Doç. Dr. Gökçe Dervişoğlu Okandan

Education and Academic Background She completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Economics and Business at Istanbul and Innsbruck Universities. She pursued her doctoral studies at Istanbul University on “the relationship between art and management,” with support from the Copenhagen Business School Center for Arts and Leadership. She conducted her postdoctoral research at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies on a TÜBİTAK fellowship and subsequently earned associate professorship. Academic Positions 2015–2022: Director of Istanbul Bilgi University’s Cultural Management and LITE (Technology and Innovation Management) Graduate Programs. Academic Career: After 16 years of academic and administrative duties at Istanbul Bilgi University, she served as faculty at Sharjah and Berlin. Consultancy and Strategy Experience 2004–2006: Provided long-term consultancy on strategic management and scenario techniques to Türkiye’s leading companies. 2006–present: Designed and facilitated participatory meetings for civil society organizations, artist initiatives, national and international artist support programs, cultural policy programs, and women’s entrepreneurship programs. 2018–2022: Moderated the “Spaces of Culture” cultural management trainings organized by İKSV and supported by Goethe-Institut, Institut Français, and the Swedish and Dutch embassies. International Institutional Memberships and Consultancies Member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA). Academic advisor to YEKON (Creative Economies Council). Member of the İBB Istanbul Planning Agency (IPA) Vision 2050 Cultural Policy Working Group and consultant for the UNESCO Creative Cities Network Design City Istanbul initiative. Currently serves as academic advisor to Tiyatro Kooperatifi and Türkiye Jazz Network. As a member of the UNESCO German Commission U40 Network, she began advocacy work on the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions before Türkiye ratified the convention. In recent years, she has supported the National Commission’s Special Expertise Unit on digitization. Research and Publications Conducts research on innovation and sustainability in creative fields (especially art and design) and on creative entrepreneurship, contributing to international networks as author and mentor. New Publication: Her book “Resilience in the Ecosystem of Theatre—New Perspectives for the Independent Performing Arts,” co-authored with Prof. Wolfgang Schneider, was published by Peter Lang Verlag in 2025. Impact Work and Projects Within UNESCO, she was selected for the “UNESCO/EU Culture2030” cultural indicators expert pool and represents Türkiye in evidence-based work. Co-designer of the 3dots Acceleration Program and continues to mentor the Bozcaada Jazz Festival, a pioneer in impact measurement among cultural institutions. Co-founder of Culture Unleashed, a decentralized platform for culture and creative industries. Recent Achievements (2026) As of February 2026, she completed her role as Key Expert on the EU-funded “INSPIRE—Capacity Building for the Just Transition of the Creative Economy in Türkiye” project, implemented by a consortium of GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation), ATÖLYE, and Goethe-Institut under the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Industry and Technology. In this capacity, she developed an evidence-based national policy framework for creative industries and designed capacity-building programs for policymakers. Selected as a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader and accepted as a Salzburg Global Fellow in the Salzburg Global Seminar’s “Creating Futures” program.