Third Generation Universities and Knowledge Transfer Processes

Date: 28 December

Time: 18.00

Keynote Speaker: Ahu Altınkut Uncuoğlu, Ph.D. Professor in Bioengineering Department, Faculty of Engineering Marmara University

About the Seminar:

Transdisciplinary research - teaching - education has gained importance in discussing university action and sustainable R&D. There are numerous attempts to grasp the efforts of universities towards sustainable R&D outside of their impacts through teaching and research, which are often subsumed under the term “3rd mission” of universities. This “3rd mission” depicts a broader and more adaptive role for higher education institutes, and their contribution to social, cultural and environmental development based on regional needs. The “3rd mission” requires interaction between universities and regions, and, thus, offers possibilities for higher education institutes to engage more actively. Within the 3rd mission universities contribute to sustainable development through their technical expertise, cultural mission and role as leaders in the implementation of regional sustainability plans R&D might therefore benefit from the participation of academics in several ways.  First, by enhancing a system perspective and critical thinking that support balancing social, environmental and economic factors; second, by helping develop knowledge-based products and services; third, through raising funds; and, finally, these benefits might also increase the acceptability of results in the wider public. Click here to join.

About the Speaker:

Prof. Ahu ALTINKUT UNCUOĞLU has been working in Bioengineering Department, Faculty of Engineering at Marmara University, and carrying out project-based studies with Plant Biotechnology Research Group established by her since 2011. Previously, she worked in TUBITAK-MRC, Genetic Eng. and Biotech. Institute about 15 years. She worked in Colorado State University (USA) and Haifa University (Israel) by conducting pre-doctoral and post-doctoral studies respectively on structural and functional genomic studies in cereals with the support of “MRC-World Bank Fellowship”, "UNESCO – L’Oréal Young Woman Researcher" and “International Plant Genetic Resources Institute Vavilov-Frankel scholarship”. In 2009, the "American Association for the Advancement of Science" introduced Prof. UNCUOĞLU, as one of the successful scientific UNSECO-L’Oréal Fellow. Her research group focuses particularly on (i) biotic (plant diseases) and abiotic (drought and salt stresses) stress tolerance, (ii) molecular plant breeding (MAS) studies, (iii) plant tissue culture and haploid plant production, (iv) phylogenetic analysis, association mapping and DNA barcoding studies in plants, understanding plant biodiversity at molecular level, (v) use of nanomaterials as potential fertilizers in environmental fields by plant in vitro culture techniques. Furthermore, she has interest on technology transfer and university-industry relations by performing multi-disciplinary and target oriented research in collaboration with academic and industrial partners.  She is currently an executive board member of University Industry Cooperation Centers Platform of Turkey (USIMP) and director of Marmara University Innovation and Technology Transfer Research and Application Center (MITTO).