Handan Odaman Uşaklıgil

Handan Odaman Uşaklıgil graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Psychology, with a High Honor degree. She earned her master’s degree in Cognitive Psychology from the same university and worked as research assistant. Over the course of her undergraduate and graduate studies, she actively contributed to research in the areas involving autobiographical memory, attentional processes, collective memory, self-concept and related cognitive processes, cross-cultural cognitive differences and life scripts, as well as music cognition. Afterwards, Uşaklıgil joined Baltaş Group, as being responsible for research and development processes. Her primary focus of research included learning through simulation, entrepreneurship, value-action gap in personal and work life, stress and emotion regulation, together with competency and personality assessments. She served as the R&D Director of ‘Digital Economy e-Commerce Summit and Expo’ organized by e-Baltaş. In collaboration with Professor Zuhal Baltaş, she developed GİN’O, designed to measure individuals’ entrepreneurial and innovative attributes, thereby contributing to companies’ innovation strategies. She served on the editorial board of Kaynak—a quarterly publication by Baltaş Group that provides scientific insights into core business topics—and managed the magazine’s editorial process. She voluntarily worked as the member of TEGEP’s ‘Organizational Learning Benchmark Study Analysis and Coordination Committee’ for a period of time. Being one of the founding members of Nudge Network Türkiye, she designed and conducted nudge workshops in various projects, organized nudge design meetings, continued to create and edit digital content shared on the network’s website and social media channels. She led the team work in the development process of Personova, Türkiye’s leading personality inventory, designed to meet the 21^st century demands of the business world. As part of the collaboration with Enocta, she developed and launched new-generation learning packages that facilitated employees’ and managers’ adaptation to the evolving business world, while she served both as a content developer and subject matter expert. She supported Baltaş Group’s innovative initiatives by actively participating in the design of new in-class training programs. She conducted a comprehensive study of the Baltaş General Aptitude Test (BEYT) and managed the expansion of the question pool through a detailed analysis process based on diversity and difficulty levels. Additionally, she ensured inspiring discussions as she introduced distinguished guest speakers and moderated live sessions for Business and Psychology events, which were held regularly since the pandemic. Uşaklıgil contributed to Harvard Business Review Türkiye and Popüler Bilim magazines with multiple articles. She took part together with the internationally recognized experts featured in ‘Dedektif Duru Gerçeğin Peşinde (Detective Duru in Search of the Truth)’ the first children’s book in Türkiye published to raise awareness about healthy eating and media literacy under experts’ guidance. Together with Professor Acar Baltaş, she co-authored ‘İlk İşim-Gerçek Yaşamdan Öyküler (My First Job-Stories from Real Life)’ the first local publication to bring together real-life first-job experiences across various sectors, highlighting the importance of acquiring life skills at an early stage. Uşaklıgil continues her work in organizational field. In addition to her voluntary engagements with various organizations, she is a member of the Turkish Psychological Association, European Association of Personality Psychology, and Academy of Management.