Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Kaya
Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Kaya serves as a faculty member and Head of the Department of Industrial Product Design at the Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University (ITU).
She received her education in Industrial Product Design, completing her bachelor’s and doctoral degrees at Istanbul Technical University, and her master’s degree at the San Francisco Art Institute.
Her research interests include the historical, cultural and social contexts of design, theories and methods in industrial design, and product design. In her academic work, she focuses particularly on topics such as research through design, tacit knowledge, and the interaction between art and design. She also contributes to projects centered on design education and community engagement.
In 2020, she became the first design researcher to receive the METU Prof. Dr. Mustafa Parlar Foundation Research Incentive Award. She also serves as a researcher and evaluator in European Union Framework Programmes.