Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ekrem AKBULUT, a faculty member at Malatya Turgut Özal University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, received his PhD in Bioengineering from Yıldız Technical University Institute of Science and Technology. He worked as a consultant at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, senior member of the Public-University-Industry Cooperation Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, Digital Transformation Consultant at the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, Technical Committee Chairman at the Turkish Standards Institute, R&D Innovation Mentor and Consultant at the Ministry of Industry and Technology, and evaluator at the National Technology General Directorate of the Ministry of Industry and Technology. He is the founder of HIZIR, an early stage entrepreneur support program. He has been involved in the writing and management of more than thirty entrepreneurship projects.

In 2019, he was honored with a certificate of achievement by the Ministry of Industry and Technology for his work in developing the R&D and Innovation ecosystem in Turkey. He has worked as Coordinator and Consultant in more than 100 projects funded by international and national organizations.