Achievements

PSYCHOLOGY

Selin ERSOY

Meerkats, the adorable residents of the Kalahari Desert, miles away from Izmir, are the subject of a study conducted by Selin Ersoy, Graduate of IUE Department of Psychology. Ersoy, the one and only Turkish female scientist working at the research station located at the riverbed of Kuruman River, Kalahari Desert in South Africa, starts the day at 5.30 a.m. every day to search for the meerkats she studies. Ersoy stated that she dreamed about studying the animal behaviours throughout her studies at IUE Department of Psychology, and she conducted biological and behavioural measurement of the meerkats in a 20 km research area at the Kalahari Desert. Ersoy indicated that her story began with her travelling to England through Erasmus, exchange program. She said, “I met Tim Clutton-Brock, Professor of Behavioural Ecology and Revolutionary Biology, at Cambridge University, England. Dr. Clutton-Brock established a research station at Kalahari Desert in South Africa in 1993 in order to study the ecologic and revolutionary determinants regarding the reproduction systems and social behaviours of meerkats (Suricata suricata). The station hosts British and American scientists in addition to researchers from many countries. I started to work at the station following my graduation in 2013 when my project was accepted.”

One and Only Researcher from Turkey

Ersoy stated that she studied the subjects as “guard duty”, “collective pup raising”, “distinction of dominant males and females in reproduction”, etc. that are unique to meerkats.  Ersoy said that she researched the relation between the personality traits of meerkats and their reproduction and defence behaviours.  She also mentioned that scientific studies were conducted for almost twenty years at the research station and no scientist from Turkey took place at the station before. Ersoy said that they were very busy at the station and stated the following: “The closest location to the research station takes a 6-hour drive. There are 25-30 people at the station. My day begins with a 5.30 a.m. shift every day. I go out to the field. Currently, my assignment is to find the groups of meerkats stretching on a 20 km area. I’ve trained them for a long time, they surround me when they see me. That’s when I feel the safest. They protect me from scorpions, snakes, etc. Meerkats feed on these animals.”

Living Life to the Fullest at the Desert

Ersoy stated that she measured the weight of the meerkats in the morning, checked the productivity of the females, and watched their behaviours in her night shift.  She said that when her shift was over, she spent time playing football on the dusty fields lit by the headlights of the trucks on site. Ersoy said that her study there would be completed in one year, and that she would like to take part in similar studies again.

Meaningful Support to the Courageous Scientist

Ersoy stated, “My family opened up to the idea of me being the first Turkish scientist at Kalahari desert when they heard that I was given the chance to conduct my Ph.D. studies at a leading university such as Cambridge. My friends and academicians at IUE Department of Psychology have always supported me. I especially got the academic-scientific, and the humanitarian support from Prof. Dr. Hakan Çetinkaya, the Head of the Department of Psychology. Briefly, everyone shared my excitement.”

SOCIOLOGY

Uğur Berk KALELİOĞLU

After graduating from the Department of Sociology of Izmir University of Economics as "High Honor Student" in 2016, I got a full scholarship from the Federal Republic of Germany. Equipped with a balanced combination of theory and practice, the curriculum of the Department of Sociology of Izmir University of Economics provided incredible conveniences in my education abroad. The 6-month scholarship I received at the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences, Fulda University, Germany with the Erasmus program, has changed my understanding of science and modernity fundamentally. The Sociology education, which I inherited from the experienced academic staff such as Prof. Dr. Erol Kahveci, Prof. Dr. Nuran Erol Işık, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Neslihan Demirtaş and the rich materials of the library, enabled me to complete the Political Science and Sociology Master's Degree at Siegen University. The strong second foreign language education in particular made it easier for me to access primary resources in Germany. Upon the recommendation of my German advisors, I published my thesis in a book. I am currently in Germany for my PhD education. The Department of Sociology of Izmir University of Economics, which examines all social science methods in general framework, research epistemological and methodological problems and has a wide range such as German Sociology, French Sociology, British Sociology, American Sociology besides Turkish Sociology, provides education at a level equal to its peers in Europe. I acquired the Researcher-Writer identity by publishing 5 books and theoretical articles in many international journals. I am also involved with editing in addition to my academic studies. I held conferences on the History of Republic, Positivism and Westernism, and Turkish Sociology in Germany and Turkey. As a result of the activities I carried out in Germany, I was awarded the Honorary Membership of the European Kemalist Thought Association. With the love and enthusiasm, I have acquired at Izmir University of Economics, I continue my academic studies and work on my books. I recommend Izmir University of Economics, which is the address of a deep-rooted education, to my young friends with ideals.

MATHEMATICS

Murat YAŞAR

I’m Murat.  The first time I evaluated İzmir University of Economics and I want to share with you all the cornerstones in my 4 years after graduation.

Actually, I never thought of studying Mathematics even after taking the university entrance exam. It all started one day when my mother wanted to introduce me to a professor and she had been cleaning their house for years. After the exam, before the preference period, one summer day, we went to prof.dr.Murat Adıvar and his wife Burcu Adıvar's house in Narlıdere with my mother. I met with Prof. Murat Adıvar for the first day  on that day.  While I had only civil engineering faculties in mind, Prof. Murat Adıvar informed me in detail about Izmir University of Economics and especially the Department of Mathematics. He even jumped into his car and walked around the university, talking about how global the education program is in the department of mathematics. Perhaps most importantly, he had long explained that mathematics is a 'golden bracelet'. I was very impressed to hear that mathematics added a fascinating vision in a milestone decision in which many young people like me discovered their passion in their country, and that they were not sure exactly what their dream job was. When I returned home that day, I had placed the Izmir University of Economics Department of Mathematics (Full Scholarship) on the first place. I also placed Civil Engineering faculties in other places, of course;  leave the decision to life for a little.

When the results were announced, my first choice was positive. My family were the happiest because of the scholarship and because I am going to a university in a central location in Izmir. In the first year, I didn’t know English very well. In the preparatory class, I took all the prizes and first places. I learned English from high quality teachers that is one of my golden bracelet’s in my career. In other years of the university, my horizons widened day by day with courses from a wide range of branches in the department of mathematics and as prof.dr.Murat  advised us in his lessons, I had won the notion of 'mathematical thinking' that would affect my thoughts and decisions throughout my life.

In the last years of the university, the vision that added to me by these various branches became my passion and and I started to attend the courses in computer and software engineering departments by asking permission to the academicians. I started to think that software will have a very important place in the world of today and tomorrow.

Even in my projects in the department of mathematics, I was doing my projects by blending them with software and mobile applications. At this point, I would like to mention the contributions of one of my favorite academics prof. dr. Gözde Yazgı Tütüncü. By blending our wishes with those who are within our responsibility, leading our wide vision, she has always provided us to create projects full of motivation and inspiration.

My interest in the software increased exponentially when I graduated and my first job immediately at that year was to establish a joint software company with my friends that the university brought to me. We established our company in Bilimpark in Izmir University of Economics. Establishing our company in a technopark has given us serious advantages as a new company. We tried to grow  our established company for two years. But when the conditions do not result in improvements as we want and we thought we had to gain some sectoral experience so we closed our company and I moved to Istanbul. I'm developing products and software for top 10 software company in Turkey for 2 years. Soon, when  I have enough sectoral experience, I want to establish a company again with my entrepreneurial identity that I  realize in my university years and  I have a goal to make this company a company that exports millions of dollars every year.