Meet Professor Gokce Basbug
- SKKGSB
- Hit7208
- 2020-07-14
My name is Gokce Basbug. I am from Turkey. For my education, I first studied psychology in Turkey, and then I went to the United States for my PhD degree. I received my PhD from MIT Sloan School of Management. I study work and employment issues.
My main hobby is playing soccer. I’ve been playing soccer since I was five years old. Here, in Seoul, I’m a member of Seoul Sports Social. I play regularly with my friends from this group. I am very happy to be part of it. We not only play soccer but also meet regularly for drinks.
It is a cliché but real. Turkey can be defined as a bridge between Europe and Asia. It is not only located between these two continents but also it possesses cultural ingredients from both continents, combines them and produces a unique culture of its own. The Seoul of Turkey is Istanbul, which is the most populous city and the heart of the country. Istanbul has a huge historical background going back to 5000 BC. As a person who has had the chance to see many cities around the world, I can say Istanbul is one of the most beautiful ones.
My first feeling when I visited for the job talk was feeling like at home. People on the street, their attitudes and behaviors, the design of streets and buildings made me feel like I was at home. When I went back to Boston after the talk, the first thing I told my wife was that she would feel at home if we end up living in Korea. And now it turns out that I was true. She is really enjoying here. She attended SKKU’s Korean Language Program. Thanks to the program, now she can easily communicate in Korean and help me figure things out sometimes.
I visited Jeju with my wife. It was a great experience. We like quiet places, so we decided to visit during the Winter break. We walked around, ate a lot of seafood, and did some hiking. We really enjoyed it and we are looking forward to visiting again.
Sometimes Korean. I don’t have any problem communicating with people on the street, in a shop, or at a restaurant. You can easily interact with people using your body language. But, sometimes, when I have some work to do at a bank or at a hospital, it sometimes becomes difficult to understand each other.
My most memorable event was when I finished my first semester of teaching and read my first students’ feedback about me and the class. As a junior professor who just completed his first teaching experience, those words of my students were big gifts to me. I still get emotional when I remember that.
My priority in my career at this point is to publish papers in academic journals. This will not only help me build my identity as a scholar but also contribute to my school’s prestige and reputation.
To me, education is a process of discovering and learning together. I don’t believe in the idea that the teacher is the sole giver and the student is the sole receiver. I think this approach does not fit into a graduate school. Graduate programs such as Master’s or PhD programs are places where teachers and students need to produce knowledge together. Therefore, I really expect my students to transform from being a consumer of knowledge to a producer of knowledge and to be part of the knowledge creation process.
"I can advise them to invest in themselves as much as possible by gaining new knowledge and capabilities.
This is the time for them to furnish themselves with new skills.
After graduation, because of work or family issues, they may not have the time and strength to invest in themselves.
So, take advantage of these school years as much as possible.”
Lead more story in SungKyunWebzine: https://webzine.skku.edu/skkuzine/section/people02.do