Koç University has become a significant milestone in my life. Of these five years, owing to the wonderful opportunities and the beautiful campus life of our university, I had the chance to go on exchange for three times to University of Mannheim, Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and University of Copenhagen (respectively in Germany and Denmark), double major in BA-level, all the while together with an Associates degree from an open uiversity conservatoire (University of West London, Piano Performance). Not the least, meeting with friends for lifetime, and collecting lots of memories. Since 2016, I’ve been living in Copenhagen. In 2019, I acquired a MSc degree in Organizational Innovation and Entrepreneurship from CBS. During the master’s, I started to work part-time at the HQ of Denmark’s biggest bank, Danske Bank. In end-2020, Innovation Fund Denmark, a public fund that invests in scientific research, accepted to fund my PhD project under the highly-competitive “Industrial PhD - private sector” category. Hence, as of March 2021, in collaboration with Danske Bank and CBS, I started my new role as an Industrial PhD Researcher to lead my project for the next three years. This social science project lies within Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) research area, where the focus will be on creating a more gender-inclusive financial services leadership in the Nordics to pave the way for more women senior leaders in the sector. I sincerely believe in the fact that, with my role as a bridge between the academia and private sector, our learnings within the field will make a positive impact in the years to come.

I had no prospects regarding the future until I enrolled in Koç University. My will to become an academician was formed during my university years. I can say with all my heart that if I had not studied at Koç University, I would not have become an academician; because it would be very hard for me to choose the right path. When I was a student, the university was very compact, we could only have classes with up to ten people. Thefore, our teachers knew us all very well. I was given a chance to become a student assistant at my department. During my junior year I was attending the lectures of sophomores and I was solving problems. I was also assisting my teachers with their research. Of course now, when I look back at those days, I realize that I could not have benefited my teachers at all. I understand now that their goal was only to let us understand about the academic world. I am grateful for this support and the good will that has been shown to me; because it has changed my life.

Business Administration and Economics (Double Major)

PhD in Financial Economics, MIT Sloan School of Management

Assistant Professor of Finance, Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business

I am grateful to my professors at Koc University, since they made my dreams come true! Obtaining graduate degrees in the U.S. had always been a dream of mine, and coming to Koc was the best decision that I made pursuing it. I had the invaluable opportunity to prepare toward a graduate study under the guidance of great researchers who had gone through similar experiences in top schools around the world. Not only did I develop a solid background in economics, finance, and math, but also had both teaching and research experiences even as an undergraduate at Koc. Everyone was very nice and generous in terms of devoting their time to guide us as top scholars. Their doors were always open to us.

2008 – 2010 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI MA in Economics (Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Insan Tunali)

2006 – 2008 Koc University, Istanbul MA in Economics

2001 – 2006 Koc University, Istanbul Department of Mathematics & Economics (Double Major)

Current position: PhD student in Economics (Field: Labor Economics Minor: Public Economics, Econometrics) and Research Assistant at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Koç University provided a wonderful opportunity for me to have a distinguished and high-quality education. The education system in the university always encouraged me to think and research. During my study at Koc University, I gained a considerable amount of research experience. Besides, it was an excellent opportunity to be able to easily communicate with the faculty and benefit from their experiences. Other than that, the university life at Koc helped me to grasp different points of view on life, have better social skills and understand the importance of group study.

In 1998, I was placed among the top 30 students in the Turkish university admission exam and I was enrolled as a full scholarship student at the Department of Economics, which was my first choice. This has been one of the milestones in my life. My years at Koç University were very productive for me. Despite not knowing any English, I was able to learn advanced level English in only one year thanks to Koç University’s ELC – English preparation program. Following the preparatory class, our bachelor classes have begun. During this time, I realized that Koç University differentiated itself from the other universities via the existence of a close communication between the students and academicians. Our teachers made us feel valued and class participation was always encouraged. Our teachers always kept their doors open for us. When I decided to pursue Economics as an academician, I received immense support from my teachers. As a result of my PhD applications during my senior year, I was accepted to prestigious schools in the United States of America, such as MIT, Harvard and Stanford and I preferred MIT. I completed my PhD at the Department of Economics at MIT. I am currently working as a Professor at the University of Chicago.

My education at Koç University made me a versatile person and gave me multi-dimensional thinking capabilities. This has affected my career greatly. I believe I gained the ability to analyse situations in a holistic approach and to solve problems with a different perspective. Koç University taught me that social life is just as important as the career life and that it requires effort as well. I believe that the events I participated in taught me to be a more sociable person and the importance of teamwork at both career and personal lives. Following my graduation while I was looking for a job I realized that my university was opening many doors for me. I was invited for many job interviews and therefore I was invited for many job interviews and therefore I was able to receive information about a variety of sectors.

Even though our academic competence and qualifications play a great role in our success in life, our social capabilities are just as important. By means of social activities I participated in at Koç University, I was able to improve myself, take initiatives and handle professional situations even as a student. These were experiences which made my university years better for me but they were also unique opportunities that got me ready for life, widened my social circle and taught me how to be better at human relations. Most importantly, they showed me that being part of a community and working as a team for success are what bring you to real success. With its distinctive and unique education, Koç University taught me to improve myself and to keep up with innovation as well as giving me the ability to harmonize social and academic skills which are needed for success at our period. While doing all this, Koç University made us into individuals who are able to leave their mark and distinguish themselves in their communities.