Koç University (KU), founded in 1993, is a non-profit private university in Istanbul, Turkey, offering a world class educational experience to 6.331 students from over 50 countries with more than 400 faculty members. In the twenty-two years since its establishment, Koç University has become one of the leading universities in Turkey. With more than 200 partners globally, 18 Research Centers, 3 Research and Education Forums and 104 laboratories, Koç University is recognized nationally and internationally as an excellent partner for research collaboration at national and international level with public and private institutions including the European Commission. It has carried out over 400 sponsored research projects in the last ten years that amount to over 50 Million USD in funding. The university provides an English taught liberal arts education at undergraduate level through 7 colleges, offering 22 undergraduate programs. At graduate level it is a research intensive university with 30 master and 23 doctoral programs across 4 graduate schools . The College of Social Sciences and humanities is a challenging part of Koç University proposing a wide range of BA, MA and PhD programs, from Archaeology to English Literature passing for Media and Visual Arts, Philosophy and Sociology. Koç University will lead WP 3 and WP 5. The role of KU will be to work side by side with the respective trainee to create the courses syllabi, to develop new teaching courses, to activate new internship programs and to develop learning materials. Furthermore, given its strategic position KU will function as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East it can easily manage any bureaucratic issues. In addition, KU has developed the best syllabi and learning materials among the EU partners and it has experience on internship programs.
For more info visit the Koç University website https://cssh.ku.edu.tr/en/.
CIĞDEM MANER. Assistant Professor of Archaeology at Koç University Department of Archaeology and History of Art (since 2012). She obtained her PhD from Heidelberg University. From 2012-2015 she was the Department representative, while from 2015 to 2018 she will be Vice Director of Vekam and a member of the advisory board of the RCAC /Anamed. She has participated in numerous field projects in Turkey, Syria and Greece. Since 2013 she is the director of the Konya Ereğli Survey Project (KEYAR), which aims to survey the Bronze and Iron Age settlements of the South-Eastern corner of the Konya plain, north of the Taurus Mountains. She was awarded Koç Univeristy Seed Fund (SF 00013) (2014-2016) for her project: Konya Ereğli Archaeological Survey and the Harvard Visiting Scholar summer research award in 2015. She has organized several workshops and conferences in Turkey. She has edited two conference proceedings and is the author of several articles.
FILIZ YENIŞEHIRLIOĞLU. Professor of Art History at Koç University Department of Archaeology and History of Art. Since 2014 he is also the Director of Vekam. Her ongoing research projects includes, a digital database for tiles at the Topkapı Palace Museum and the 18th century Ottoman Kilns and Ceramic production at the Tekfur Palace in Istanbul. She is also activiely involved in EU and other International Projects. In particular she is currently Scientific Director of the EU Project on” Developing Local Awareness on Architectural Heritage Left from the Exchange of Populations in Turkey and Greece” in partnership with ICOMOS Hellenic, KARDER, Turkish Chamber of Architects, Municipality of Mustafa Paşa and the Foundation for the Lausanne Treaty Emigrant. Between 2003 and 2004 she has been member of the research group "Image and Representation" in the frame of the EU Scientific Foundation project on "The Individual and Society around the Muslim Mediterranean World“. Between 1996 and 2000 she was Member of the GRAL‘s project on “The Three-Arched House in the Middle East”. From 1998 to 2001 she collaborated with the University of Balamar/Beirut and the University of Tour in the research project titled “The Image of the Turk in Europe: 1923-1990 ”. She has authored, co-authored and edited more than 10 books, and she has written more than fifty articles and book chapters.
NIKOS KONTOGIANNIS. Assistant Professor at Koç Univeristy of Istanbul Department of Archaeology and History of Art. He has been Head of Department of Byzantine Antiquities, Ephorate of Antiquities of Boeotia, Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Greece (2014-2016) and Lecturer, Department of History, Archaeology and Management of Cultural Goods, University of Peloponnese, Greece (2005-2010). He also extensively collaborated in with the Greek Ministry of Culture as an archaeologist. Since 1987 he received many scholarships and awards from different institutions, including the I. S. Latsis Foundation (1993-1994), the University of Princeton (2004-2005), the University of Birmingham (2013), the University of Nottingham (2013), the British School of Athens (2012-2013), the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington D.C. (2014-2015), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2015-2016). Prof. Kontogiannis, also participated into several museum and exhibition projects, such as the new Archaeological Museum of Boeotia at Thebes (2008), the new Archaeological Museum of Euboea in Chalcis (2012-2014) and the enhancement of Hosios Loukas Monastery (2010-2014).
CHRISTINA LUKE. Associate Professor of Archaeology and History of Art at Koç University in Istanbul. Her interests range from heritage studies of development diplomacy to archaeological fieldwork in Anatolia, the Balkans and Latin America. She is currently member of the ANAMED center of Koç University of Istanbul and German Archaeological Institute of Istanbul. She is also Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Field Archaeology, Chair of the Cultural Heritage and Policy Committee of the Archaeological Institute of America. Prof. Luke received numerous awards from different public and academic institutions including ARIT (2010, 2014), National Endowment for the Humanities (2010, 2013, 2014), National Science Foundation (1999, 2007, 2013), Fullbright (2010) and Cornell University (1995-2001). She also participated to several projects as PI and Co-PI such as the “Bronze Age Cultural Dynamics, Sustainability and Landscape in the Marmara Basin, Gediz Valley” (2013) and the Environmental and Cultural Dynamics in Central Lydia, Western Turkey (2007-2009). She is author of two books and more than 50 peer-reviewed articles.
BURCU SARSILMAZ. She is the Executive Manager of the Office of International Programs at Koç University. She supervises all activities and projects such as international partnerships, exchange programs, special programs/projects and internationalization at home efforts that are run by the Office of International Programs. Office of International Programs also supports the overall goals of internationalization of Koç University. She studied at Koç University (BA) and Monash University (MA).