I graduated from the Physics Department of Koç University in 2010. For the past four years, I have been managing two teams of engineers located in the Indonesia, India, and Singapore offices of Gojek, a market-leading company in Southeast Asia. At this firm, which constitutes 2% of the Indonesian economy, I work as the Engineering Manager responsible for financial products that facilitate the lives of 250 million active monthly users. The thinking style I developed from my Physics education at Koç University has been my greatest asset in approaching engineering and everyday problems. For the past 12 years, I have worked as a software developer in significant corporate companies and startups in Istanbul, Dubai, and Bangkok.
During my time working abroad, I had the opportunity to work with people from prominent schools from different regions of the world, such as the United States, Israel, and Australia. Especially when working with other Physics and Engineering graduates, I experienced that what we learned at Koç University was of international level and high quality.
I have always been grateful to the faculty members I had the privilege of spending one-on-one time with. If I could go back to being 17 again, I would choose Koç University and the Physics Department once more.
Thank you, Koç University.
Mehmet Çetin
In the year 2020, I graduated from Koç University with a degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics. Subsequently, I continued my education by pursuing a master's degree in the Biotechnology and Circadian Clock laboratory under the guidance of Prof. Halil Kavaklı. I will begin my doctoral studies at the Integrative Genomics Center of the Faculty of Biology and Genetics at the University of Lausanne.
I have witnessed numerous benefits of my undergraduate education at our university in shaping my career and life. Among these, the first and most significant was the opportunity to intern in the laboratories of our expert professors even as an undergraduate, where I learned the practical aspects of our work from highly successful assistant colleagues. The professional training we received in preparatory classes, conducting department courses in English, and the ability to publish our research in international seminars and journals all paved the way for me to realize my dreams of pursuing a career abroad. In addition to these, the core courses we took in subjects like economics, history, and ethics during my undergraduate studies also instilled in me the ability to reason about issues that affect our daily lives.
Gizem Çağla Parlak
I graduated from Koç University Molecular Biology and Genetics department in 2017. In addition to my major, I completed a double major in Chemistry and a minor in Psychology. I had the Exchange experience, which is one of the most important opportunities of Koç University for me, in 2015 at UC Berkeley University, San Francisco, California, USA. Currently, I continue my studies as a PhD candidate in Neuroscience at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. My project is on the life cycle of peptides that cause Alzheimer's disease and peptides that protect against this disease. I work in a biochemical, cellular and molecular laboratory rather than from a clinical point of view.
During my years at Koç University, I had the opportunity to develop myself both academically and socially. The fact that it has an international environment and programs that support students in abroad experience helped me decide what I want to do in the future. I had the opportunity to work in the Chemistry laboratory of Funda Yağcı Acar. In addition to theoretical knowledge, I have experienced first-hand how science works and how projects come to life in laboratories. During my education, I had the opportunity to establish and run KuEAT, one of the student societies, with my friends. I have witnessed that spending time on my hobbies makes me more productive and productive in my academic life as well. I would like to thank Koç University for providing this social and academic environment together, and all my professors and friends who supported me in my personal and academic development!
İrem Ülkü
I completed a double major in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Physics at Koç University, graduating second in the College of Sciences Physics department in 2019. Subsequently, between 2019 and 2021, I pursued a master's degree in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering at Koç University under the guidance of Aşkın Kocabaş. In August 2021, I began my doctoral studies in the Applied Physics department at Harvard University. I am currently continuing my doctoral research under the supervision of Daniel Needleman. My doctoral research focuses on the formation, positioning, and chromosome distribution of spindle fibers during cell division, mainly delving into the field of biophysics. The independent study course in the undergraduate physics program played a crucial role in providing me with the experience of a research environment in the laboratory and greatly influenced my interest in this area. To be specific, conducting biophysics research on living cells in an experimental laboratory requires interdisciplinary work. Pursuing a double major in Physics and Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Koç University has provided me with numerous benefits in this regard. Furthermore, my master's studies at Koç equipped me with valuable knowledge in genetic tools and microscopy.
Mustafa Başaran
I received my bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Koç University and my master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Koç University. I completed my Ph.D. in the Department of Chemistry at the State University of New York, Buffalo, and worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. Currently, I am working as a researcher in the R&D department of the BioProduction Group at Thermo Fisher Scientific Company, Grand Island, NY, USA. The undergraduate and graduate education I received at Koç University, as well as the support from my professors and advisor, have greatly contributed to my career.
The three most important things I learned at Koç University are: science is highly interdisciplinary, good communication and collaboration have a significant impact on success, and learning a new subject is a powerful tool for your development. I will always be proud to be a part of the inclusive, supportive, and innovative Koç University community.
Didar Aşık
I started my studies in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Koç University. Due to my interest in chemistry, I completed the double major program. After my undergraduate degree, I continued my research in the field of chemistry. In 2016, I completed a master's degree in Materials Science at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Prof. Nicole Grobert (Materials) and Prof. Kylie Vincent (Chemistry). Subsequently, I conducted research on lithium-ion batteries at the Boron and Advanced Materials Application and Research Center (KUBAM) at Koç University. In 2018, I began my doctoral studies on lithium-oxygen batteries under the supervision of Prof. Sir Peter Bruce. Starting from 2023, I will work in the industry on the production of high-energy and long-life batteries for electric vehicles.
