Executive Board

Asst. Prof. Dr. Derya Özkan (Director)
IUE Cinema and Digital Media

Received her Ph.D. in 2008 from the Visual and Cultural Studies Program at the University of Rochester in the USA. Was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Munich in Germany from 2008 to 2011. From 2011 to 2016, she was the director of the research project "Changing Imaginations of Istanbul. From Oriental to the Cool City" funded by the Emmy Noether Program of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation). Has been working as an Assistant Professor in the Cinema and Digital Media department at IEU since 2016. She chaired the Cinema and Digital Media department from 2017 to 2020.

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Asst. Prof. Dr. Ali Burak Özkaya
IUE Basic Medical Sciences

I have completed my master's and PhD education in biochemistry with a focus on cancer biology and more spesifically metabolism of cancer cells. I have worked as a reseracher and a teaching assistant in several labs in Turkey, Germany and USA. I also have industry experience having been worked in R&D for drug, medical device and IVD assay development. My primary responsibilities in the faculty are the execution of the medical biochemistry education and management of the electronic learning platform. I am instructing theoretical and practical learning activities, and coordinating e-learning activities of the faculty. I am also a member of the Medical Education Commission of the faculty, which oversee, evaluate and augment the curriculum. Due to my research background, I am actively working in research activities of the faculty and instructing scientific/critical thinking to both undergraduate and graduate students of my university.

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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Altuğ Akın
IUE New Media and Communication

Altug Akin is an associate professor doctor at Izmir University of Economics, Turkey. His research focus is mainly about the relationship between communication and social/behaviour change: How do we better understand and use communication for a better social and personal life? Altug Akin completed his doctoral studies in audio-visual communication at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain; and masters’ studies in journalism studies at the Stockholm University, Sweden. Mr. Akin was a visiting scholar at Annenberg School for Communication of UPENN, between 2015 and 2016. Parallel to his academic career, Altug Akin has been contributing to several media outlets, including the BBC World Service Turkish Section, where he worked as a journalist. Most recently, he established and lead the unit of Communication for Development and Social Change at UNICEF Turkey. He currently chairs the Department of New Media and Communication at Izmir University of Economic and support WHO Euro as a Risk Communication and Community Engagement expert. Dr. Akin has literature translations from Spanish and English to Turkish.

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Asst. Prof. Dr. Tuba Doğu
IUE Architecture

Tuba Doğu holds a Bachelor degree in Architecture from Middle East Technical University; with one-year educational experience at The University of Bologna. Following her undergraduate studies, she completed the degree of Master of Design Science at The University of Sydney where she specialized on sustainable housing strategies in low-income settlements. Between her studies, she has worked at various NGOs and involved in action-research projects in Australia, Brazil and India respectively, and lectured at universities in Izmir. She was a Fulbright PhD visiting research fellow at Columbia GSAPP (2017-2018), a fellow at Design Trust Hong Kong (2018), and selected cultural manager under Tandem Turkey Program (2018-2019/2015-2016). In 2020, she completed her doctorate studies at IzTech. Her research interests include social interventions as a form of alternative spatial practices, centering on questions of human and material agency. She continues her research at UrbanTank (www.urbantank.org), which she is a founding partner of since 2013, developing research and intervention projects for human-oriented and participatory urban environments.

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Prof. Dr. Ebru Uzunoğlu
IUE Public Relations and Advertising

Ebru Uzunoglu is Professor of Public Relations and Advertising Department at Izmir University of Economics (IUE). She worked as the head of the department for 8 years and as the Acting Dean of the Communication Faculty for 2,5 years. She worked as a visiting scholar at Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications - Northwestern University between 2016-2017. She has published several academic papers in the leading journals including Public Relations Review, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Marketing Communications, International Journal of Information Management, and Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. She is the co-editor of Integrated Communication in Post-Modern Era with Prof. Dr. Philip J. Kitchen. She also has published many chapters in different international books. She teaches courses on Principles of Public Relations, Marketing Communications, Communication Campaign Design, Senior Project, and Brand Management. Her research interests include integrated marketing communications, brand communications, corporate communication, and social media implementations. Before her academic career, she worked at several national and international companies as a marketing communication specialist and product manager for 12 years. She is the member of the Izmir Public Relations Association and was the Board Member for three terms.

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Prof. Dr. Hayriye Özen
IUE Sociology

Dr Özen received her PhD in Sociology from the Middle East Technical University in 2007. She specializes in political sociology with specific interest in social and political movements, populism and informal politics. Her articles have appeared in Current Sociology, South European Society and Politics, World Development, Organization, Organization and Environment, Geoforum, Environmental Communication, Environmental Politics, Amme İdaresi Dergisi, SBF and Mülkiye Dergisi. Dr Özen also authored chapters in edited books published by John Benjamins, Lexington and Routledge publishing.

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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Mengi
IEU Industrial Design

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Mengi is an interdisciplinary academic with experience in teaching industrial design and design management since 2010, and an interdisciplinary designer with experience working on various scale projects ranging from product design to urban design in Turkey since 2006. He has skills across education, business, and research, and uses an evidence-based and end-user driven design methodology both in his teaching practice and his research. His research and education background in the creative industries and knowledge ecosystem give him ability to pioneer new ideas in the industrial design area using multi-level perspectives and systems thinking to generate innovative design strategies that deliver value, engagement, and impact. He is a research collaborator to QUT Design Lab in Creative Industries Faculty at Queensland University of Technology, Australia.