Mersin University is a state university, built in 1992 in Mersin province, Turkey. The university has about 25,000 students, 1,405 academic staff and a number of foreign and guest academic staff. The university has a number of research and sports facilities, situated in Mersin town centre and in other towns. In 2005 the Mersin Technology Development Zone (Technoscope) was set up, creating a partnership between the university's research and development departments and industry, with the aim of developing new technologies that could be directly translated into industrial production.