The TGU PhD in Business Administration Program Successfully Held the Forschungskolleg 2026
31.03.2026
Organized in collaboration with the Turkish-German University (TGU), Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Bielefeld - HSBI), and the University of Bielefeld, the “Forschungskolleg 2026” academic exchange program for doctoral students was successfully held on March 26–27, 2026, at the Turkish-German University campus. Supported by the DAAD, this event enabled students in the Ph.D. in Business Administration program to expand their international academic networks and gain an in-depth understanding of university-industry collaboration models.
The first day of the program began with an opening session held in the Conference Hall of the School of Foreign Languages. The opening ceremony was attended by Prof. Dr. Rıza Öztürk from Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Prof. Dr. Hermann Jahnke from Bielefeld University, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Prof. Dr. Elif Nuroğlu, Director of the Institute of Social Sciences Assoc. Prof. Dr. Semih Emre Çekin, Dr. Stefan Bildhauer, Coordinator of International Relations at K-TGU, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zaur Gasimov, Coordinator of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, were present and delivered opening remarks. In the first half of the day, panel sessions were held discussing current academic trends in the fields of Marketing, Management, and Operations Research In the Poster Session, one of the program’s most dynamic parts, doctoral students shared their scientific research with participants and exchanged ideas in an interactive setting. At the end of the first day, researchers gathered in thematic workshops held simultaneously in the meeting rooms of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences to engage in in-depth discussions on their respective fields of expertise.
The second day of the program focused on research funding, strategic project applications, and academic development processes. In this context, Dr. Nilgün Dağlar-Sezer and Prof. Dr. Tobias Schäfers delivered detailed presentations on international funding strategies and financial support instruments in business administration.
One of the event’s highlights was the “University-Industry Collaboration” panel, which featured representatives from the German-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK), Dijitalpark Technology Park, and the industrial sector. During the panel, Meltem Bayraktar, a representative from Digitalpark Technology Park, delivered a comprehensive presentation on current funding and project opportunities in Turkey. The session particularly focused on “industry-based doctoral theses” (Industriepromotion), which are common in Germany, discussing the transfer of academic knowledge to industry and the strategic advantages this model offers to stakeholders.
This year’s Forschungskolleg 2026 once again demonstrated the importance the Turkish-German University places on international academic collaborations and the tangible contributions it makes to the academic development of students in the Ph.D. in Business Administration program. The program’s interdisciplinary structure is expected to foster sustainable academic exchange while making a lasting contribution to the development of strategic partnerships with partner universities.
