Social Impact Project

Research Program Manager Organization

About Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM)

Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM) is a national research infrastructure established by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Development and the Sabancı Foundation in 2010 and operating under Law No. 6550 since 2017. SUNUM has an infrastructure that can serve various sectors in different disciplines with its competence in the design, synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials and nanostructures, and the design and production of micro-nano systems developed from nanostructures. SUNUM was awarded its second 5-year qualification in December 2022.

SUNUM laboratories, with technology that is extraordinary in Turkey and in the world, offer research opportunities and services on different subjects such as atomic resolution imaging, rapid gene sequencing for different cells, multilayer deposition of metals that are only a few atoms thick, and dielectric applications. As of 2023, SUNUM cooperates with nearly 400 institutions, nearly 300 of which are national and nearly 100 of which are international, and carries out research and development studies in application areas ranging from medicine, chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and energy to cosmetics, automotive, agriculture, food, and the environment. SUNUM is the implementing organization in two different TÜBİTAK 1004 Platforms (NANOSIS- Integrated, Scalable, Functional Nanostructures and Systems, LignoNANO- Advanced Nanotechnological Materials and Systems with Value-Added for Sustainable Circular Economy), and is a partner in three different 1004 Platforms. SUNUM also acts as the Coordinator of the ‘NANOBIO4CAN-Nanobiotechnologies for Innovative Therapeutic Approaches for Cancer’ Project within the scope of Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND.

In order to provide products and services with universal validity and socio-economic added value in the field of nanotechnology, SUNUM carries out multi-disciplinary/interdisciplinary efficient and effective research and development studies in the field of nanotechnology, uses competent human resources, information, technology, intellectual property, separate or joint new infrastructures and, when necessary, sets up entrepreneurial companies for their dissemination. Highlighting the self-competencies of stakeholder industry and academic research institutions through long-term collaborations and contributing to their development, SUNUM operates as a leading center of excellence open to all stakeholders, constantly developing, sustainable, and setting a global example.

Project of Social Impacts of R&D and Sustainable Production in Circular Economy

Project Summary: The measurement of the societal impact of research projects has become a widely requested practice, particularly by public funding agencies. While these practices have a long history in Europe and the USA, the expectation for measuring the societal impact of research projects has emerged in our country in the past few years. The aim of this project is to carry out the necessary studies to increase the social impact of research projects involving the production of new products from wastes to be carried out in the LignoNANO Platform and to measure the short-term social impacts of the results of the project.

With the goal of enhancing the societal impact of research projects, two-way communication will be maintained with relevant segments of society throughout the research period. Therefore, the societal impact project is scheduled for 48 months, similar to other projects. This project duration is quite long considering the changes in technology, consumption habits, supply policies, and resources. Hence, ensuring the sustainability of economic, cultural, social, and environmental impacts, and maximizing the impacts in the short, medium, and long term, is of critical importance.

In this project, the social impacts that will be created by the activities and outputs to be obtained within the scope of the 10 Technical Project will be analysed by taking into account the social, ecological, cultural, economic, etc. sub-dimensions. The facilitative or complementary measures proposed as project outputs will increase the added value of the outputs of the LignoNANO Platform at the national level, in line with Turkey’s Sustainable Development Goals.