Bilkent University (in Turkish, Bilkent Üniversitesi) is a private university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by Prof. İhsan Doğramacı in 1984, with the aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research. It was the first private university established in the country. The name Bilkent is an abbreviation of bilim kenti: Turkish for "city of science".