Adana Science and Technology University (Adana STU) is a relatively young higher education institution established in 2011 in Adana located in the south of Turkey and is the pivotal city incorporating industrial and agricultural activities in the region. Our university consists of 9 faculties, 1 school of foreign languages, 1 institute of social sciences, 1 institute of natural & applied sciences, 1 continuing education center supporting lifelong learning and a Turkish Language Education Center that helps our international students gain an insight into Turkish language and culture during their study period.

Adana STU has taken great strides in becoming an international university that focuses more on establishing cooperation with its counterparts both in the EU and non-EU countries. Therefore, an international relations office was established in 2012 that is responsible for coordinating partnerships with, but not limited to, the institutions in the EU since it is also in charge of the Mevlana Exchange Program in Turkey which allows for student and staff mobility in non-EU countries. Working in close collaboration with both its faculty members as well as Erasmus coordinators in each department,  it has so far reached agreements with higher education institutions in the USA (Oklahoma State University), the UK (Leeds Metropolitan University), China (Shenyang Aerospace University) and Hungary (Hungarian Academy of Education) in the field of student and staff mobility.

Our internationalisation strategy lies in expanding partnerships with our stakeholders both in the EU and the rest of the world with regard to student and staff mobility, curriculum development, knowledge alliances, capacity building, conducting joint researches, co-publishing, and establishing dual/joint degrees. Therefore, we are working in close collaboration with the Turkish National Agency and Eurodesk to provide our student and staff with the necessary information and assistance as regards those subjects via our staff experienced in Erasmus Programme. The office also has a website which provides our prospective incoming and outgoing students and staff with all the information, activities and events regarding Erasmus + and other exchange programs (http://intoff.adanabtu.edu.tr/En/Homepage).

Adana STU is a distinguished public university in that it has high-tech classrooms and accredited laboratories. Furthermore, it ranks among the top 10 universities in Turkey where English is the language of instruction. Furthermore, one of the goals set by the administration of Adana STU is to increase the number of international students and teaching staff to the extent that 50% of the faculty will be international. It is also a great vantage point for our institution to admit ideal number of students so that each student is offered full support about the mobility opportunities abroad. What’s more, as the language of instruction is English, our university makes sure that every single student has attained the required level of proficiency of English in order to follow courses both in Turkey and abroad.

Adana STU attaches great importance to offering training opportunities for our students. Therefore, we have already established partnerships with some industrial companies in the region so that our students will have employment opportunities right after graduation. With its mission to be in close collaboration with relevant industrial institutions both in the region and across Europe, Adana STU selects its partners on the basis of active partnership, non-discrimination, mutuality, and sustainability. It regularly provides its first, second, and third cycle students of all departments as well as the faculty and administrative staff in our institution, who constitute the target groups for our mobility activities with the necessary information and assistance regarding studying, training, teaching and youth opportunities both across Europe and the surrounding regions. Adana STU does its best to ensure a successful implementation of the Bologna Process in our institution. ECTS is applied in the university, which ensures transparency and full recognition across higher education institutions while Diploma Supplement is coming close to perfection and DS in English is soon to be given to every student free of charge upon graduation..

Adana STU is also aware of the importance of involving in integrated study programmes within the framework of Strategic Alliances, which contributes to increasing the employability of our students. It has concluded a joint degree program in the departments of civil engineering and business administration with Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK. It has also set out to expand its number of bilateral and multilateral agreements with HEIs across Europe and the rest of the world via its faculty members who are always provided with full support by the International Relations Office.

Adana STU established the International Relations Office in 2012 to organize and implement international programs representing Adana STU both in the EU and non-EU countries and regions. There are 2 specialists and an office director experienced in the previous LLP, working in the office responsible for participating in national and international projects. They are also in charge of providing regular support and guiding for faculty members and students as well as the department coordinators. Moreover, the office is an accredited EVS sending and coordinating institution and it holds regular information meetings for our students while establishing partnerships with accredited receiving EVS institutions in the Programme countries. Moreover, the Erasmus Student Club has been established by our students under the guidance of the office in order to take an active part in Erasmus Student Network activities. In addition, our students and staff are regularly informed about the opportunities in education, training, youth and sport in  Erasmus + through close collaboration with the Turkish National Agency and Eurodesk.

Additionally, Adana STU has established strong links with the business sector in the city by providing its students with training opportunities during their study and employment opportunities after graduation. Furthermore, Adana STU aims to cooperate with businesses in the Programme countries to provide its students with international training opportunities while providing its staff with the teaching opportunities abroad. The office is also responsible for the Mevlana Exchange Program in Turkey allowing for student and staff exchange with non-EU countries.

In addition, Adana STU has an R&D and Technology Office as well as the Coordination Office for Quality Assurance which function in coordination with the International Relations Office in order to ensure an efficient implementation of EU and non-EU cooperation projects.

Each of the 5 priorities of the EU Modernisation Agenda underpins the modernisation and development strategies of Adana STU, which can be traced on the website of Adana STU. Adana STU is quite aware of the Europe 2020 Strategy and deems it necessary and important to participate in the Erasmus + Programme, which in turn is expected to have positive impact on the modernisation quality and capacity of our institution.

Priority 1: Adana STU deems it necessary for its students and researchers to engage in international study/training programmes, which in turn helps our institution develop its modernisation strategy. With its participation in Erasmus +, Adana STU, which offers all of its courses in English and has already strong links with the business sectors in the region, aims to attract more students and researchers from across Europe and the surrounding regions to study and work in our institution. Moreover, Adana STU has accredited laboratories and high-tech classrooms that enable our incoming/ outbound students and researchers to improve their skills and competences.

Priority 2: Adana STU focuses on offering quality education/training relevant to the demand of the labor market in the region. Moreover, it is in the process of creating an alumni tracking system which will help our institution streamline our study/training, employment and research opportunities. Therefore, Erasmus + is expected to be instrumental in helping our institution establish collaborative partnerships with similar HEIs and businesses to develop a more flexible, innovative and sustainable curriculum supporting staff exchanges and involving the practice in its courses.

Priority 3: Adana STU is aware of the fact that learning mobility activities and cross-border partnerships between HEIs and entreprises allow for a quality and sustainable interaction, which in turn makes a positive contribution to our education quality. With ECTS already in use and the recognition of academic qualifications and credits earned abroad, Adana STU has set out to establish double/joint diploma programs in both EU and non-EU countries in order to create an attractive studying/working place. Furthermore, participating in Erasmus + will help our institution students and staff develop their professional and intercultural competences via mobility, which is the integral part of our commitment to being an internationally attractive institution.

Priority4: Adana STU already works in cooperation with the business sectors here and serves the local economy in order to better answer the needs of the labor market in the region. It also commits itself to take part in knowledge alliances and strategic partnerships in the Programme countries, as well to modernise and streamline its curriculum via integrating research and innovation results into its curriculum.

Priority 5: The Programme will allow our institution to reinforce its governance by promoting a more efficient system in managing the funds and human resources. In addition,it is expected to have a positive impact on our institution in that it will help us build a more reliable, transparent and accountable funding system with much more efficiency.