Dr. Merve KAYA
22 Years of Expertise
across 3 Continents
Bachelor’s Degrees in Biology & Agriculture Engineering
- Royal Holloway, University of London (UK) &
- Uludağ University (Türkiye)
Thesis: Plant Tissue Culture Market Research
Master’s Degrees in Plant Nutrition
- Leibniz University Hannover (Germany)
Silicon (Si) effect on rice plant cell walls - Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences (Germany)
Iodine (I) biofortification in vegetables
Ph.D. in Biochemistry
- INRAE -French National Institute of Agriculture
Plant cell walls, biopolymers, pectin, and hydrocolloids
Seconded to CP Kelco (Denmark), Industrial Pectin Production
PostDoc in Agri/Food Entrepreneurship
-European Institute of Innovation and Technology-Food (Belgium)
Sustainable Fish Feed Production
MBA in Food & Agribusiness Management
-Audencia Business School (France)
-ESPM - Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing (Brazil)
Seconded to Weenat (France), Pecision Farming Market Research in Brazil
Seconded to Haute Perche (France), French Wine Marketing Strategies in the US
Science Manager in Digital Agriculture
-Technical University of Munich (Germany)
Vertical Farming, Revolution of Food Production:
A Circular System, Pesticide-Free, Sustainable, and Highly Productive
4o
Work Experience
Executive Management Roles in
Plant Nutrition Industry
• Corporate Communication (Slow-Release Fertilizers) - 1 year
• International Business Development (Biostimulants) - 3 years
• Research and Development (NPK, CAN) - 2 years
- Team Management of up to 15
Awards
Research Fellowships
- Marie Curie PhD Fellowship
- DAAD-Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
- Erasmus Exhange Scholarship
Research Grants
- BMBF -German Federal Ministry of Education
- ERA-MIN – Horizon 2020
- TÜBİTAK- Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (x2)
- Werner Siemens Foundation
Innovation & Professional Fellowships
- EIT-Food Innovator PostDoc Fellowship
- EIT-Food Best Business Idea Award
- Food for Thought MBA Fellowship
PhD THESIS
INRA, FRANCE (2012-2015)
MASTER THESIS
LEIBNIZ HANNOVER UNIVERSITY, GERMANY (2010-2012)
research
Over 30 research items, including
Developing sustainable nutritional strategies, such as using microalgae based biostimulants, in feed systems (clover and fodder mix) was studied.
This study aimed to develop sustainable nutritional strategies, focusing specifically on leveraging microbial (bacteria) based biostimulants in feed systems (silage corn).
The aim of this work was to find out characteristic features of Homogalacturonans along with citrus pectin dissasembly under mild acidic conditions.
LECTURES
Istanbul Kültür University
-Design Thinking
Gadjah Mada Uni., Indonesia
-Functional Foods
Erzurum Atatürk University
-Sustainable Agriculture
National Taiwan University
-Citrus Pectin Structure
panels
EU Tech Chamber
-Green Infrastructure Strategies
Future-Proof Chemical Facilities
MUSIAD Vizyoner Summit
-Digital, Climate, Innovation,
Transformation Awareness
Food, Beverage, and Agriculture Policy Research Center (GIFT)
Boğaziçi University
-Food Innovation Summit
Hacettepe University
-Food Engineering
Student Club
GUEST SPEAKER
CNBC-e
AI in Agriculture
Üniversite TV
Sustainable Agriculture
MARKETING
CNN
Product Ad:
Slow released fertilizer
startup mentorshıp
EIT-Food
Innovator Fellowship
-Best Business Idea Award
Teknopark İstanbul
-Cube Incubation Center
ODTÜ
Jury Member
-Plant-Based Food
R&D Competition
Women Entrepreneur
Association
blogs
Volunteerıng
Fenerbahçe Sports Club
Women's Shelter Foundation
BOOKS
lANGUAGES
German
Goethe-Zertifikat B2 (2024)
French
TCF B2 (2017)
English
IELTS 6.5 (2021)
consultıng
• High-Impact Projects
• Workshops & Training
• Industry-Academia Partnerships
• Research Grant Assistance
• Agricultural Media
• Entrepreneurial Coaching
• International Market Expansion
© 2019