News from Department

Prof. Dr. Ayselin Yıldız, faculty member of the Department of International Relations and a member of the UNESCO Turkey National Commission (UTMK) MOST Committee, participated in the 7th Annual Meeting of UTMK. During the meeting, details of the "Artificial Intelligence and Migration Governance" MOST School, which will be organized for the first time in Türkiye, were also discussed with UTMK President Prof. Dr. Öcal Oğuz and MOST Committee Chair Prof. Dr. Akif Kireçci.

Our faculty's 1st Interdisciplinary Student Symposium was held with 110 student presentations across 27 sessions and 4 different workshops. Seven sessions were conducted in English, during which international and Erasmus students from our entire university shared their research findings. The symposium was completed with the intense efforts of all departments, especially Economics, Political Science, and Public Administration, supported by the sponsorship of Usight Software and Artificial Intelligence Technologies.

İstinye University will organize Türkiye's first UNESCO MOST School (Management of Social Transformations Program), titled "Artificial Intelligence and Migration Governance." Through this joint initiative, the program will examine the contributions of artificial intelligence applications to migration policies, exploring sustainable solutions for societal challenges.

The School, which will bring together researchers from social sciences and engineering with policy practitioners, aim to examine the use of artificial intelligence in migration governance processes and contribute to policy development in this field. The project team, led by Prof. Dr. Ayselin Yıldız, faculty member of the Department of International Relations, includes Prof. Dr. Osman Can Ünver, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sundu, Dr. Lecturer İsmail Ergen, Dr. Lecturer Levent Korkmaz, and Kazım Timuçin Utkan. The project will also feature international experts, with contributions from Prof. Dr. Akif Kireçci, Chair of the UNESCO Turkey National Commission MOST and Migration Committee, and Committee Member Prof. Dr. Şebnem Akçapar.

"Artificial Intelligence and Migration Governance" Training Prioritizes Social Benefit

The “Artificial Intelligence and Migration Governance” trainings signify a significant initiative that explores how artificial intelligence technologies can be effectively utilized to address migration governance and related societal challenges.
Expressing her delight at the launch of Türkiye’s first UNESCO MOST School, Prof. Dr. Ayselin Yıldız emphasized that the project highlights the human rights-based, effective, and ethical use of new technologies in the migration field. Yıldız stated that the project would explore AI-supported systems in areas such as decision-support mechanisms, facial and voice recognition, border management, nationality identification, and risk analyses.

UNESCO MOST Schools Support Sustainable Development by Addressing Societal Needs

MOST Schools are capacity-building activities that focus on strengthening evidence-based decision-making capabilities in UNESCO member states. Designed to address demands arising from societal needs, MOST Schools prioritize initiatives that enhance the capacity of researchers and decision-makers. Their primary goal is to develop the ability to transform research into action, playing a key role in promoting positive social change for inclusive and sustainable development.

With the “Artificial Intelligence and Migration Governance” UNESCO MOST School, İstinye University achieves a significant international success, demonstrating its strength in new technologies and sustainable research fields. We extend our gratitude to all the academics who contributed to the establishment of Türkiye’s first UNESCO MOST School and congratulate İstinye University for advancing its achievements in international collaboration and research.



İstinye University will organize Türkiye's first UNESCO MOST School (Management of Social Transformations Program), titled "Artificial Intelligence and Migration Governance." Through this joint initiative, the program will examine the contributions of artificial intelligence applications to migration policies, exploring sustainable solutions for societal challenges.

The "Collective Vision and Theme Setting" faculty workshop is held with the active participation of prospective and current students, alumni, academics, administrative staff, and external stakeholders from the business world, aimed at enhancing our faculty’s activities.

Prof. Dr. Ayselin YILDIZ participated in the Migration Corridors workshop hosted by Boston University's Center on Forced Displacement.

Prof. Dr. Ayselin YILDIZ, faculty member at International Relations department, participated as a board member in the annual meeting of the Groningen Declaration Network (GDN), held in San Diego.

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'.

Our department's doctoral program had its first graduate on 03.07.2024, when Turhan Karakaya defended his thesis titled "Identification of Critical Success Factors in Internationalization Strategies: Application in the Air Conditioning Sector". We wish Turhan Karakaya success in his academic life, We congratulate his thesis advisor Assoc. Dr. Okan Yaşar and our department head Prof. Dr. Fahri Erenel.

We held our Down syndrome awareness day event on March 21.

As Health Management students, we participated in the April 23 event held at Piramit Academy special education center.

As İstinye University Health Management Department, we visited Yedikule Animal Shelter with the slogan THIS WORLD IS ALL OF US.

Our Head of Department, Prof., one of the academicians of the Department of Health Management. Dr. Hacer ÖZGEN NARCI and Dr. Lecturer Member Özlem ÖZAYDIN ​​attended the "Health Economics and Finance Symposium" organized by Acıbadem University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The event was held to increase the awareness of both our students and academics about organ donation. We would like to thank Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital Organ and Tissue Transplantation Coordinators Gözde İnal and Gülşah Averi, who shared their valuable information with us with the slogan "Let there be no soil, let there be life".

Awards were presented to the winners of the poster and cloth bag design competition themed "Harms of Tobacco", which we organized within the scope of the TÜBİTAK project. We would like to thank all our students who participated in the competition.

Dr. Lecturer Gülhan Kalmuk, faculty member of the Department of Health Management, talked about "What Does a Multicultural Approach Require in the Present and Future?" at the Nursing Week Panel on May 9, 2024, organized by the Private Hospitals Association (OHSAD) within the framework of Nursing Week Activities. He made a presentation on the subject.

Head of the Department of Health Management, Prof. Dr. Hacer Özgen Narcı and Faculty Member Dr. Lecturer member Gülhan Kalmuk shared a presentation and interactive information under the title "Experience Sharing on the Importance of Hotel Management Services in Terms of Health Management" to Medicalpark Hotel Management Services Managers at the Istinye University Vadi Main Campus Conference Hall on June 30, 2024.

Our department organized a joint symposium on Access and Quality to Health Services with Altınbaş University, Sabahattin Zaim University and Demiroğlu Bilim University on June 11, 2024. At the symposium, our Health Management Doctorate Program student Dr. Simay Hızyılmaz made a presentation titled “Access and Quality to Family Medicine Services”.