TASSA 2008 Annual Conference Program

April 11-13, 2008
Harvard Medical School Conference Center
Boston, Massachusetts / USA

Conference Booklet (in pdf format). TASSA 2008 presentation and panel videos are now available online.

Conference Theme: Innovation as Driver for Social Transformation and Economic Growth

In an era of rapid globalization in social sciences, arts, technology, and healthcare, innovation has become a major source of economic growth for all nations. New ideas and technologies are changing how we live our lives and how we impact the socioeconomic fabric of our environment. As a very young and dynamic country, Turkey has recently shown an increasing interest in innovation in all sectors. Finance and investment sectors are booming with many creative ideas, universities are keenly interested in playing a major role in innovation and entrepreneurship, the role of R&D is exponentially growing in industry, philanthropy is becoming a common source of development in a number of sectors, there is an unprecedented growth in the involvement of communities in arts and humanities. In order to take advantage of this organic growth in innovation in Turkey and given the leadership role of the United States in innovation, TASSA decided to focus the theme of the fourth annual conference on the broader aspects of innovation and the annual meeting is entitled "Innovation as Driver for Social Transformation and Economic Growth."

The conference will start with a reception on Friday, April 11th, 2008 at 7:00pm. The scientific sessions will start on Saturday, April 12th, after a continental breakfast, and continue until 12:00 noon on Sunday, April 13th. The conference structure will create ample opportunities for meet and greet, and small group discussions. The keynote and plenary speakers will share with the attendees their experiences in innovation from various perspectives. The discussion panels and discussants will provide a platform conducive to discussions and questions and answers. Topics of high importance such as energy, environment, healthcare, management, arts and humanities, will be discussed.

Conference Chairs

Conference Honorary Chair
Kenan Sahin , PhD TIAX LLC

Conference Chair
Mehmet Toner, PhD Harvard University

Conference Co-Chair
Banu Onaral, PhD Drexel University

Conference Local Chair
Yaman Yener, PhD Northeastern University

Tentative Program Schedule

{Please visit this site frequently for program updates}

TASSA-TCA Joint Workshop on Innovation in Grassroots Politics

Chair and Presenter: Lincoln McCurdy, President, Turkish Coalition of America

Women's Leadership Workshop

Chair: Sema Basol, Leader, Global Women's Leadership Network, and Santa Clara University
Linda Alepin, Founding Director, Global Women's Leadership Network, and Dean's Professor of Entrepreneurship, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University
Nakiye Boyacigiller, Dean, Sabanci University
Funda Serifoglu, President, Duzce University

TASSA-ITS Joint Workshop on Financing Innovation
Chair: Sezer lk, Georgetown University
Feyzi Çelik, CEO, Onepin
Vedat Eyüboglu, Airvana
Ahmet Özalp, Atlas Ventures
Hilmi zg*, Maven Networks

Immigration Law Workshop
Chair and Presenter: Cigdem Acar, Acar Law Firm

Forum: Young Turkish Scholars Meet the Presidents
Young Scholar Presenters:
Ragip Akbas, Stanford University
Alptekin Aksan, University of Minnesota
Hatice Altug, Boston University (Co-Chair)
Melis Anahtar, MIT
Utkan Demirci, Harvard-MIT (Co-Chair)
Can Erdogan, MIT
Hür Köser, Yale University
Hande Özdinler, Harvard University
Özgür Sahin, Harvard University

Documentaries
An Airplane Factory in Besiktas - Savas Güvezne
Women Who Dare - Binnur Karaevli

*confirmation pending