Istanbul Şehir University


Istanbul Şehir University was a private, non-profit university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It was established in 2008 by the Bilim ve Sanat Vakfı. The university started its education in the academic year of 2010–11 at its campus in Altunizade, Üsküdar, following a ceremony held on October 5, 2010 that was attended by then State President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu. The university was closed down on July 30, 2020, after it faced financial difficulties stemming from a legal land dispute, which in turn was fueled by a bitter political feud.

Organization

The university had, as of, six faculties, three graduate institutes, a vocational high school, four research centers, and a language school, organized as follows:
Istanbul Şehir University had three campuses, West Campus, East Campus, and South Campus, all of which were located in Altunizade, Üsküdar. Later, during the academic year 2017–18, Istanbul Şehir University moved to its main campus in Dragos, Kartal, where construction was long delayed due to environmental concerns.

Financial crisis and closure

In November 2019, the university faced financial trouble and was unable to pay the salaries of faculty members and the scholarships of students despite its revenue of millions of dollars. The reason was a freeze on its assets imposed by a court order, after a year-long trial, on request for an arrestment of funds by the state-owned Halkbank, which had concerns regarding the pay back of a US$70 million credit. A real estate, which belonged to the state-owned monopoly company Tekel, was transferred free of charge to the university as campus ground, and became subject of security for a credit from the Halkbank. The real estate lost its security status when the Council of State ruled at the last instance in favor of the Chamber of Architects branch of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects overturning the court's decision in the case. It was claimed by university representatives that the measure was of a political rather than technical nature due to the political fallout between Erdoğan and Ahmet Davutoğlu, the latter being a co-founder of the university.
By mid December 2019, the Council of Higher Education ruled for a temporary handover of Istanbul Şehir University to Marmara University, which was the "guarantor university" of the former. It was stated that the university was unable to continue its educational activities due to its financial situation. The operation license for education of the university was then suspended.
With the Presidential decree no. 2708 issued on June 30, 2020, the official authorization of Istanbul Şehir University was revoked. The Council of Higher Education, after a general meeting on June 30, 2020, later announced that the students of Istanbul Şehir University were to be transferred to Marmara University.