News from Department

As the Department of Economics at Istinye University, we held our fourth annual graduation breakfast today, bringing together our alumni and esteemed faculty members.

We once again felt proud of our graduates who are now successfully continuing their careers in leading public and private sector institutions across the country. Spouses, children, and siblings also joined the event, creating a warm and joyful family atmosphere.

We are truly happy to be part of an ever-growing and increasingly connected family.

We look forward to continuing this cherished tradition in the years to come and wish all our alumni continued success in their future endeavors.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Gürsoy, Head of the Department of Economics at Istinye University, delivered a seminar on “Recycling and Sustainability” to 5th, 6th, and 7th-grade students at Istanbul Girls’ Anatolian Imam Hatip High School.

The seminar was held as part of a community engagement project initiated by students from Istinye University’s Department of Child Development. Prior to the seminar, productive discussions were held with the school principal, Ramazan Ayaz, and vice principal, Özlem Eravcı, during which both parties agreed on the importance of developing a closer partnership between the university and the school.

As a result of these meetings, both institutions reached a consensus on organizing various projects and seminars within the school to support ongoing efforts in waste reduction, minimizing food waste, and promoting sustainability. This collaboration aims to strengthen sustainability awareness from an early age and foster environmental consciousness among students.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Gürsoy, Head of the Department of Economics at Istinye University, and faculty member Dr. İlayda İsabetli Fidan visited students completing their mandatory internships at their respective institutions.

During the visits, the faculty met with the supervisors of Zehra Gül Aslan, who is interning at MLPCARE Headquarters in the Investor Relations and Strategy Department: Derya Karadeniz, Umut Kater, and Gül İncemızrak. They also met with the supervisors of Nisanur Bektaş, who is interning at Bank Pozitif Headquarters: Corporate Lending Director İsmihan Ayanoğlu, HR Director Semra Çakaloğlu, Accounting Manager Hüseyin Armutçu, and Bilal Kara. Additionally, they had a productive meeting with Yaşar Kemal Bulutçu, Purchasing Manager of Özak Holding, where student Abdullah Burak Şen, after completing his internship, has started working full-time.

In all three meetings, the managers expressed their satisfaction with the students' integration into the work environment, their contributions, and their performance that met expectations from economics graduates. They also emphasized their willingness to collaborate with Istinye University in future internship and employment programs.

As part of the TÜBİTAK 1001 project titled “Cultural Heritage, Economic Development, and the Status of Women”, project coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esra Bayhantopçu from Kadir Has University and project team member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Gürsoy, Head of the Department of Economics at Istinye University, held a series of meetings in Edirne.

The meetings were attended by Edirne Mayor Av. Filiz Gencan Akın, heads of village mukhtar associations, directors responsible for women and family affairs, and women neighborhood mukhtars across the city. Discussions focused on the role of women in local development, preserving cultural heritage through women’s labor, and the structural challenges faced by women in local governance.

The project aims to transform women’s labor in rural areas into economic value, strengthen women’s participation in local administration, and contribute to the sustainability of cultural heritage.

Hosted by Elazığ Municipality, a seminar was held with the participation of Elazığ Deputy Mayor Nazif Bilginoğlu and Provincial Director of Culture Mehmet Karaaslan. In the event, Head of the Department of Economics Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Gürsoy and Kadir Has University faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esra Bayhantopçu delivered a presentation titled “Women’s Handicrafts and Our Cultural Heritage.”

The seminar attracted significant interest from women participants and focused on the vital role of women’s labor in preserving cultural heritage and promoting local production. Organized within the scope of the TÜBİTAK 1001 Project, the event aimed to support women producers in the region and contribute to the sustainability of traditional crafts.

Between May 15–18, 2025, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Gürsoy and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esra Bayhantopçu from Kadir Has University held a series of meetings within the scope of TÜBİTAK Project No. 124K370. These meetings were conducted with officials from Hatay Metropolitan Municipality; President of the Hatay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Hikmet Çinçin; Secretary General Mr. Ali Mullaoğlu; and Director of Project Coordination and Research, Ms. Ecem Gaye Yeşil. Additional discussions took place with Mr. Cengiz Şenkule, Director of Culture and Social Affairs of Antakya Municipality, focusing on local crafts and women’s labor.
Furthermore, conversations were held at the Hatay Culture and Artisans’ Bazaar—which includes 82 workshops, 7 restaurants, a cafeteria, a small cinema, and a meeting hall—regarding challenges and future expectations in the production and marketing of handmade goods, with the aim of revitalizing cultural heritage.

Organized in collaboration with the Department of Economics and the Economic Policy Research Center (EPAM), the 2025 ISU Women in the Workforce Workshop took place on May 13, 2025, at the Vadi H Campus Conference Hall. The event was part of the 21st Century Competencies Manifest 2 within the scope of the Career Journey course.

The online event titled “The Role of the Individual Pension System in the National Savings Mechanism,” organized in collaboration between the Economic Policy Research Center (EPAM) and the Department of Economics, was held on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, at 5:30 PM via Microsoft Teams.

Two outstanding students from Istinye University’s Department of Economics — Yusuf Efe Torun (1st year) and Sema Nur Yücel (3rd year) — have been selected to participate in the university’s prestigious Leader Student Program, marking a significant achievement.

The Leader Student Program aims to cultivate academically strong, self-confident individuals capable of making meaningful contributions to society. It offers a comprehensive training experience focused on developing intellectual knowledge, leadership, communication, critical and creative thinking skills.

As part of the Healthineering 2 – Sustainability Training event organized by the IEEE Student Branch Club at Istinye University on April 16, 2025, Associate Professor Dr. Çiğdem Gürsoy delivered a training session on the Sustainable Development Goals to students from Istinye University and various other universities.

The Department of Economics held its 2nd alumni meeting as part of the 2025 Spring Workshop. Our graduates and current interns shared their professional experiences with current students and high school participants.

As part of the Department of Economics Alumni Experience Meetings, our graduates Güney Özütutar and Hilal Teke shared their professional experiences with current students.

Department of Economics member Assoc. Prof. Ayfer Ustabaş visited the Politecnico de Guarda Institute as part of the Erasmus program.

Through the efforts of Assoc. Prof. Ayfer Ustabaş from the Department of Economics, and Dr. Eylül Beyza Çiftçi from the Department of International Relations, an Erasmus partnership agreement has been signed specifically for the Department of Economics with the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada).

A feedback meeting was held with the Economics Department students and all academic staff of the department for the Spring 2025 semester.

Economics Department student Sema Nur Yücel’s project titled “Women’s Labor Force Participation and Economic Growth: An Econometric Analysis for Turkey”, conducted under the supervision of our faculty member Dr. İlayda İsabetli Fidan, has been selected for support within the scope of TÜBİTAK 2209-A – Research Projects Support Program for Undergraduate Students.

We wish our student continued success.

The new book Silikon Banker by our Economics Department faculty member, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Caner Özdurak, has been published by Bookarion. The book will be available on shelves starting May 20, and we highly recommend it to anyone interested in economics and finance.

At the seminar attended by Elazığ Deputy Mayor Nazif Bilginoğlu and Provincial Director of Culture Mehmet Karaaslan, Head of the Department of Economics Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Gürsoy and Kadir Has University faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esra Bayhantopçu delivered a presentation on “Women’s Handicrafts and Our Cultural Heritage.” The seminar, which attracted great interest from women, was held within the scope of the TÜBİTAK 1001 Project.

The 2025 Spring Economics Workshop for high school students was held on April 19–20, 2025, with the participation of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Gürsoy, Dr. Lecturer İlayda İsabetli Fidan, Research Assistant Burak Buyun, and students from the Department of Economics.

The book "The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Sustainable Development", edited by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Gürsoy, head of the Economics department, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esra Bayhantopçu, has been published by Istinye University Press.

We congratulate Assoc. Prof. Dr. Caner Özdurak on the publication of his article titled 'Borsa Istanbul as an Inflation Hedge: A Post-COVID-19 Perspective' in the Scopus-indexed International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues.

The event titled "Current Economic Developments and the Importance of Personal Finance Management," organized by the Department of Economics and the Economic Policy Research and Implementation Center (EPAM), was conducted with a presentation by Mehmet Gerz, CEO/CIO of ATA Portfolio Management.

The LÖSEV (Foundation for Children with Leukemia) Benefit Club, established by our Economics Department students in collaboration with LÖSEV, has commenced its activities as of the Fall 2024-2025 academic term. The club, which is open to students from across our university, aims to raise awareness about leukemia and contribute by bringing LÖSEV’s initiatives to our campus.

Istinye University Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences 1st Interdisciplinary Student Symposium will be held on December 16-17, 2024 with the title "Sustainability in Interdisciplinary Studies".

During the symposium, which is organised in cooperation with the International Research Center on Sustainability (IRCOS), workshops on the theme of sustainability will be held with the participation of students and other Research Centres of the university. Istinye University students working on sustainability are invited to the symposium to share their sustainability-themed studies. Sessions will be held face-to-face in Turkish and English.

Head of the Department of Economics, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Gürsoy, and Communication Faculty member from the Department of Public Relations and Advertising, Asst. Prof. Esra Bayhantopçu, visited the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce.

We congratulate Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayfer Ustabaş from the Department of Economics on the publication of her article titled "The Role of Environmental Innovation on Ecological Footprint in Nations with High-Technology Exports Concentrations in International Trade" in the SSCI Q1 indexed journal Technological Forecasting & Social Change.

We held our 3rd traditional alumni breakfast with the graduates of the Department of Economics from 2024 and earlier.

Our department students Sema Nur Yücel, Beyza Gülsüm Ceylan, and İzem Kaplan have achieved second place in the 2nd Social Responsibility Project Competition organized by the İstinye University International Center for Sustainability Practices and Research with their project titled 'Sustainable Society Association'. We congratulate our students and wish them continued success.

Our department faculty member, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayfer Ustabaş, presented her paper titled 'Exploring the Influence of Environmental Awareness and Perceived Behavioral Control on EV Purchase Intentions: An Empirical Study from Turkey' at the symposium organized by Boğaziçi University, UNR College of Business, UNR Center for Basque Studies, and the Bizkaia Governorship, titled 'Entrepreneurship amidst 21st Century Dynamics: Business-Government Relations'.

Teresa Felgueira, Teresa Paiva and Catarina Alves from Guarda Polytechnic Institute visited our university within the scope of the ISU Entrepreneurship Workshop, Erasmus 2024 Mobility program.