İhsan Sabuncuoğlu

Prof. Dr. İhsan Sabuncuoğlu earned his BS and MS degrees in Industrial Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU) in 1982 and 1984, and his PhD in Industrial Engineering from Wichita State University in the USA in 1990. During his doctoral studies, he gained professional experience at Boeing, Pizza Hut, and the National Institutes of Health.

He began his academic career as a visiting assistant professor at Wichita State University in 1989 and joined Bilkent University in Turkey in 1990, serving as a full-time faculty member until 2013. He also held visiting positions at Carnegie Mellon University in the USA and the Institut Français de Mécanique Avancée (IFMA) in France. His research focuses on flexible manufacturing systems, real-time scheduling, production planning, cancer imaging, controlled pharmaceutics, and simulation-based optimization, with funding from TÜBİTAK and EUREKA.

Prof. Sabuncuoğlu has authored over 100 scientific papers, numerous conference proceedings, and five edited books. He is listed among the world’s most influential scientists according to PLOS Biology, with 4,270 citations and an h-index of 34. He serves on editorial boards of multiple journals in industrial engineering and operations research and is an active member of professional organizations including the Institute of Industrial Engineering, Institute of Operations Research, The Management Science, and the Simulation Society.

He also has extensive industry experience in aerospace, automotive, logistics, and service systems, and has provided consultancy to numerous national and international organizations over his 39-year career. From 2008 to 2012, he chaired the Machinery and Manufacturing Technologies Committee at TÜBİTAK TEYDEB.

With over 25 years of administrative experience, Prof. Sabuncuoğlu served as Department Chair of Industrial Engineering at Bilkent University for seven years, leading the program to become the first ABET-accredited program outside the United States. He established a University-Industry Collaboration Center and supported the creation of student clubs focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and branding.

In 2013, following the invitation of the 11th President of Turkey, he became the founding rector of Abdullah Gül University (AGU), pioneering Turkey’s first hybrid public-private university model. AGU has quickly earned recognition, ranking 12th in the Turkish Innovation and Entrepreneurship University Index and 2nd among universities founded in the last 20 years according to URAP. Under his leadership, AGU has consistently ranked 1st among state universities in student satisfaction surveys and was recognized for its rapid transition to online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The university is also listed among the top 200 global universities for social impact by Times Higher Education and serves as the knowledge partner of the Global Solutions Initiative (GSI).

Prof. Sabuncuoğlu’s current research focuses on next-generation universities, institutional transformation, and the Third Generation University concept, which integrates education, research, and social impact with an emphasis on societal benefits. He has organized more than 30 international workshops and conferences and conducted over 40 benchmarking visits worldwide to study innovative higher education practices.

He is regularly invited to speak at international forums, including the Times Higher Education Young Universities Summit, EDUCON ASIA, and the UIIN University-Industry Interaction Conference. He has participated in numerous roundtables on higher education, digital transformation, and 21st-century skills, sharing his expertise on innovative university models.

Prof. Sabuncuoğlu is married with two children and enjoys tennis, swimming, and voluntary community service.