Ayşe Melis Kocatürk

After graduating from the Middle East Technical University with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 1999, she accumulated five years of experience as an engineer specializing in product and market development, production, and R&D within the private sector. Joining TÜBİTAK in 2004, she assumed the role of the national contact point for the European Union's 6th and 7th Framework Programs; in the areas of Joint Research Center (JRC), Mobility of Researchers, and Nanotechnology-Materials-Production (NMP). Since 2018, she has been serving as the Acting Head of STI Policy Unit within the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies. Her main areas of expertise spans across various domains, including technology foresight studies, analyses of global technological trends and needs, and the design and implementation of methodologies for identifying technological needs in both private and public sectors. Additionally, she excels in international governance mechanisms for STI policies, crafting strategies and policy drafts, and representation in supranational organizations such as OECD, EU, and UN; as well as in developing proposals and consortium building for national and international RDI funds. In this regard, she has made substantial contributions to numerous national and international studies. Notably, in 2023, she took on a managerial role in the creation of the Green Growth Technology Road Map, overseeing its development across six sectors, including the plastics industry; which is a collaborative effort between TÜBİTAK and the Ministry of Industry and Technology.