Private universities and their boards of trustees connected to a network of corporations and institutions make the higher education industrial complex of Turkey. The network map contains 68 private universities (red), 625 member of the board of trustees (black), 970 organizations (blue colored corporations, foundations, associations, political parties, state universities), and 2001 relationships researched between organizations and people.

Analyzing the relations between the board of trustees, which are the power holders within the universities, with other institutions and corporations; compiling a database of such information; and generating a network map of these relations, in which one can navigate from one node to the other would provide us a tool in order to understand the ecosystem of higher education in political and social terms. The network map of 68 private universities, including Koc University, their board of trustees, and the companies and institutions that they share, aims to reveal the ecosystem, the central and peripheral actors, their indirect connections, and clusters of industrial complex of higher education.

The work is an installation of an interactive network map on a 47” touch screen display running on a custom software and a 260 x 125 cm digital print map. Maps are being exhibited in Koç University and accessible on http://burak-arikan.com/ozeluniversiteler.

Research & Conceptual Text Zeyno Üstün