The Republic of Turkey, situated on the Anatolian peninsula between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean—which holds great geopolitical importance in world political history and contemporary international relations—is a state that, with both its geographical location and political power, engages directly not only with regional actors but also with global actors. In Anatolia, which has been a home to ancient cultures, Turkey blends geographical history with the history of Turkic peoples, carrying its developed political culture into the future alongside its sociological, geopolitical, and strategic significance.
For this reason, the geography of Anatolia has existed throughout history with its geopolitical importance and possesses a deep socio-cultural memory. Due to all these characteristics, it holds very rich resources for conducting research in multidisciplinary fields encompassing both the humanities and natural sciences.
In addition to being an important actor in today's international relations system, Turkey holds historical and anthropological significance due to the deep past of the geography on which it is located. The historical cultural accumulation in Anatolia, where many civilizations have existed at different stages of a history spanning thousands of years, and the blending of this cultural accumulation extending to the present day undoubtedly harbor rich sources for ethnographic and sociological research concerning the geography we inhabit.
Within the framework of "regionalism" approaches, which are gaining increasing importance in the global system, it is important for Turkey—an influential power—to increase academic studies, both politically, economically, and socio-culturally, primarily focusing on neighboring countries within its own region and on global power competition.
The Strategic Research Application and Research Center was established with the objective of conducting academic studies within the scope of disciplines such as political science and international relations, sociology, history, psychology, political psychology, philosophy, and communication; developing original projects; and contributing through academic cooperation with universities, strategic research centers, and institutes both in Turkey and abroad.
Through the activities of the Strategic Research Center, it is planned to conduct academic studies in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fields within the scope of the humanities present in our university, develop original projects, and contribute in academic cooperation with universities, strategic research centers, and institutes domestically and internationally.
While there are specifically 14 fields of study within the body of the Strategic Research Application and Research Center (ÜSSAM), 10 of these fields feature an internship program aimed at students studying in the field of social sciences at Üsküdar University. Intern students are expected to conduct research and develop projects targeting the regions and countries covered by their respective working desks, in a manner appropriate to their field of expertise.
Throughout the active 90-day internship period, students have many responsibilities, such as actively taking part in academic activities within ÜSSAM, tracking the agenda related to their fields of work, writing news analyses and detailed analyses, writing articles, and taking part in ÜSSAM projects. Currently, a total of 65 intern students are serving in our 1st Term Internship Program, which started on 01.04.2024.