Türkçe MyKHAS

18th Kadir Has Awards were given in the field of “Sustainable Economy in the World”

Kadir Has Awards, which have been given by Kadir Has University since 2003 to perpetuate the name of the late Kadir Has, the founder of the university and philanthropist businessman, and to crown his services to science, humanity and education throughout his life, were presented to their owners at a ceremony held on Wednesday, March 22nd this year. At the 18th Kadir Has Awards, “Outstanding Achievement” and “Promising Scientist” awards were given to our scientists who have achieved great success in the field of “Sustainable Economy in the World” and contributed to research in this field.

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The ceremony of Kadir Has Awards, which aims to introduce to the public the esteemed scientists of our country who have achieved significant achievements at national and international level and the institutions that contribute to the development of society, was held on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. On the 16th anniversary of the death of Kadir Has, the founder of Kadir Has University and one of the distinguished philanthropists of our country, the 18th Kadir Has Awards found their owners within the scope of the commemoration program held at the central campus of the university in Cibali.

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In 2023, the field of study to be awarded was selected as “Sustainable Economy in the World” in reference to the problems created by the economic orders we experienced at the end of the pandemic and affecting all societies of the world, and “Outstanding Achievement” and “Promising Scientist” awards were presented to our scientists who contributed to research in this field by achieving significant successes.

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The 18th Kadir Has Awards Evaluation Board included the following names: Prof. Dr. Erol Balkan (Hamilton College), Prof. Dr. Fatma Doğruel (Marmara University), Prof. Dr. Jayati Ghosh (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), Prof. Dr. Erol Taymaz (Middle East Technical University), Prof. Dr. Ebru Voyvoda (Middle East Technical University), Prof. Dr. Alp Erinç Yeldan (Kadir Has University), Prof. Dr. Kamil Yılmaz (Koç University) and Assoc. Dr. Annina Kaltenbrunner (University of Leeds).

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

At the 18th Kadir Has Awards, the “Outstanding Achievement Award” was presented to Prof. Dr. Ziya Öniş. Prof. Dr. Ziya Öniş was awarded the “Outstanding Achievement Award” in 2023 by the Evaluation Board for his creative and groundbreaking work on the developmental state and global political economy, the political economy of development, the future of globalization and democracy, the comparative political economy of rising powers and European and Turkish politics, his original lectures on these topics and his rigorous teaching.

Prof. Dr. Ziya Öniş is a professor of international political economy at Koç University. He served as Director of Koç University’s Center for Globalization, Peace and Democratic Governance (GLODEM) from 2010 to 2013 and as Director of the Institute of Social Sciences from 2006 to 2009. Prior to joining the Department of International Relations at Koç University, Öniş was a faculty member at the Department of Economics at Boğaziçi University.

Prof. Öniş’s recent work focuses on the crisis of liberal democracy, the global populist wave, authoritarian reversals and democratization expectations, the new order emerging after the liberal international order, Turkey’s political economy in the AKP era, new directions in Turkish foreign policy, and domestic and foreign policy interactions.

Prof. Öniş was elected as a member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) in 2012 and was awarded the TÜBİTAK Science Award and Koç University Outstanding Achievement Award. Prof. Öniş was awarded the Koç University Outstanding Achievement Award in Research in 2012 and the Koç University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Outstanding Achievement Award in Education in 2020-2021. Prof. Öniş is also the co-recipient of the Elizabeth Meehan Best Article Award for his article published in Government and Opposition in 2019.

PROMISING SCIENTIST AWARD

At the 18th Kadir Has Awards, the “Promising Scientist Award” was given to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bengi Akbulut. Prof. Dr. Akbulut received the 2023 “Promising Scientist Award” for her original and creative work in the fields of political economy of development, political ecology, rural and environmental transformation, technological and social relations between ecosystem and economy, and political economy of just transformation against the climate crisis.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bengi Akbulut is a faculty member in the Department of Geography at Concordia University. She received her BA in Economics from Boğaziçi University in 2004 and her PhD in Economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2011. She then spent a year as a post-doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Environment and Development at the University of Manchester. Dr. Akbulut has been working at Concordia University since 2017. Since 2021, she has been the co-director of the Social Justice Centre at the same university.

Dr. Akbulut’s academic work lies at the intersection of political economy and ecological economics, with a particular focus on the social and ecological impacts of development processes. His collaborative and individual work has been published in journals including Cambridge Journal of Economics, Journal of Peasant Studies, Development and Change and Ecological Economics.

Dr. Akbulut’s recent research focuses on the pillars and institutions of a just and sustainable economy. His 2022 research project, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, aims to evaluate forms of economic democracy from the perspective of ecological economics.

“UNIVERSITIES AND SCIENTISTS SHOULD EQUIP SOCIETY WITH ACCURATE DATA”

Prof. Dr. Ziya Öziş and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bengi Akbulut were presented with their awards and Kadir Has University Chairman of the Board of Trustees Can Has, Kadir Has Foundation Chairman Nuri Has and Kadir Has University Rector Prof. Dr. Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz made speeches at the ceremony.

In his speech, Can Has, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, commemorated those who lost their lives and those who were injured in the earthquakes of February 6, 2023, which caused great destruction in 11 provinces. “What could be more valuable than human life? In order to avoid a repeat of this disaster, work should be started immediately in the regions surrounded by active earthquake zones, and all segments of the society, regardless of military-civilian, public-private, should make all the contribution they can to these efforts.” Can Has said, ”As Kadir Has University, we are ready to contribute in many areas, from voluntary services to heal the wounds of the great disaster to scientific studies on the measures to be taken against the earthquake reality. We believe that we can only fight against earthquakes in the light of scientific thinking and discoveries through the cooperation of different disciplines and the coordination of specialties without contradicting the balance of nature. If we have any hope for the continuation of life and the well-being of humanity, it is thanks to science.”

Nuri Has, President of Kadir Has Foundation, stated that in this period when we are going through difficult times politically, economically and emotionally, we need to put our sadness and anxiety aside so as not to forget them, and without falling into pessimism, we need to stubbornly go on the wrongs that need to be changed, and as a university, we need to conduct more research on these issues and equip the society with accurate data. “Kadir Has was a patriot, a ‘philanthropist’ who believed in the bright future of the country. The purpose of the awards that we have been presenting for 18 years to commemorate him is to support, recognize and reward individuals who contribute to this bright future; to humanity, nature and life,” he said, adding that the names to be awarded this year were selected among scientists who have shown the way to overcome the economic problems our country is facing and focused on reducing the impact of changing socio-economic conditions on global economies.

In her speech, Kadir Has University Rector Prof. Dr. Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz emphasized that this difficult period we are going through as a country reminds universities and scientists of their main duties once again: “The most important need of our country is neither money nor stamps. Do you know what it is? It is people who have internalized universal human values, who produce solutions to the problems faced by humanity under the guidance of science, who are human-oriented, who take into account the public interest and the planet that provides us with life. Our duty is to raise these people.”

The late Kadir Has said, “You know, we humans wait for someone else to build a bridge to cross a river. In other words, I started to build the bridge that both I and you will cross myself.” Prof. Dr. Durukanoğlu Feyiz stated that Kadir Has University decided to transform into a research university and build a new bridge to educate people, which is the greatest need of today, and underlined that this transformation in education was achieved with the team spirit formed by academicians, students, administrative teams and graduates.

18TH KADİR HAS AWARDS EVALUATION COMMITTEE (*)

(*) The list is arranged alphabetically by surname.

For more detailed information about Kadir Has Awards and to review the history of the awards: https://odul.khas.edu.tr/