History

The roots of Leather Engineering Department lie back to the “Department of Fiber Technology” which was established in 1960 at Ege University in Agriculture Faculty. In the following period the department carried out its studies under the different names of; “Division of Textile Materials and Leather Technology” between 1975-1981, “Division of Leather and Fiber Technology” between 1981-1990 and “Department of Leather Technology” between 1990-1999 under the Agriculture Faculty of Ege University.  As a consequence of the reorganization process of the agriculture faculties in Turkey, The Department of Leather Engineering was closed and reopened as “Leather Engineering Department” in the Faculty of Engineering by the decision of “The Council of Higher Education-YÖK” dated 12.03.1999. The Department continues the education and research activities at undergraduate and graduate levels under the same title as the first and only academic institution in leather engineering field in Turkey.

In this manner, conducting sectorial research and development activities, disseminating the findings, training the future scientists, guiding the regional and national leather manufacturers, demonstration and dissemination of new techniques and technologies, supporting the international competitiveness of the industrial sector are within the objectives of the department. The department also follows the situation of the leather industry and recent sectorial developments inside/outside of the country and carries out up-to-date researches to find solutions to the needs of the sector.