Team
Prof. Ş. Nuray Akın Duran, Vice Rector
Prof. Ş. Nuray Akın Duran is a vice rector at Istanbul Bilgi University, responsible for education and training programs as well as research and innovation. She serves on the Board of Directors of Türkiye Sınai Kalkınma Bankası (Industrial Development Bank of Türkiye) and is a member of the Corporate Governance Committee. She received her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota, and her M.A. and B.A. in economics from Boğaziçi University.
Between 2015 and 2025, Dr. Akın served as the chair of the Department of Economics, academic director of the MBA and Executive MBA programs, and vice-director of the Graduate School of Business at Özyeğin University. During the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years, she was a visiting associate professor at Rice University and the University of Iowa. Dr. Akın taught macroeconomics, international trade and finance, and microeconomics at the University of Iowa, the University of Southern California, the University of Miami, and the University of Minnesota. In addition, she served as a consultant to the Global Macroeconomics Team at the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C. She was a visiting researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and at the Institute for the Study of Labor Markets (IZA) in Bonn.
Dr. Akın's research interests are macroeconomics, industrial organization, and economic theory. Her work uses dynamic general equilibrium models and search models to study price and wage formation in frictional markets, asset pricing under fire sales, health insurance, unemployment insurance, fiscal policy, aging, and migration. Her papers appeared in reputable journals such as the American Economic Review: Microeconomics, European Economic Review, Review of Economic Dynamics, Economic Theory, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, and Journal of Risk and Insurance. Dr. Akın teaches courses in macroeconomics and microeconomics at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, including economics for managers, macroeconomics for the global economy, country economic analysis, and international trade. She has received numerous excellence-in-teaching awards from various institutions.
Dr. Akın is a recipient of the Young Researcher Award given by the Turkish Science Academy, Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye’s (TÜBİTAK) 2232 Grant awarded to selected scholars working abroad to support their return to Türkiye, and TÜBİTAK 2219 Grant to support long-term international research visits by Turkish scholars. She is a member of the American Economic Association, the Econometric Society, the Game Theory Society, the Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory, the Society for Non-Linear Dynamics, and the European Women on Boards.
Prof. Tuğrul Yazar, Advisor to the Rector
Graduated from Yıldız Technical University's Faculty of Architecture in 2001. Following this, he obtained his Master's degree in Computer-Aided Architecture in 2003 and completed his doctoral studies in 2009 at the same university. With a focus on architectural education and digital design, Tuğrul Yazar has been instructing courses in Architectural Geometry, Design Computation, Design Mathematics, and Parametric Design at Istanbul Bilgi University's Faculty of Architecture since 2011. Achieving the title of associate professor in 2016 and professor in 2021, Yazar has actively contributed as a principal investigator and researcher in scientific projects funded by TÜBİTAK, YTÜ, and İBÜ. His scholarly contributions encompass articles, conference papers, and peer reviews covering topics such as architectural geometry, computational design, and architectural pedagogy. Beyond academia, Yazar engages in consultancy services and workshop leadership for architectural projects, alongside exhibiting his works in diverse exhibitions and biennials.
Faculty Member, Doruk Şen, PhD, Advisor to the Rector
Doruk Şen is a faculty member in the Department of Industrial Engineering at İstanbul Bilgi University. After completing his undergraduate studies in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Yeditepe University, he earned an MSc in Management with Business Finance from the University of York and completed his PhD in Engineering Management at Marmara University in 2020. He builds interdisciplinary collaborations as a researcher, consultant, and principal investigator on projects funded by the EU, TÜBİTAK, and BİLGİ BAP, incorporating responsible and explainable AI methods into data-driven modeling and evaluation. His primary research areas include machine learning, network science, multimodal learning, and language models. In the summer of 2025, he was a visiting researcher with the Social and Responsible AI team at Nokia Bell Labs.
Elif Reis, Technology Transfer Office Manager
Elif Reis completed her undergraduate education at the University of Minnesota in the USA in 2010, double majoring in English Literature and Cultural Studies with the Global Excellence scholarship the University of Minnesota awarded her. From 2013 to 2018, she worked as a researcher at the Center for Turkish Cinema Studies, a project funded by the Istanbul Development Agency (ISTKA) and the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Cinema. In 2018, Elif started working as a Sponsored Projects Specialist at the Istanbul Sehir University Technology Transfer Office, supported by the TÜBİTAK 1513 - Technology Transfer Offices Support Program. She guided and supported researchers in the developing, managing, and financial reporting processes of various national and international projects. In 2021, she joined the Istanbul Bilgi University Technology Transfer Office team. As of 2023, Elif continues to work as the Manager of the Istanbul Bilgi University Technology Transfer Office while also pursuing her graduate degree in the Cultural Studies Program at Istanbul Bilgi University.
Dr. Melis Kalkan, Technology Transfer Office Project Specialist
Dr. Melis Kalkan graduated from Yeditepe University in 2014 with a degree in Genetics and Bioengineering. Following her undergraduate studies, she completed a master's degree in bioprocesses at the same university and earned her doctorate in neuroscience in 2023. During her doctoral research, she focused on innovative studies aimed at understanding the complex mechanisms of the brain and nervous system. Dr. Kalkan has contributed to various projects, including those led by TÜBİTAK, and has conducted significant research in areas such as biomaterial development and cancer studies. Additionally, she is a founding member of organizations like the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Association (YZTD) and the Association of Science and Art Creators (ISAAC), playing a vital role in advancing science and technology.
Zeynep Aydoğan, Technology Transfer Office Project Specialist
Zeynep Aydoğan graduated from Yıldız Technical University, Department of Turkish Language and Literature in 2023. After her undergraduate education, she started working at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Research Dean's Projects Office, where she supported technology transfer and project management processes.
She took an active role in the execution, coordination and reporting processes of national and international research projects by working in various units of ITU Research Dean's Office.
At the same time, she continues her undergraduate education in Computer Science at the University of the People through distance education in order to increase her knowledge in the field of technology.
Hilal Mula, Accounting Specialist
Hilal Mula works in Financial Accounting Department. She is responsible from accounting and financial reporting processes of all internally and externally funded projects.