Istanbul Ticaret University Faculty of Business hosted Prof. Dr. Rui Alexandre Castanho, known for his international work in the fields of sustainable development and regional development. Castanho shared his academic experiences during a talk held with all research assistants of the Faculty.
The programme was held on 8 October 2026 at Istanbul Ticaret University Faculty of Business. As part of the programme, academic meetings were held with the participation of Prof. Dr. Rui Alexandre Castanho, Dean of the Faculty of Business Prof. Dr. Rahmi Deniz Özbay, Head of the Department of International Trade (English) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cihat Köksal, and Prof. Dr. Sema Yılmaz Genç from the Department of Economics at Yıldız Technical University. Subsequently, a 1.5-hour question-and-answer session was held with all research assistants of the Faculty of Business. During the interactive part of the programme, the research assistants shared their master’s and doctoral studies with Castanho.
The programme was organized as part of the Faculty of Business’s efforts to strengthen international academic interaction and research collaborations. The aim was to share international academic experience with young researchers, develop scientific communication networks, and explore new opportunities for collaboration across different disciplines.
The talk addressed topics including career planning for early-career academics, scientific publishing strategies, specialization in research fields, international mobility, academic networking, and transforming scientific studies into contributions to society.
The guest of the programme was Prof. Dr. Rui Alexandre Castanho, who serves as Deputy Coordinator at the VALORIZA Research Centre within the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre in Portugal and as a European Climate Pact Ambassador.
The programme was attended by Istanbul Ticaret University Faculty of Business Dean Prof. Dr. Rahmi Deniz Özbay, Prof. Dr. Sema Yılmaz Genç from the Department of Economics at Yıldız Technical University, Head of the Department of International Trade (English) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cihat Köksal, and all research assistants of the Faculty of Business. The participants consisted of academic staff and research assistants.
During the talk, Prof. Dr. Rui Alexandre Castanho stated that decisions made in an academic career should not be evaluated solely on the basis of short-term circumstances, and recommended that early-career academics develop a distinctive career path in line with their own goals.
Emphasizing that quality should be the primary priority in scientific publishing, Castanho highlighted that rejection in article and project applications is a natural part of scientific production. He drew attention to the importance of researchers’ publications and projects establishing a coherent and interconnected research trajectory over time.
Stating that conferences and scientific meetings offer important opportunities for international collaboration, Castanho recommended transforming research findings into policy briefs that decision-makers can benefit from. He also discussed the research assistants’ work on topics such as deindustrialization, energy security, asset pricing through machine learning, and digital trends in logistics.
At the end of the talk, Castanho expressed his willingness to maintain communication with the research assistants and stated that a foundation had been established for joint publications and scientific collaborations.
