BOĞAZİÇİ UNIVERSITY

Erasmus Policy Statement

As set out in its 2025–2029 Strategic Plan, Boğaziçi University (BU) aims to strengthen its position as an internationally competitive, innovative and sustainable higher education and research institution. The University’s mission is to conduct research at a universal level, produce science and technology, and educate versatile and competent individuals who are open to innovation and change, entrepreneurial and analytical thinkers, committed to ethical values and environmental awareness. Its vision places excellence in both education and research at the core of its institutional development. The University’s fundamental values further emphasize respect for human rights, excellence in education and research, equal opportunities, participation, environmental awareness and the development of sustainable solutions.

These principles are articulated into five major strategic areas in the 2025–2029 Strategic Plan: enriching the educational experience through universal, inclusive, innovative and sustainable approaches; producing high-quality knowledge and innovative technologies through pioneering research; strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem; enhancing institutional capacity through continuous improvement; and contributing to sustainable social well-being through social responsibility and cooperation.

Internationalisation is an integral part of these objectives rather than a stand-alone institutional activity. Accordingly, participation in the Erasmus+ Programme is regarded by Boğaziçi University as an important instrument for achieving its broader strategic objectives in education, research, institutional cooperation, inclusion, sustainability and international engagement.

In particular, Objective 1 of the 2025–2029 Strategic Plan aims to enrich the educational experience by adopting universal, inclusive, innovative and sustainable approaches. Under this objective, Target 1.3 specifically commits the University to increasing student and academic staff mobility and inter-institutional cooperation. The Office of International Relations is identified as the responsible unit for this target, in cooperation with the faculties and graduate institutes.

The University has established concrete performance indicators for this purpose. The proportion of students benefiting from student exchange programmes is targeted to increase from 3.0% in 2024 to 3.4% in 2029. The number of international cooperation agreements/protocols is targeted to increase from 506 to 536; the number of students participating in international exchange programmes from 548 to 650; incoming international exchange students from 342 to 530; and academic staff benefiting from international exchange programmes from 7 to 25 during the same period. The Strategic Plan therefore provides a clear institutional framework within which Erasmus+ mobility and cooperation activities can be expanded and evaluated.

The Plan also identifies challenges affecting international mobility, including financial limitations, political and legal barriers between countries, insufficient mobility funding and the need to ensure that international agreements remain both numerous and functional. In response, Boğaziçi University aims to strengthen its international visibility, expand international academic cooperation and develop mechanisms enabling more students and staff to benefit from international mobility programmes.

This strategic orientation is also consistent with Türkiye’s national higher education priorities reflected in the Twelfth Development Plan. Among the priorities incorporated into Boğaziçi University’s Strategic Plan are supporting domestic students’ international mobility, increasing bilateral agreements and international student capacity, strengthening international promotion, supporting student and academic staff exchanges at doctoral and postdoctoral levels, and expanding bilateral arrangements supporting international academic cooperation.

As a public research university, Boğaziçi University regards international mobility as an integral component of high-quality education. The University seeks to ensure that access to international learning opportunities is based on transparent academic criteria and equal opportunity. This approach is consistent with the University’s fundamental commitment to fairness and equality of opportunity. Erasmus+ therefore contributes not only to the internationalisation of the University but also to its commitment to inclusive and accessible education.

Boğaziçi University has a long-established tradition of international academic cooperation and student mobility. Its first Erasmus student mobility activities started in the 2004–2005 academic year, and its international partnership network has expanded substantially since then. Today, the University maintains Erasmus+ and global exchange partnerships with higher education institutions across Europe and other regions of the world. Its current international agreements database includes partnerships with 339 universities, covering Erasmus+ and global exchange cooperation across different academic disciplines and levels.

The continued expansion and active use of this network are institutional priorities. The University’s Erasmus+ and Exchange partner lists are reviewed and updated regularly. Rather than focusing solely on increasing the number of agreements, Boğaziçi University seeks to maintain active, balanced and academically meaningful partnerships that provide sustainable mobility opportunities for students and staff.

Student mobility remains one of the central pillars of Boğaziçi University’s internationalisation strategy. Erasmus+ study mobility provides students with opportunities to experience different academic systems, develop intercultural and multilingual competences, improve their capacity to operate in international environments and acquire academic and personal skills that complement their degree programmes. Such experience is particularly valuable for students considering postgraduate education, international research careers or employment in increasingly global professional environments.

The scale of student interest in international mobility remains significant. For the 2026–2027 academic year, 576 Boğaziçi University students were listed to participate in Erasmus+ Student Mobility for Studies under the relevant grant decision; 180 were awarded grants from the available project budget and 396 were announced on the non-grant/reserve list. In parallel with Erasmus+, the University continues to operate its Global Exchange Programme with partner institutions outside the Erasmus+ framework, further broadening the geographical scope of mobility opportunities available to its students.

Boğaziçi University equally attaches importance to incoming mobility. International students enrich the academic and cultural environment of the University, contribute to intercultural dialogue on campus and provide opportunities for local students who have not yet participated in physical mobility to engage with international perspectives. The substantial increase targeted for incoming exchange students—from 342 in 2024 to 530 in 2029—reflects the University’s intention to achieve a stronger and more sustainable balance between incoming and outgoing mobility.

The University also recognises the educational value of traineeship mobility. Erasmus+ traineeships provide students with opportunities to apply academic knowledge in professional environments, develop transferable skills and strengthen their employability. Boğaziçi University will therefore continue to promote traineeship mobility and encourage students from different academic backgrounds to make greater use of these opportunities.

Academic and administrative staff mobility constitutes another important dimension of the University’s Erasmus+ strategy. Teaching and training mobility contributes to professional development, exchange of good practices, development of innovative teaching approaches and establishment of new institutional and research partnerships. The Strategic Plan explicitly sets targets for increasing academic staff participation in international exchange programmes and also includes staff mobility among the indicators used to strengthen institutional capacity.

Staff mobility is also expected to act as a catalyst for broader institutional cooperation. Short-term academic visits frequently provide the initial contact from which joint teaching activities, research cooperation, project applications, seminars, conferences and longer-term institutional partnerships emerge. This is closely aligned with Target 2.1 of the 2025–2029 Strategic Plan, which aims to increase national and international cooperation and the number of collaborative projects. Erasmus+ mobility is therefore regarded not merely as individual mobility but as a mechanism for developing sustainable institutional relationships.

International cooperation also contributes directly to Boğaziçi University’s identity as a research university. The University seeks to expand international research cooperation, collaborative projects, academic networks and knowledge exchange. Mobility of academic staff and postgraduate students can facilitate the development of joint research projects and strengthen existing academic networks. This creates an important connection between the University’s educational internationalisation activities and its research strategy.

Entrepreneurship and innovation constitute another strategic priority. Rather than relying on short-lived ranking indicators, Boğaziçi University’s current strategy focuses on strengthening the sustainability of its entrepreneurship ecosystem, developing existing and new incubation centres and providing students with opportunities to develop entrepreneurship-related competences. Erasmus+ activities can contribute to these objectives through exposure to different innovation ecosystems, international networks, traineeships, interdisciplinary cooperation and the exchange of institutional practices.

Boğaziçi University’s educational environment also strongly supports the development of multilingual and intercultural competences. The principal language of instruction is English, while students have opportunities to study a wide range of other languages. The University’s international student body, incoming exchange students, international partnerships and mobility programmes further contribute to a multicultural learning environment. Erasmus+ reinforces this environment by enabling students and staff to experience different languages, cultures, educational systems and social contexts.

The University is committed to the Erasmus+ principles of inclusion, diversity, equal opportunities and non-discrimination. This commitment is consistent with the University’s own strategic values, which include respect for human rights, fairness and equality of opportunity. Boğaziçi University will continue to seek ways of reducing financial, social, physical and administrative barriers to mobility and of encouraging participation by individuals with fewer opportunities.

Environmental responsibility and sustainability are similarly embedded in the University’s strategic priorities. The 2025–2029 Strategic Plan identifies environmental awareness and the development of sustainable solutions among the University’s fundamental values and includes sustainability within its educational and social responsibility objectives. In implementing Erasmus+, Boğaziçi University will therefore encourage environmentally responsible mobility practices, awareness of the environmental impact of international travel and the use of digital tools where these can complement physical mobility and international cooperation.

Digitalisation is another important dimension of the University’s institutional strategy. The Strategic Plan promotes technology-supported, interactive and experiential learning and the further digitalisation and increased efficiency of administrative processes. Within Erasmus+, Boğaziçi University will continue to support digital procedures and tools that simplify mobility management, facilitate academic recognition, reduce administrative burden and improve communication among students, staff and partner institutions.

Boğaziçi University also recognises that participation in international mobility should result in full and transparent academic recognition. The University will continue to implement Erasmus+ procedures concerning Learning Agreements, recognition of successfully completed study periods and transparent information on academic requirements. Its Erasmus code is TR ISTANBU01.

Internationalisation at Boğaziçi University extends beyond bilateral mobility. The University seeks to strengthen strategic cooperation with higher education institutions and international networks and to use mobility as a foundation for broader forms of academic cooperation. These may include joint educational initiatives, blended and short-term programmes, collaborative research, staff exchanges, capacity-building activities and participation in European and international projects.

Through these activities, Erasmus+ supports several dimensions of Boğaziçi University’s institutional mission simultaneously: educational excellence, research cooperation, innovation and entrepreneurship, institutional capacity, social responsibility, inclusion and sustainability. Mobility is therefore not regarded as an isolated international activity, but as a cross-cutting instrument contributing to the University’s broader development.

For the period covered by its 2025–2029 Strategic Plan and beyond, Boğaziçi University intends to increase the quality, accessibility and impact of its international mobility activities; develop sustainable and reciprocal partnerships; strengthen the participation of students and staff; improve the balance between incoming and outgoing mobility; expand opportunities for traineeships and staff development; and use Erasmus+ cooperation as a catalyst for longer-term academic, research and institutional collaboration.

In this respect, participation in the Erasmus+ Programme is fully aligned with Boğaziçi University’s aspiration to be an internationally engaged research and education institution. By combining mobility with academic cooperation, inclusion, digitalisation, environmental responsibility, multilingualism, innovation and research, the University aims to provide its students and staff with the competences and experiences required to contribute effectively to an increasingly interconnected European and global higher education environment.

Erasmus Policy Statementof the Previous Period