OzU AI Platform Kicked Off 2026 with Strong Momentum

The OzU AI Platform Meeting, hosted by Özyeğin University, provided a comprehensive forum to address the economic, cultural, and corporate implications of artificial intelligence technologies. The event gathered Turkey’s leading business executives, academics, and technology experts to discuss key themes, including the rise of Agentic AI, value creation in AI investments, data integration, cultural transformation, and leadership in the age of AI.

Distinguished figures from various sectors attended the event, including: Hüsnü M. Özyeğin, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Özyeğin University; Prof. Barış Tan, President of Özyeğin University; Batur Can, CEO of Fiba Retail Group; Berrin Özselçuk, Country Manager of Amazon Web Services Turkey; Evren Dereci, CEO of KoçDigital; Gürhan Kök, CEO of Invent Analytics; Hanzade Doğan, Chairperson of Doğan Group; Nevra Onursal Karaağaç, CEO of Hitit; Asst. Prof. Dr. Oğuzhan Aygören, Director of the Center for Business Innovation at UC Berkeley; and Todd James, CEO of Aurora Insights.

In his opening address, Prof. Barış Tan highlighted the university’s commitment to AI, noting that over 100 courses this semester are AI-focused. He stated that the university has initiated a comprehensive expansion process, involving the recruitment of 50 new faculty members and 100 visiting academics to bolster research and collaborations. Rector Tan emphasized that the OzU AI Platform has rapidly grown to enhance knowledge and experience sharing across different sectors, providing a foundation for sustainable interaction that will continue through future summits.

Following the opening remarks, Hanzade Doğan addressed the attendees during the session titled “AI as an Economic Driver” moderated by Asst. Prof. Ayşe Çetinel. Doğan stated, “While the internet revolution was a distribution transformation, artificial intelligence is redefining how we work and employ people; this requires robust transformative leadership that goes beyond mere technology investments. 2025 was the year of Agentic AI; 2026 is expected to be the year of Orchestrator Agents.”

The program continued with the session titled “AI and The Future of Retail.” In the first segment, Todd James shared insights on the transformation driven by AI in the retail sector. Subsequently, a panel moderated by Asst. Prof. Oğuzhan Aygören featured James and Prof. Gürhan Kök, who evaluated topics such as demand forecasting, inventory optimization, personalized customer experience, and operational efficiency using practical application examples.

The subsequent panel, “Return on AI nvestments” featured Berrin Özselçuk, Nevra Onursal Karaağaç, and Batur Can, moderated by Evren Dereci. They discussed the metrics for measuring ROI in AI projects and scaling dynamics based on their industry experiences.

For more information: https://aix.ozyegin.edu.tr