Keynote Speakers
Prof. Dr. Joern Birkmann
Head of the Institute of Spatial Planning and Regional Development, The University of Stuttgart
Prof. Dr. Joern Birkmann
Head of the Institute of Spatial Planning and Regional Development, The University of Stuttgart
Prof. Dr. Joern Birkmann is head of the Institute of Spatial Planning and Regional Development at the University of Stuttgart in Germany. He is one of the Coordinating Lead Authors for the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was presented to governments in March 2022. He has also been a Lead Author for the fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC and the IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risk of Extreme Events. His research focuses on urban development, spatial planning, and complex risks and vulnerabilities in the context of extreme events and climate change.
Among other projects, he is coordinating a larger research project to support the reconstruction process of regions affected by the summer floods in 2021 in Germany that killed about 180 people. Birkmann’s research includes new methods for dealing with the challenges of societal and environmental change in the global North and South. For example, he is conducting research on the dynamics and linkages of cities and climate (ERC-funded Synergy Grant).
Prof. Birkmann, born in Bielefeld in 1972, studied spatial planning at the University of Dortmund and obtained his doctorate on the topic of “Monitoring Sustainable Spatial Development.” From 2004 to 2014, Birkmann worked at the Institute for Environment and Human Security at the United Nations University. Since 2014, he has been head of the Institute of Spatial and Regional Planning at the University of Stuttgart, Germany.
Among other projects, he is coordinating a larger research project to support the reconstruction process of regions affected by the summer floods in 2021 in Germany that killed about 180 people. Birkmann’s research includes new methods for dealing with the challenges of societal and environmental change in the global North and South. For example, he is conducting research on the dynamics and linkages of cities and climate (ERC-funded Synergy Grant).
Prof. Birkmann, born in Bielefeld in 1972, studied spatial planning at the University of Dortmund and obtained his doctorate on the topic of “Monitoring Sustainable Spatial Development.” From 2004 to 2014, Birkmann worked at the Institute for Environment and Human Security at the United Nations University. Since 2014, he has been head of the Institute of Spatial and Regional Planning at the University of Stuttgart, Germany.
Prof. Dr. Serap Kayasü
Middle East Technical University, Faculty Member of the Department of City and Regional Planning
Prof. Dr. Serap Kayasü
Middle East Technical University, Faculty Member of the Department of City and Regional Planning
Prof. Dr. Serap Kayasü is a faculty member in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Middle East Technical University (METU). She completed her undergraduate studies in the Department of City and Regional Planning at METU, earned her Master’s degree at the University of Waterloo in Canada, and obtained her Ph.D. in the same department at METU. Currently, she continues her academic endeavors in this department and served as a visiting professor at the University of Waterloo during the 2017-2018 academic year. Between 2003 and 2009, she held the position of Vice Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at METU and was a founding member of the Architecture Research Design Planning and Application Center (MATPUM) and the METU Faculty of Architecture Alumni Association (OMIM). Prof. Dr. Kayasü also served as the Head of the Department from 2020 to 2023 and is presently the coordinator of the Master's program in City Planning. Prof. Dr. Kayasü has played a pivotal role in organizing various national and international conferences. Notably, she co-hosted the Local Development and Governance Symposium in 2006 in collaboration with TEPAV and the METU Faculty of Architecture. In 2012, she organized the Doctoral Workshop as part of the annual congress of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP). Her expertise was also sought by the World Bank in 2008, where she provided consultancy on Governance Approaches and Local Development in Turkey. In 2023, she organized the AGORA Planning Students Meeting on Resilient Cities under the auspices of the METU Department of City and Regional Planning, a groundbreaking event that involved all planning schools in Turkey. Her research interests encompass urban geography paradigms, institutionalization in planning, resilient cities, women and the city, urban agriculture, and local economic development policies. Prof. Dr. Kayasü has made significant contributions to these fields through her extensive research, publishing numerous books, book chapters, and articles in both English and Turkish. Her notable work, "Local Economic Development and Enhancing Competitiveness: Development Agencies," based on research conducted for the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce in 2003, was published just before the establishment of Development Agencies in Turkey. Internationally, she contributed to the "Policies and Practices in Urban Development: Gentrification 2.0" project from 2013 to 2017 within the Urban Europe Joint Project Initiative, one of the first TÜBİTAK ARBIS-supported projects in Turkey. Nationally, her research includes the "Ankara Urban Agriculture Strategy" for the Ankara Development Agency between 2019 and 2020, which is the first urban agriculture strategy study in Turkey.
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Eryılmaz
University of Health Sciences & Chairman of the Board of the Disaster Research Association
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Eryılmaz
University of Health Sciences & Chairman of the Board of the Disaster Research Association
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Eryılmaz, genel cerrahi ve harp cerrahisi uzmanıdır. SBÜ Gülhane EAH Genel Cerrahi Kliniği'nde öğretim üyesi ve klinik idari sorumlusu olarak görev yapmaktadır. 2011 yılında ABD Brown Üniversitesi’nden Afet Tıbbı Uzmanlığı almış, 2016'da Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyoloji Bölümü'nden mezun olmuştur. Afet Araştırmaları Derneği, Ankara Cerrahi Derneği ve Ulusal Travma ve Acil Cerrahi Derneği gibi çeşitli sivil toplum kuruluşlarında yönetim kurulu başkanı olarak görev yapmaktadır. Afet tıbbı alanında önemli çalışmalara imza atan Eryılmaz, Afet Tıbbı Kaynak Kitabı’nın editörlüğünü yapmış, 2006'da Ulusal Afet Dergisi'nin kurucu editörü olmuştur. 2009 yılında uluslararası "Prehospital Trauma Medical Management Course" direktörlüğünü üstlenen Eryılmaz, 2017'den itibaren Ulusal Travma ve Acil Cerrahi Derneği'nin Travma ve Resüsitasyon Kursu Türkiye Ulusal Direktörü ve ilgili kurs kitabının editörüdür. Ayrıca Ulusal Travma ve Acil Cerrahi Dergisi'nin editör yardımcısı ve yayın koordinatörüdür. Afet yönetimi, triyaj, inovasyon ve sinerjik çalışma yöntemleri üzerine çalışmalar yürüten Eryılmaz, Afet Araştırmaları Derneği bünyesinde 100’ü aşkın akademisyenle birlikte günlük durum ve ihtiyaç raporları hazırlamaktadır. Afet yönetiminde çözümün Türkiye Afet Akademisi’nin kurulması ve vatandaşlara triyaj eğitimi verilmesiyle mümkün olacağına inanmaktadır.
