İstanbul Kültür University (İKÜ) is one of the many private universities located in Istanbul, Turkey. It has a total of three campuses all within close proximity to each other in the western part of Istanbul. The campuses include the Ataköy and İncirli campus in Bakırköy, and the Şirinevler campus in Bahçelievler. The University was founded in 1997 and has five schools and two vocational schools. In 2009, Global Political Trends Center, a policy oriented research institution, was founded under the auspices of the University.