Zoom – July 29, 2025: Akademische Solidarität e.V. hosted a virtual “Experience Sharing Meeting: Becoming Researcher/Lecturer at University” on the evening of July 29, 2025. The online event, which attracted around 80 participants via Zoom, featured four Turkish academics as guest speakers. Each shared their journey of building a new academic or research career abroad, offering insights into the challenges and strategies for continuing academic life in a foreign country. The speakers were:
- Dr. Zekeriya Aktürk – a medical doctor and researcher,
- Dr. Lokman Alpsoy – a researcher in chemistry and biology,
- Dr. Sena Arslan – a specialist nurse, and
- Dr. Burhan Cevik – an expert speaking on IT/software sector career pathways.
Below, we summarize each speaker’s background and key insights from their talks.
Dr. Zekeriya Aktürk: Reestablishing a Medical Research Career in Germany
Dr. Zekeriya Aktürk, one of Turkey’s first professors in family medicine, recounted how political turmoil disrupted his career and how he rebuilt it in Germany. In the aftermath of the July 2016 events in Turkey, Dr. Aktürk was dismissed from his university position by an emergency decree (KHK) despite an illustrious career as a medical academic. He described this period as a painful professional reset; at one point, he even faced a 14-month imprisonment for his alleged ties – an experience that forced him into an “exile” from Turkish academia (this context was alluded to in his remarks).
In 2020, at 55, Dr. Aktürk moved to Germany to start over. He was accepted as a researcher at the Institute of Family Medicine at Munich University (LMU) in 2020. He later joined the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Augsburg, where he now works as a scientific staff member in General Practice. Within a few years, he re-earned his medical specialist credentials in Germany, regaining the right to practice and even to open or lead a clinic. He noted with pride that “I showed that I attained my career through merit, not favoritism, by climbing the same ladder again 24 years later” – a pointed message toward those who had undermined his achievements in Turkey.
Dr. Aktürk’s story highlighted several key strategies for success abroad. First, he emphasized the crucial importance of language proficiency. He recalled his preparation for German medical qualification exams and said, “The key to practicing your profession abroad is learning the language”. He credited that he had learned German earlier in life, and even taught German courses while in Turkey, giving him a head start in integrating into the German system.
Dr. Aktürk underscored the value of leveraging one’s expertise to address global issues. He has turned his personal experience into a research focus: at University of Augsburg his interests include migration research, and he is actively studying the ongoing exodus of healthcare professionals from Turkey. During the meeting, he shared some broader context from his work: over 7,000 academics were purged from Turkish universities by emergency decrees after 2016, and in the last few years, more than 4,000 Turkish doctors have left the country for better opportunities abroad. These sobering statistics gave participants a sense of the scale of Turkey’s brain drain, while Dr. Aktürk’s journey provided a hopeful example of overcoming it. He stressed that adaptability, continuous learning, and maintaining professional confidence were vital. Despite starting from scratch in a new country, Dr. Aktürk managed to reclaim his status as a specialist physician and researcher, an achievement he hoped would inspire others facing similar obstacles.
Dr. Lokman Alpsoy: From a Closed University to Cutting-Edge Research in Europe
Dr. Lokman Alpsoy shared his journey from being a senior academic in Turkey to reinventing himself as a researcher in Germany. Before 2016, Dr. Alpsoy was the Dean of the Institute of Health Sciences and Head of the Biology Department at Fatih University in Istanbul. (Fatih University was a well-regarded private university until Erdogan shut it down in 2016.) The sudden closure of his university amid the post-2016 purges left Dr. Alpsoy, like thousands of other scholars, without an institution. He described the uncertainty and loss of identity of seeing an academic career in Turkey abruptly cut short.
Determined to continue his scientific work, Dr. Alpsoy sought opportunities abroad. He eventually moved to Germany and is now an Associate Professor and researcher at the University of Freiburg. At Freiburg’s Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK), he leads a research project on innovative biomaterials – specifically, hydrogel-bead-based carriers for potential cancer research and diagnosis. This role allows him to apply his molecular biology and chemistry expertise to cutting-edge interdisciplinary research. Dr. Alpsoy noted that transitioning into a new research environment was challenging at first – he had to familiarize himself with new labs and funding systems – but his strong publication record and experience in Turkey helped him secure his position in Germany. He has published over 60 scientific papers and is cited nearly 1,600 times, reflecting his continued productivity in exile.
A significant theme of Dr. Alpsoy’s talk was the importance of professional networks and mentorship. He highlighted how joining support programs for displaced academics eased his integration. For example, he participated in a mentorship initiative through Academics at Risk e.V., a German-based solidarity organization for endangered scholars. Dr. Alpsoy warmly encouraged others to seek mentorship and community support, noting that “you are not alone – there are networks out there devoted to helping scientists like us continue our work in a free and safe environment”.
During the Q&A, Dr. Alpsoy also discussed the need to adapt one’s expertise to the host country’s priorities. In his case, he pivoted from teaching and administrative leadership in Turkey to focusing almost exclusively on research in Germany. “I went from being a dean to being a lab scientist again,” he said, smiling, emphasizing that no task is too humble when rebuilding a career. He advised fellow academics to be flexible: “Be ready to wear different hats. You might have been a professor or manager back home; you may start as a postdoc or technician abroad. Embrace it as a learning experience.”
Dr. Sena Arslan: Empowering Health Professionals Beyond Borders
Dr. Sena Arslan offered insights from the perspective of a health sciences researcher, particularly for non-physician health professionals looking to advance their careers internationally. Initially trained in Turkey, Dr. Arslan was involved in health research and education there – for instance, she contributed to studies on nursing and patient care in Turkish institutions in 2016. However, like many colleagues, her early career was disrupted by the instability in the Turkish higher education sector. Determined to continue her academic path, she relocated to the Netherlands to pursue further training and research.
Since 2018, Dr. Arslan has been a researcher in the Department of Public Health and Internal Medicine at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands. She focuses on nursing education, patient self-management, and palliative care support. Her publications span issues like the effects of sleep deprivation on nurses’ heart health and the self-efficacy of nurse practitioners in supporting patients. Dr. Arslan’s success abroad is also a testament to international solidarity programs: she received support from the Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF), which helped fund her research and integrate her into the Dutch academic community. She explained that grants and fellowships aimed explicitly at at-risk scholars can provide a crucial bridge to opportunities in Europe.
In her presentation, Dr. Arslan addressed unique challenges faced by non-physician health professionals migrating abroad. Unlike physicians, whose qualifications often have clear paths to recognition, professionals like nurses, laboratory technicians, or public health experts may find their credentials less straightforward to transfer. She recounted how she had to not only learn a new language (Dutch) but also sometimes “re-prove” her expertise through additional certifications and a PhD program to gain equivalence in Europe. One key advice she gave was to pursue advanced degrees or specializations abroad as a gateway into the system. For example, enrolling in a master’s or PhD program can improve one’s qualifications and serve as a stepping stone to employment.
Dr. Arslan also highlighted the importance of soft skills and cultural adaptation. She noted that healthcare practices and workplace cultures can differ significantly between Turkey and Western Europe. For instance, nursing roles in the Netherlands are highly empowered in clinical decision-making, which requires her to adjust her approach and encourage Turkish-trained colleagues to gain these competencies. She stressed continuous professional development: “Be open to learning new protocols, new technologies, and even new ways of communicating with patients and colleagues,” she said. By doing so, non-physician professionals can excel and bring valuable perspectives from their home country.
Dr. Burhan Cevik – Integrating into Universities in Germany
After many years of working as a physics teacher, Dr. Burhan Cevik developed an interest in information technology and computer science later in his career. While still teaching physics, he completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in these fields. Before he was forced to leave Turkey, he had already started working in the field of software engineering at a university.
Dr. Cevik works in the fields of virtual reality environments, haptic interfaces, and robotic arms. Especially in Germany, due to the scarcity of scientists with expertise in all three areas, he received quick responses to his previous job applications. During his second application process, he signed a contract with the university he interviewed with.
Later, he began applying for positions on a project basis and, following his first contract, signed a second one. He is currently working on a project that he proposed himself, which has received approximately 1.6 million euros in funding. In this project, he collaborated with his university of applied sciences (Hochschule), two companies, and a university hospital.
Based on his experiences, he emphasized the importance of reviewing project calls announced across Germany or the European Union and generating innovative and original ideas in response to these calls. He also highlighted that summarizing these ideas in a short and clear text, sharing them with a professor in the relevant field at a university, and clearly expressing one’s motivation are highly effective steps in securing an academic position.
He noted that starting a position at a university also opens up teaching opportunities for academics. In this context, Dr. Cevik has taught Backend and Frontend courses to undergraduate students and is currently teaching the Haptic Interfaces course to graduate students.
Dr. Cevik advises fellow academics not to be shy and not to see the language barrier as an insurmountable wall. He encourages them to continue learning the language while simultaneously applying for academic positions, and not to lose motivation if they receive negative responses. He stated that if he had not taken this approach himself, he would not be in his current position today.
He also emphasized that receiving support from trusted colleagues who have already gone through similar experiences can be extremely helpful along the way.
“Despite its softness and fluidity, the main reason a drop of water can wear away marble is its continuous dripping on the same spot.”
From Purge to Renewal: Gold Will Not Tarnish in Exile
Since 2016, more than 7,000 academics have been dismissed from Turkish universities through emergency decrees, part of a broader political purge that has disrupted thousands of careers and lives. Despite this, the stories in the “Experience Sharing Meeting” reveal how many highly qualified individuals have successfully rebuilt academic lives across Europe. Drawing on their expertise, resilience, and adaptability, they have secured new roles in research and education, often contributing to their host countries while maintaining academic ties to Turkey. Their achievements highlight both the tragedy of the forced exodus and the potential for renewal when talent is supported by solidarity and opportunity.
