Prof. Erhan Erkut

Academic Council Member

Erhan Erkut earned his BSc in Industrial Engineering from Boğaziçi University in 1980, followed by his PhD from the University of Florida in 1986. He subsequently joined the faculty of the University of Alberta School of Business, where he taught from 1985 to 2005.

Throughout his tenure, he garnered numerous accolades, including the prestigious "INFORMS Teaching of Management Science Practice Award" and the esteemed "3M Teaching Fellowship," along with five accolades from the Canadian Operational Research Society for his contributions to practice and service. He also authored over 50 scholarly articles in refereed journals.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Erkut actively engaged in industrial projects and founded the Center for Excellence in Operations, a renowned applied research center. He also played a pivotal role as the founding editor of the INFORMS Transactions in Education magazine.

Returning to Turkey in 2005, Erkut assumed the role of Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration at Bilkent University until 2007. Subsequently, he served as the inaugural Rector of Özyeğin University from 2008 to 2013. From 2014 until August 2023, he served as Vice Rector at MEF University.

In recent years, Erkut has been a prominent advocate for entrepreneurship and competency development in Turkey. With the backing of the Mehmet Zorlu Foundation and MEF University, he has spearheaded the "21st Century Competencies" training program (YetGen), benefiting thousands of high school and university students over the past six years.

Erkut is also a prolific author, with notable works including "Üniversite Seçerken" ("When Choosing a University"), "İşte Ceylanlar" ("Here Are the Gazelles"), and "Sistem Çaresiz Eğitim Sizde" ("The System Is in Ruins; Education Is in Your Hands").