Ulaş Akın

Dr., Founding Partner, Urban εκοSystems Lab

Ulaş Akın is an impact entrepreneur and the founding partner of ekorteL- Urban εκοSystems Lab, an innovation catalyst platform.

He holds B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Istanbul Technical University, and studied "urban management” and “urban governance" at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He involved in spatial and sectoral planning projects at various scales; Istanbul Metropolitan Area, Thrace Sub-Region and Marmara geographical region in Turkey, and contributed to local government associations’ network in the Balkans (NALAS), European Union’s FP6 and FP7 Research and Development Programs, UN-Habitat’s Global Future Cities, and World Bank’s Sustainable Cities Programs. He’s been consulting on localizing UN SDGs.

He has publications on urban energy efficiency, smart city policies, urban agriculture, urban information and communication technologies (ICTs) and multi-level coordination. He is a guest lecturer in universities in Turkey, Europe and the USA and thesis advisor. Dr. Ulaş Akın is a member of the MARUF19 and MARUF21 Steering Committee.