Centre for Distance Education | Ondokuz Mayis University

What Centre for Distance Education | Ondokuz Mayis University does

Ondokuz Mayıs University Distance Education Application and Research Center (OMU UZEM) is a public university research center established in August 2009 in Samsun, Turkey, under Ondokuz Mayıs University via Official Gazette regulation No. 27328. It operates a portfolio of distance-learning programs spanning 13 non-thesis master's degrees (including Biology, Data Science, Education Management, Political Science, and Health Management), 9 associate degree programs (Computer Programming, Child Development, Call Center Services, Media and Communication, Postal Services, among others), undergraduate completion tracks in Midwifery and Theology, and professional certificate programs such as Pedagogical Formation, Distance Trainer, and Coding/Robotics Instructorship.

The center's technology stack consists of a custom-built Learning Management System accessed through multiple dedicated portals (portal.uzem.omu.edu.tr for coursework, eders.omu.edu.tr for on-campus common courses, formasyon.omu.edu.tr for teacher formation, sinav.uzem.omu.edu.tr for online examinations, and ais.uzem.omu.edu.tr for candidate processing), integrated with the university's UBYS student information system. The platform supports asynchronous video content delivery, synchronous live broadcasting, computer-based testing, and studio-based content development. Adjacent service offerings include central examination administration for third-party institutions and the OMU-YÖS international student entrance exam, which is delivered across 66 centers in 19 countries in multiple languages and is accepted by 91 Turkish universities.

OMU UZEM generates revenue through tuition fees for non-thesis master's programs and associate degrees (set annually by the university board), per-course fees for common courses (200-400 TRY per course depending on faculty), third-party examination services for government and institutional clients (PTT, Ministry of Health, AFAD, SAMULAŞ), and certificate program fees. As a state research center, it is funded through the parent university's public budget and does not have external shareholders. It serves approximately 15,000+ students annually across all programs and conducts high-stakes examinations for major Turkish public institutions.

Name

Centre for Distance Education | Ondokuz Mayis University

Legal name

Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Uzaktan Eğitim Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi

Website

https://uzem.omu.edu.tr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

OMU UZEM is the distance education center of Ondokuz Mayıs University, delivering non-thesis master's, associate degree, undergraduate completion, and certificate programs to 15,000+ students via proprietary online portals, and administering the OMU-YÖS international entrance exam accepted by 91 Turkish universities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Distance Education Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHALAL

Online International & Cross-Border Universities (Global/Transnational Providers)

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Distance & Online Universities

Keywords

• Distance education
• Online learning
• Exam administration
• Certificate programs
• E-learning platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Samsun

HQ country

Türkiye

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition Fees - Postgraduate Programs: Non-thesis master's programs charge tuition per semester based on program-specific fee schedules published annually
2. Tuition Fees - Common Courses: Distance education fees for on-campus students taking common courses (Turkish Language, Atatürk Principles, English) charged per course
3. Examination Services: Fee-based examination administration services for third-party organizations including PTT, government agencies, and other universities
4. Certificate Programs: Revenue from pedagogical formation and other professional certificate programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

OMU UZEM is a university-based distance education center that delivers online degree programs (non-thesis master's, associate, undergraduate completion), certificate programs, and standardized common courses through proprietary education portals. It also operates large-scale examination services including the OMU-YÖS international student entrance exam (19 countries, 91 accepting universities) and third-party certification exams for government agencies such as PTT, AFAD, and the Ministry of Health.

Product overview

Ondokuz Mayıs University Distance Education Center (UZEM) operates as a comprehensive educational technology platform offering distance learning programs, exam management systems, and institutional services. The core platform consists of multiple interconnected portals: the Education Portal for course delivery, Common Courses Portal for campus-wide required courses, and the Candidate Operations System for exam applications. The service portfolio includes Master's programs (13 non-thesis programs), Associate Degree programs (9 programs), Undergraduate Completion programs (2 programs), and Certificate programs (7 programs). UZEM also provides the OMU-YÖS international student entrance examination service and central examination organization for government institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Non-Thesis Master's Programs (Tezsiz Yüksek Lisans)
• Associate Degree Programs (Önlisans)
• Undergraduate Completion Programs Undergraduate degree completion programs offered via distance learning, including Midwifery License Completion and Theology Undergraduate Completion, designed for working professionals who already hold an associate degree or diploma.
• Certificate Programs Professional certificate programs delivered via distance learning, including Pedagogical Formation, Distance Trainer Certificate, Child Picture Analysis, Coding and Robotics Instructorship, Montessori Education, Play Therapy, and Robotic Coding Education. Designed for in-service professionals seeking credentials.
• On-Campus Common Courses Mandatory common university courses (Turkish Language, Atatürk Principles, English, Occupational Health and Safety) delivered via the distance education platform to on-campus students across OMU and partner universities. Serves 12,500+ students.
• OMU-YÖS International Student Entrance Exam International student admission exam administered in multiple languages (Turkish, English, Russian, Arabic, French, German, Bosnian, Albanian) across 66 centers in 19 countries and 4 continents. Exam results accepted by 91 Turkish universities.
• Central Exam Services for Third-Party Institutions Centralized examination organization and administration services for external government and public institutions including SAMULAŞ, AFAD, PTT, Ministry of Health, and other universities. Includes professional qualification exams, certification exams, and personnel selection exams.
• UZEM Akademi Software Camp Intensive 6-week software training program covering HTML/SLIM, CSS/SASS, JS/JQuery, AngularJS, IONIC, Ruby/RoR, MD/Bootstrap, Security Virtualization, and Git/Github. Targeted at students and trainees seeking practical software development skills.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 8,000 students enrolled in first program alone, demonstrating massive scale appeal
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Ministry of Health (T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProtocol agreement for midwifery license completion programs, enabling 8,000+ healthcare workers to complete degrees. Also conducted certification exams for pharmacists and health technicians.
• Ministry of National Education (MEB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for pedagogical formation training programs serving approximately 1,500 teacher candidates per semester. Also includes distance education license completion protocols for teachers.
• Turkish Pharmacists Association (Türk Eczacıları Birliği)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint protocol to deliver certificate training to 9,000+ pharmacy support staff nationwide through distance education.
• AFAD (Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted promotion and in-service training examinations for AFAD personnel.
• Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow State University)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational cooperation initiated in 2012 with visits exchanged between institutions for distance education collaboration.
• Kostanay University (Kazakhstan)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational delegation visit in 2018 to learn about UZEM infrastructure and distance education operations.
• TÜBİTAKmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Academic Entrepreneurship Certificate Program under TÜBİTAK 1601 Entrepreneurship project, training 40 academics over 10 days (60 hours).
• Ondokuz Mayıs University International Relations UnitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint coordination of YÖS (International Student Entrance Exam) administration, reaching 91 universities and international centers.
• OMU Faculty of Computer Science and Instructional Technologies (BÖTE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for Distance Trainer Certificate Program, providing online teaching design skills to OMU academics.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• edX (2U): Global online higher education platform offering university-credentialed programs. Comparable as a distance education provider for working professionals seeking graduate credentials, though with global rather than Turkish-regional focus.
• Coursera: Global online learning platform with university partnerships including Turkish institutions. Overlap in online graduate and certificate program delivery, though Coursera operates at much larger scale and with broader course catalog.
• MEB Uzaktan Eğitim Kapısı: Turkey's Ministry of National Education state distance learning platform serving K-12 and lifelong learners. Wider portfolio than UZEM but comparable in serving Turkish public sector education delivery and government-mandated learning.

Others

• ÖSYM (Student Selection and Placement Center): Turkey's national examination authority. Comparable as a Turkish public-sector organization conducting high-stakes national exams, with UZEM regularly participating in ÖSYM workshops on central examination processes.

Direct peers

• Anadolu University Open Education Faculty: Turkey's largest distance education provider with over a million enrolled students. Directly comparable as both operate as university-based distance education centers delivering associate, bachelor's, and graduate programs via online platforms within Turkey's public university system.
• Sakarya University UZEM: Turkish public university distance education center offering similar program mix including non-thesis master's and associate degrees. Competes for the same regional and national student segments.
• Istanbul University Distance Education Center: Major Turkish public university offering distance education programs. Comparable as a peer institution serving Turkish students with online undergraduate completion and graduate programs in similar disciplines.
• Atatürk University UZEM: Another Turkish public university distance education center providing similar non-thesis master's, associate degree, and certificate programs. Competes directly for the same student segments and government contracts across Turkey.

Regional players

• Bahçeşehir University Distance Education: Major Turkish private university offering online undergraduate and graduate programs. Comparable in target market (working professionals in Turkey) but operates with private-sector funding and pricing flexibility that UZEM lacks.

Emerging players

• Turkcell Akademi: Turkish corporate digital learning platform offering professional development and certification programs. Comparable in serving Turkish professional learners with technology-mediated training, though focused on corporate rather than academic credentials.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/omuuzem
• Facebookfacebook.com/omu.uzem
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/omu-uzem

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centre for Distance Education | Ondokuz Mayis University