ITU Center for Excellence in Education

What ITU Center for Excellence in Education does

İTÜ Eğitimde Mükemmeliyet Merkezi (ITU CEE / İTÜ MEM) is a pedagogical innovation center established in 2020 and embedded within Istanbul Technical University, a public technical university in Turkey. The center's core mission is to advance active learning methodologies within the ITU ecosystem, serving primarily ITU undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and alumni through free training programs. Its reach extends internationally via the EELISA European University Alliance, where ITU MEM acts as the coordinating unit for pedagogical activity.

The center's core products center on two proprietary assets: the Learning Station Model (Öğrenme İstasyonları), a modular, learner-centered framework aligned with Bloom Taxonomy that transforms graduate research into reusable learning experiences awarding 1 ECTS micro-credentials; and BEE'NOME (ITU Knowledge Genome), a digital talent management platform using crowdsourcing and co-creation principles, trademarked with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office in 2022. Complementary offerings include the annual Co-Learning Lab event, AWS cloud and generative AI workshop series (with ITU AI and AWS Türkiye), PMI Türkiye project management courses supporting CAPM certification, and a 2026-launched AI in Postgraduate Research training series. Notable operating metrics include 324 students receiving CAPM certification support in a single PMI training cycle, 74 academics across 20 faculties participating in an AI in Higher Education Survey, and AWS Hackathon prizes of up to 15,000 USD in credits.

ITU MEM operates a non-commercial model: all programs are free to participants, with funding sourced from ITU's institutional budget and grants from a small set of partners including the British Council (Connect4Innovation project with Strathclyde University), AWS Türkiye (workshop support and credits), and PMI Türkiye (volunteer-delivered training). Go-to-market is event-driven, combining on-campus workshops, online delivery via Microsoft Teams and Zoom, YouTube-published session recordings, and the EELISA Digital Campus platform. The center is led by Director Emrah Acar (also ITU EELISA Project Coordinator and SEFI Board Member) with two Vice Directors (Semra Ahmetolan, İdil Evcimen) and a small staff of approximately five to seven people.

Name

ITU Center for Excellence in Education

Legal name

İTÜ Eğitimde Mükemmeliyet Merkezi

Website

https://mukemmeliyet.itu.edu.tr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

İTÜ Eğitimde Mükemmeliyet Merkezi (ITU CEE) is a pedagogical innovation center within Istanbul Technical University that develops the proprietary Learning Station model and BEE'NOME talent platform, delivering free active learning training to ITU students, academics, alumni, and EELISA partner institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Training Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Computer Training (611420), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Learning Management Systems (LMS) & Academic Application Support (EDALAMAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Vendor/Authorized Certification Training (Microsoft/AWS/Cisco, etc.) (BPAEANAA), Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios) (EDAMADAC), Online Technology & Computer Science Universities (EDAHALAH)

Keywords

• Pedagogical innovation
• Active learning programs
• Higher education training
• Learning station design
• Faculty development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Istanbul

HQ country

Türkiye

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Educational Programs and Training Services: ITU MEM operates as a university center providing educational programs. Training programs are offered free of charge to ITU students and academics, funded through institutional budgets and project grants from partners (British Council, AWS, PMI Türkiye). No direct revenue model - programs are non-commercial educational services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ITU CEE (İTÜ MEM) is a university-based pedagogical center that designs and delivers free active-learning training programs, micro-credentialed Learning Stations, and the annual Co-Learning Lab for ITU students, academics, and alumni. The center operates the BEE'NOME digital talent management platform and delivers industry-aligned training series (AWS workshops, PMI project management courses, AI in education) funded by institutional budget and partner grants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BEE'NOME: A talent management system developed by ITU CEE facilitating knowledge, skill, and experience exchange within the ITU ecosystem using crowdsourcing, co-creation, and open education principles.
• Learning Stations (Öğrenme İstasyonları)
• Co-Learning Lab (Birlikte Öğrenme Laboratuvarı)

Products and services

• Learning Stations (Öğrenme İstasyonları) Modular active-learning training experiences designed using the center's proprietary Learning Station Model and aligned with Bloom Taxonomy. Each completed Learning Station awards 1 AKTS/ECTS micro-credential and covers topics ranging from disaster awareness to 3D printing, AI in education, and project management. Audience: ITU students, academics, and graduates.
• BEE'NOME Talent Management Platform (İTÜ Bilgi Genomu) Digital talent management system developed by ITU CEE using crowdsourcing, co-creation, and open education principles to facilitate knowledge, skill, and experience exchange within the ITU ecosystem. BEE'NOME 2.0 includes a Disaster Management Module completed in January 2024. Audience: ITU stakeholders including students, academics, and graduates.
• Co-Learning Lab (Birlikte Öğrenme Laboratuvarı) Annual incubator of pedagogical innovation event fostering exchange, experimentation, and use of innovative pedagogies, transforming graduate research outputs into learning experiences. Includes the EELISA Co-Learning Lab alliance-level edition. Held annually both in Istanbul and at the alliance level. Audience: ITU students, academics, graduates, and EELISA partner institutions.
• PMI Türkiye Project Management Training Series 8-session online and in-person training series delivered with PMI Türkiye volunteer project managers covering project management topics (time, scope, quality, cost, communication, risk, procurement, stakeholder, agile). Training leads to CAPM certification support and 1 AKTS micro-credentials for ITU students. Audience: ITU undergraduate students and graduates.
• AWS Workshop Series 8 monthly hands-on workshops on AWS cloud services supporting ITU students (primarily 3rd and 4th year undergraduates) covering cloud technologies, GenAI, Bedrock Agents, and serverless applications, culminating in a Final Hackathon with AWS credit prizes. Collaboration between ITU AI, ITU MEM, and AWS Türkiye. Free for ITU students.
• Microsoft Teams Training Program for ITU Academics Two-session online training covering Microsoft Teams basic functions through advanced usage for digital collaboration. Free for ITU academics.
• 3D Printing Learning Station 30-hour Learning Station training program covering 3D printing principles, usage, and business model development. Awards 1 AKTS/ECTS micro-credential upon completion. First microcredit program developed under the Learning Station Model.
• AI in Postgraduate Research Training Series 5-module training series for postgraduate students covering responsible AI use, AI-supported literature review, academic writing, research design, and research efficiency. Developed in collaboration with ITU Graduate Education Institute. Audience: ITU postgraduate students.
• Connect4Innovation Project UK-Türkiye Higher Education Institutional Partnerships Fund project supported by British Council. Develops active learning teaching skills, ensures qualified learning, and implements interactive human resources system analytics. Includes joint Learning Station Design Guide, Trainer Training Program, and BEE'NOME HR analytics platform development with Strathclyde University.

Quantifiable outcome

• 324 students received CAPM certification support in single training cycle
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AWS Türkiye (Amazon Web Services Türkiye)coreTechnology or Integration · 21 May 2025AWS Türkiye supports AWS Workshop Series for ITU students covering cloud technologies, GenAI, Bedrock Agents, and serverless applications. Series includes 8 hands-on workshops culminating in Final Hackathon with prizes of AWS credits (1st: 15,000 USD, 2nd: 10,000 USD, 3rd: 5,000 USD).
• ITU AI (İstanbul Technical University AI Center)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ITU AI collaborates with ITU MEM on AI in education initiatives including AI Workshop Series, Co-Learning Lab AI themed events, and AI education for postgraduate students.
• British CouncilcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Connect4Innovation: UK-Türkiye Higher Education Institutional Partnerships Fund project supported by British Council. Aims to develop active learning teaching skills, ensure qualified learning, and implement interactive human resources system analytics. Partner includes Strathclyde University for exchange of good practices in Learning Station methodology.
• Strathclyde UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partner university in Connect4Innovation project. Joint work on Learning Station design guide, Trainer Training Program, and BEE'NOME HR analytics platform development. ITU MEM delivered Learning Station training at Strathclyde in April 2024.
• PMI Türkiye (Project Management Institute Türkiye)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 February 2020ITU MEM and PMI Türkiye collaborate to increase excellence in education and build competence in project management. PMI Türkiye volunteer project managers deliver online and face-to-face trainings covering project management topics including time, scope, quality, cost, communication, risk, procurement, stakeholder, and agile management. Training leads to CAPM certification support and micro-credentials for ITU students.
• EELISA European UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019EELISA is a European University Alliance where ITU is a member. ITU MEM coordinates alliance-level learning activities including EELISA Co-Learning Lab events, transformation of good practices into Learning Stations, and Digital Repository of Good Practices. ITU MEM is the coordinating unit for pedagogical innovation within the alliance.
• IAMU (International Association of Maritime Universities)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExternal stakeholder partner. IAMU-funded Learning Station Project at ITU Faculty of Maritime Affairs introduced during Connect4Innovation collaboration visits.
• Koç University KOLT (Office of Learning and Teaching)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in Applied Course Design Workshop held July 2023. Koç University's learning and teaching office supports pedagogical training activities.
• METU ÖGEM (Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in Instructional Design Workshop held October 2022. METU's teaching development center supports training for early-career academics.
• Koruma AkademisiminorOthersExternal stakeholder visited during Strathclyde University collaboration trip. Experience site for Trainer Training Program implementation.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• METU Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching (ÖGEM): Middle East Technical University's teaching center and named ITU MEM partner (Instructional Design Workshop, October 2022). Closest direct Turkish peer — comparable mandate to upskill faculty and run active-learning workshops inside a research-intensive technical university.
• Koç University Office of Learning and Teaching (KOLT): Turkish university teaching and learning center explicitly listed as an ITU MEM collaboration partner (Applied Course Design Workshop, July 2023). Both operate inside top Turkish universities running pedagogical training for faculty and micro-credential programs.
• Strathclyde University Teaching and Learning (with whom ITU MEM has a Connect4Innovation partnership): Direct project partner on the Connect4Innovation British Council grant, jointly developing the Learning Station Design Guide and Trainer Training Program. Comparable UK-based pedagogical innovation unit with similar active-learning remit.

Others

• European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI): Pan-European engineering-education membership organization where ITU MEM's Director sits on the board. Not a competitor but an adjacent ecosystem player whose standards and events directly shape the market ITU MEM serves.

Broad incumbents

• ETH Zurich Educational Development and Technology (LET): ETH's unit for educational development, instructional design, and digital learning innovation. Closest European technical-university analog to ITU MEM at much larger scale.
• Harvard Bok Center for Teaching and Learning: Long-standing US university teaching center. While broader in scope and resources, it operates on the same fundamental thesis as ITU MEM: investing in pedagogical training to improve higher-education outcomes.
• Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL): Stanford's university-wide teaching center focused on pedagogical innovation, learning design, and AI in education research. A broader incumbent with a similar mandate to ITU MEM but materially more resources and reach.
• Imperial College Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship (CHERS): Imperial's higher-education research unit, comparable in remit to ITU MEM and embedded in a top technical university. Part of the same EELISA-adjacent European engineering-education ecosystem where ITU MEM operates.
• MIT Teaching and Learning Laboratory (TLL): Established global benchmark for university-level teaching centers. Operates at much larger scale but mirrors the ITU MEM remit of advancing evidence-based pedagogy, faculty development, and educational research inside a technical university.

Emerging players

• Coursera for Campus: Commercial platform offering universities curated online courses and credentials. Relevant adjacent player because it competes for the same institutional micro-credential and faculty upskilling budget that ITU MEM addresses with its Learning Station model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@itumem
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/itumem1773

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ITU Center for Excellence in Education