Istanbul Teknik Universitesi or Istanbul Technical University (ITU), which was founded in 1773, is one of the most prominent universities in Turkey. ITU’s prestigious list of alumni includes two former Turkish presidents and many prime ministers and cabinet members. Also, one of the three Turkish members of American Academy of Sciences, two of the three Turkish members of Russian Academy of Sciences and two of the three Turkish members of European Academy of Sciences are from ITU. The university has more than 130 international partnership agreements and is a member of many international networks such as European Association for International Education (EAIE), European University Association (EUA), International Association of Universities (IAU), Advanced Technology Higher Education Network (ATHENS), Black Sea University Network (BSUN), Community of Mediterranean Universities (CMU), and Top Industrial Managers for Europe (TIME). ITU has dual degree programs with major universities in the US and it is the leading university in Turkey with its involvement in Erasmus Student Exchange Programs with Europe. As a research focused university ITU has 13 faculties, 6 institutes, 360 laboratories, 19 R&D Centers and 3 Technoparks.