The Higher Education Review

The melting pot of cultures, traditions and modernity, Ankara, the capital of Turkey and the second largest city in the country after Istanbul, makes a perfect destination for international students to earn their degrees. Holding the pride of being Turkey's first and only State University in the Field of Social Sciences and nestled in the historical city of Ankara, Social Sciences University of Ankara (ASBU) aims to have a leading role in the development of research as to the field of social sciences in Turkey, to shed light on the future of the region and the country alike through the research in social sciences, in line with the universal human values. Founded in 2013, ASBU is a public, young and dynamic University, determined to challenge the traditional Universities and encourage its students to produce new knowledge and new perspectives in social sciences followed by utilizing those for the welfare of the society.

Primarily a research-oriented university, ASBU offers a range of UG and Graduate programmes covering faculties such as Faculty of Law, Faculty of Religious Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Faculty of Foreign Languages and many more. "Almost all our courses are imparted in English and this largely captivates the interest of optimum of international students. We at ASBU have created a great environment and learning surrounding which allows our international students to have a wonderful overseas learning experience," says Prof. Dr. Ali Güne, Vice Rector, ASBU. Being a city university and located in a multicultural setup, the students studying at ASBU get endowed with a vibrant social life along with

getting access to numerous opportunities.

Prof. Dr. Ali Güne "ASBU is a specialized university in the field of social sciences and it works with a university model that produces unique knowledge in social, administrative, political, commercial and industrial issues and transforms the generated knowledge into social benefit by focusing on the problems, needs, and expectations of public and private sector and non-governmental organizations." For each offered course, the University administers the Bologna process followed by applying the ECTS credit 'system'. Moreover, focusing on promoting multilingualism in education, ASBU renders the students the scope to learn a second foreign language, apart from English, through its Language Center that is responsible for imparting high-quality language education.

"We believe in an active learning system, where our students are an integral part of the teaching and learning process".

Shaping the Futures
Located in Ankara's one of the oldest districts, Ulus, ASBU delivers its education and research activities in buildings with high historical, cultural and aesthetic value. "We make sure that our students are imbibed with values and qualities that are requisite for succeeding in life. For our international students, we provide them an academic advisor who looks up to their growth and addresses their issues throughout the year. We believe in an active learning system, where our students are an integral part of the teaching and learning process. This makes no student feel left out," proudly says Prof. Dr. Ali Güne. Every effort has been made to ensure that the international students at ASBU feel home in a foreign country by organizing conferences and friendly-meeting regularly. The University also puts efforts to reduce the differences between the Turkey and overseas students.

"We do understand that all the students enrolling in the ASBU, carries particular dreams related to the course they choose to study. Hence, to fulfill those dreams, we often undertake numerous innovative learning activities

coupled with extending meaningful collaborations with the private as well as public sectors," shares Prof. Dr. Ali Güne. Owing to the cordial relationship of the University with the private and public sectors, the students of ASBU never falls short when it comes to obtaining internship and job opportunities. Additionally, ASBU students have facilitated with exchange programmes opportunity where they become eligible to spend one semester or one academic year in European universities, given the Erasmus exchange program. Prof. Dr. Ali Güne adds, "It goes without saying that our academic staff is explicitly strong and equipped. All of them are highly qualified and skilled, who have taken postgraduate degrees from distinguished universities at home and abroad and who conduct international scientific projects. We are quite selective when it comes to taking any faculty member on board."

Considering the overall growth of the students, the University in parallel to indulging students in academic activities encourages them to participate in extracurricular programs and social activities, which enable the students to spend their leisure productively and realize their respective interests. "We provide every kind of assistance to our students, especially to the international students- from helping them in settling in a new environment to awarding them with a quality education. However, as a public University we don't have much scholarships policy for our students apart from the fact that Turkey is comparatively a cheap country to live in and the decent discounts which the students are given on enrolling through agencies with which we have agreements," opines Prof. Dr. Ali Güne. Comprising a diverse student body from different parts of the world viz. India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Africa and many more, ASBU envisions emerging as a prominent research university at a global scale with multilingual and multicultural profile giving priority to international collaboration.