international research institutions and enterprises, industry and government.

The major research areas of EED are:

• Integrated Water Quality and Watershed Management
• Environmental Biotechnology
• Chemical Processes and their Applications
• Advanced Oxidation Processes
• Physical Treatment Applications
• Clean Technologies and Industrial Pollution Control
• Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
• Air Quality Management

For further information: www.itu.edu.tr