Theme: The Maze

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

bilkent univercity
bilkent univercity
Ankara, Ankara, 06370
Turkey

Burçe Karaca

Musician

Burçe Karaca focused on composition and performance at university. She has participated in many projects by taking part in various concerts and festivals. These experiences have opened new windows in her understanding of music. Her interest in modern music compositions has led her to adopt innovative approaches in her works. He frequently uses Anatolian motifs in his works. The artist's piece "Storm Medley", presented with a modern combination of Anatolian motifs, was included in a collection album by Leiter Verlag, featuring 10 pianists and composers from around the world, on March 28, World Piano Day. He performed his works with the MAKSAD Orchestra at the International Marmaris Culture and Art Festival, where he took part as a soloist and composer, and the world premiere of his work "Kybele Suite" was realized at the Mostly Modern Festival in New York in June 2024. Karaca continues to produce and reach different audiences by building bridges between cultures.

Cuma Dağlı

Manager

Born in 1988 in Aksaray, Cuma Dağlı completed his university education at Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management. Starting his professional career in the tourism sector, Dağlı gained mastery of operational processes with his 4 years of experience there. He then switched to the food sector and gained in-depth expertise in the sector by working in franchise and operations management for 7 years. In 2020, Dağlı joined the Maydonoz Döner family and currently serves as the Group Franchise General Manager and Board Member of Maydonoz Döner and My Fried Chicken brands. Mr. Dağlı has accomplished successful projects in the development and management of franchise systems in Turkey as well as in the international arena. He shares his experience in franchise and operations management, investor relations and branding processes with other professionals and entrepreneurs in the sector.

Erbakan Malkoç

Entrepreneur

Erbakan Malkoç was born in Dengeli Village of Göle district of Ardahan as a member of a farmer family with 11 children. He skipped grades and successfully completed primary school before his peers. When he was only 10 years old, he had to migrate to Istanbul with his older brothers and started his business life as an apprentice in an automobile repair shop. Continuing his journey as a journeyman and master, Erbakan Malkoç opened a 20 m2 workshop for himself after a while and started to freely make the transformations he dreamed of. Today, Erbakan Malkoç has managed to become one of the most recognized names in Turkey and the world in the field of personalized vehicle designs. With its own brand, it transforms and customizes premium Air, Land and Naval vehicles worldwide. His journey from garage apprentice to world brand.

Ercan Kezer

Finance Expert

He was born in Izmir in 1970. He completed his entire education in Izmir and graduated from Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration in 1992. During his secondary education, he spent his summer vacations as an internship with his father, who was a Certified Public Accountant, and his apprenticeship period was the period of his profession. After graduating, he passed the necessary exams and completed his official professional internship, becoming a registered professional member of the Izmir Certified Public Accountants Association in 2000.. He has professional conversations on live broadcasts of University TV and Business Channel TV, and articles published on the Accounting Profession and Artificial Intelligence in the Dayanışma Magazine, the publication organ of the Izmir SMMM Chamber.

Erdal Artukoğlu

Businessperson

Dr. Erdal Artukoğlu, born in Kırşehir, is a well-known name in the business world for his leadership qualities and strategic vision. The father of three children, Dr. Artukoğlu has achieved great success in the food industry for 26 years. During this period, he pioneered many innovative projects and was recognized as one of the leading professionals in the sector. However, after the contractions in the sector, he switched to the real estate sector in 2019. He started his career in the real estate sector as a broker in two major American franchise real estate companies and made a difference in the sector in a short time. With both his individual performance and team leadership, he achieved first place in all categories and led the office he led to the top of the sector.

Hakan Bilgin

Actor

He married in 2002, and his son Derin was born in 2005. Over the years, he appeared in numerous TV series and movies. In 2002, he started his association with the Toçev Foundation, initially as a volunteer and later as a professional. By 2016, he became a member of Toçev's Board of Directors. Starting in 2004, he began hosting the First Lego League, an international tournament connecting children and Lego, and has continued for 13 years. Through this project team, he became a founding board member of the Science Heroes Association. Additionally, he has been a presenter at various festivals and award ceremonies for over 15 years. In 2017, in collaboration with Near East University in Cyprus, he initiated the "Recognizing Awareness" seminars, reaching over 40,000 high school students to date. He has delivered more than 100 seminars at various institutions and universities, given TEDx talks, and served as a moderator.

Hazer Amani

Chef

Hazer Amani studied sociology at METU after TED Ankara College. Later, she studied cooking at Cordon Bleu in South Africa. She graduated from school at the top of her class and started working in South Africa, but just knowing how to cook wasn’t enough for her, and she also completed a 4-year program in world wines and viticulture at Cape Wine Academy. She returned to Istanbul in 2010 after spending 9 years in South Africa and worked as the Executive Chef of a restaurant called Chilai. She received the “Most Creative Chef” award in 2011. Amani, who worked as a product development chef in leading companies in the sector such as Unilever and d.ream, served as a jury member in various television cooking programs and competition programs. She has been operating her own brand, “Fire Room Foods” restaurants, since 2018.

Kürşat Aydoğan

Rector

After graduating from TED Ankara Koleji High School, he was admitted to Middle East Technical University where he had his B.S. in management in 1979 and M.B.A. in 1980. He received his Ph.D. in finance at Syracuse University in 1986. Before joining Bilkent University, he taught at Ball State University and Middle East Technical University. He has served as the dean of the Faculty of Business Administration between 1991-2004. He has also worked as a consultant at the Research Department of the Central Bank of Turkey between 1988-93. He taught at Michigan State University in spring 2000. He is currently a professor of finance and the Rector of Bilkent University.

Nebil Özgentürk

Director

Journalist, writer, producer and director Nebil Özgentürk was born in Adana. He graduated from Ege University Faculty of Business Administration. Özgentürk started his career as a reporter in Günaydın Newspaper’s Izmir office and continued his career in Sabah Newspaper in Istanbul. During his journalism studies, he traveled all over Anatolia, observed many political leaders and political events and wrote interviews. He was a war reporter in Romania, Abkhazia and during the Gulf War. We first heard his name as a journalist. He started writing columns in Sabah Newspaper in 1990 and his interviews made a splash. He would write interesting portraits and interviews on the page reserved for him in Sabah Newspaper. His columns were collected into books over the years under the titles Bir Yudum İnsan, Unutulmayanlar, Yıllar and Yüzler.

Özlem Gürses

Journalist

Özlem Gürses was born in Ankara on August 18, 1970. After completing her primary and high school education at TED Ankara College, she entered the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at METU Faculty of Architecture. She moved to Istanbul during her master's degree and entered the media world. Gürses has written many articles and books on literature and culture. She has also given speeches at various conferences and seminars on Turkish literature and culture. Gürses began her media career as a reporter at ATV News Center and later appeared on programs such as "Gece Hattı" and "Kırmızı Koltuk" on Star TV. She worked as an editor and presenter on programs such as "20. Saat", "13 Agency", "Bıldıgın Gibi Değil" and "Burası Haftasonu" on Habertürk TV. She served as assistant news director and on-screen presenter on the "Ana Haber" program on Kanal 1.

Pınar Hotiç

Entrepreneur

She completed high school at the International School of Naples, Italy and university at Marmara University, Department of Business Administration in English. She was chosen as the Turkish Beauty Queen at the age of 19 and started her career at Turkey's first private TV channel, InterStar. After successfully continuing her career in the field of communication and advertising for 26 years, both professionally and as the owner of her own agency, she decided to specialize in Good and Healthy Aging and received important training abroad. She provided strategy, project and communication consultancy to wellbeing/health brands. As of 2022, she started to implement RESTART - INSIDE OUT, THE BEST YOU Retreat and meetings, a scientific experience that she designed with a holistic perspective and brought together valuable experts in healthy living. Hotiç continues to produce digital content,

Saadet Şen

Activist

Saadet Şen is Turkey's first female motivational speaker and a transformation leader. She has been addressing a wide audience from leaders, athletes, CEOs, entrepreneurs and respected institutions for over 20 years. Şen, who has gained a wide and diverse range of training by working with world-renowned trainers and coaches, offers effective methods based on scientific data by using this knowledge and experience. She transforms each of her speeches into an experience that has the potential to create permanent and positive changes in the lives of participants. The podcast series "High Performance with Saadet Şen" and the YouTube channel are platforms where Şen shares her knowledge and experiences with a wide audience and inspires her viewers. The podcast shares the experiences and success strategies of successful entrepreneurs, artists and athletes, while the YouTube channel focuses on the themes of intrinsic motivation and taking action.

Seda Kaçan

Pilot

The first Turkish female pilot to be a European Champion, Seda Kaçan, in addition to her motorsports career, where she has achieved many firsts and historical successes, also works as a Senior Brand Manager at PepsiCo. Born in Kırklareli in 1993 and graduating from Yıldız Technical University, Department of Industrial Engineering as an honor student in 2015, Seda Kaçan emphasizes at every opportunity that success is not dependent on gender or age with her successful motorsports journey that she started at the age of 27, in addition to her corporate career. Wanting to inspire everyone, especially women, to break down the obstacles in front of them, Seda argues that people should make their passions a part of their lives in order to reach their best selves.

Selim Yuhay

Architect

Selim Yuhay is an architect, designer, and television presenter born in Istanbul. After graduating from Yıldız Technical University Faculty of Architecture in 1994, he embarked on a dynamic career in the field of architecture, with a focus on creating innovative designs, pushing boundaries, and inspiring younger generations. He began his professional journey with Elit Mimarlık, a firm he co-founded with four partners, and later established Yuhay Mimarlık with his family. Through these ventures and internationally. His most notable television project, Evim Şahane, premiered on Kanal D in 2012. This groundbreaking program focused on transforming ordinary living spaces into dream homes, touching the lives of thousands of people. Selim and his team approached each project with immense enthusiasm, and the show continues to inspire a new generation of viewers who still express their admiration for his work.

Sinan Ergin

Writer

Sinan Ergin began his professional career at Xerox in 1990. During his 13 years at Xerox, he served as Ankara Regional Manager, Istanbul Direct Sales Manager, Tnd training it provides to leading organizations in Turkey, it has given seminars on management, leadership, motivation, sales and marketing in hundreds of conferences and organizations.