'America' scholarship to Izmir academician

06 JULY 2020

Asst. Prof. Deniz Sayar, Lecturer at Department of Industrial Design, Izmir University of Economics (IUE), who carries out studies on many topics such as the design of smart robots or virtual assistants that will facilitate our daily lives with the help of artificial intelligence, received a research scholarship from the United States. Asst. Prof. Sayar, who has been deemed worthy of the Carnegie Mellon University Fulbright Research Fellowship, awarded to only 12 people in Turkey this year, will complete her studies by leaving for America in February and staying there for 10 months. All expenses of Asst. Prof. Sayar during this period (35 thousand dollars) will be covered by the US officials.

IUE Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Industrial Design Faculty Member Deniz Sayar stated that the scholarship she received is very important and will guide her for the projects she will implement in the coming period.

I WANT TO INITIATE INNOVATIONS

Asst. Prof. Sayar said, “Recently, I have concentrated my work in the field of service design. I have also completed my doctorate education on this subject. Many issues, such as the design of smart robots to be used in the health system, or virtual assistants in the banking system or on smartphones, are included in the 'service design'. Artificial intelligence is used in all this. When we consider the requirements and technological change speed of the age we are in, we can say that it is a very important area. I also aim to make innovations in the field of service design in the future. The scholarship in America will contribute a lot to me”.

I GOT HAPPY and PROUD

Asst. Prof. Sayar stated the following: “Being awarded with this scholarship made me very happy. I will return to Turkey by making the best of this opportunity presented to me. I aim to prepare my new projects in my country. While doing my research, I will also benefit from the advanced facilities in America. Under normal circumstances, I would go earlier, but due to coronavirus, my travel to America was delayed until February. This year only 12 people received scholarships in Turkey. Being one of these people also made me proud. I would also like to thank our university administration and academicians who supported me at Izmir University of Economics and encouraged me about the work I intend to do.”