Mersin University is a state university, built in 1992 in Mersin province, Turkey. It has about 25,000 students, 1,405 academic staff, and a number of foreign and guest academic staff. The university has research and sports facilities, 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.