Ege University

Ege University was the first university in Izmir, Turkey’s third city and an ancient foundation known for much of its history as Smyrna. The university was founded in 1955. By 1982 it had grown to the point where, as periodically occurs in the Turkish system, the government decided to split it in two, creating Dokuz Eylul University.

Reduced from 17 to seven faculties by the division, Ege University has subsequently grown back to much the same dimensions with the creation of the Birgivi Faculty of Islamic Studies in 2018 taking it back to 17 faculties.

The student roll in 2017-8 was 65,580 including just under 10,000 postgraduates.

Describing itself as "a pioneering representative of the Fourth Generation University concept", the university's aim is to be "the first choice of those who wish to carry the pride and distinction of being Aegean, those who wish to combine the knowledge that modern ages require in life and become open individuals who are open to all social, cultural and scientific innovation".

Its 370 hectare Borsova campus has been described as "a campus city of 80,000 people" while there are also satellite campuses at Cesme, Bayinder, Bergama, Odemis, Tire and Urla.

The university often emphasises its teaching and research in medicine and allied subjects. The faculty of nursing was the first in Turkey and also the first to admit men.

Current research projects include a nano-technical system for delivering drugs to brain cancers without, unlike chemotherapy, damaging healthy cells. Ege University is also a partner with Izmir University of Economics in designing the "vacuum collider" essential to CERN’s "Future Circular Collider", its planned successor to the Large Hadron Collider.