The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) will transform its Data Analysis School, launched last year, into a broader "Digital University Platform” for the 2026-2027 academic year, expanding free educational opportunities in artificial intelligence, data analysis and sustainability.
According to a statement from YÖK, the platform will offer free courses open to everyone, taught by internationally recognized academics from some of Türkiye’s leading universities.
There will be no prerequisites for applicants, allowing people from different academic disciplines and professional backgrounds to participate. Applications will be accepted from Oct. 14 to 20, while classes will begin with a joint opening lecture on Nov. 3.
The platform will feature 16 educational modules across three schools and will be implemented under the leadership of Marmara University’s Institute of Population and Social Research and Yıldız Technical University.
Boğaziçi University, Istanbul Technical University and Middle East Technical University will also contribute academically to the program.
3 schools, 16 modules
The Digital University Platform will bring together 3 educational areas: Artificial Intelligence School, the Data Analysis School, and the Green Transformation and Sustainability School.
The Artificial Intelligence School will offer three modules covering machine learning, enabling tools, and modern software development.
The Data Analysis School will feature seven modules, which are basic statistics, panel data, computational social sciences, digital humanities, psychometrics, biostatistics and data analytics.
The Green Transformation and Sustainability School will include six modules covering climate change and global policies, corporate sustainability, environmental sustainability, the circular economy and sustainable finance ecosystem, social sustainability, and clean energy technologies.
All courses will be delivered online. Following shared foundational courses, participants will move on to specialized modules. Classes will be held once a week, with each session lasting three hours.
The new academic term will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with a joint opening lecture open to participants across all modules, scheduled from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Details about application requirements, the curriculum and other aspects of the program will be announced through the official social media accounts of YÖK and Marmara University’s Institute of Population and Social Research.
YÖK President Erol Özvar said the initiative aims to make universities’ academic knowledge and expertise accessible to broader segments of society.
He emphasized that digital transformation offers important opportunities to achieve this goal.
"We see digital transformation in higher education as an important means of making the academic knowledge of our universities accessible to wider audiences,” Özvar said.
He noted that around 30,000 people actively participated in the Data Analysis School launched last year.
"We are now developing this experience with new modules and the Sustainability School, transforming it into the Digital University Platform,” he added.