Invited Speakers

Topic: Education of the Future and Social Transformation: New Roles with Digital Skills

Prof. Dr. Süleyman Sadi Seferoğlu, currently a faculty member in the field of Educational Technologies at Hacettepe University, began his academic career as a primary school teacher. He completed his undergraduate studies in Radio-TV and Educational Sciences in Ankara. He received his graduate degrees from Columbia University in the United States. At Columbia University, he pursued postdoctoral research on the use of information technologies in education as a researcher at the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST).

Dr. Seferoğlu is presently serving in the Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Faculty of Education, at Hacettepe University.

He has authored numerous books, book chapters, articles, and conference papers at both national and international levels on various dimensions of technology use in education. His research interests include instructional material design, emerging technologies and learning, teacher competencies, technology policies, online learning, mobile learning, information security, pre-service and in-service teacher education, Internet risks and threats, digital addiction, social media, and children and media.

Topic: Family Life: Basic Introduction to Ambiguous Loss Theory

Heather R. Kennedy is an Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska Kearney (UNK) in the Department of Counseling, School Psychology, and Family Science. She joined the UNK in 2022, following seven years at the University of Northern Iowa. She holds a Ph.D. in Human Sciences from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She has been a Licensed Professional Counselor since 2004.
Her research focuses on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and well-being for those in marginalized populations (e.g., LGBTQ+). Her work emphasizes student engagement, critical thinking, and the impact of social policy on well-being.

Topic: Families First: Strengthening Emotional Intelligence as Screen Time Grows
 

Ümüt Arslan is dedicated to advancing research, teaching school counseling courses, and contributing to educational and counseling initiatives.
He earned his bachelor's degree in counseling from Dokuz Eylül University in Turkey, later completing his master's degree in school counseling and a doctoral degree in counselor education and supervision at the University of Montana. Dr. Arslan proudly studied under the supervision of Dr. John Sommers-Flanagan during his master and doctoral program. He has worked as a school counselor and faculty member in both Turkey and the United States.
His research and publications focus on ethics, solution-focused brief therapy, career counseling, mindfulness, and positive psychology. He is a co-editor of the Turkish  Counseling Ethical Codes and Ethical Casebook: Basis Knowledge, Cases and Analysis, and a co-author of The Best Divorce Book.
If the weather is sunny, you might spot him walking between the College of Education and the G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture or on the trail between the Kearney Country Club Golf Course and UNK. On Saturdays, you might see him enjoying with his wife and son at Yanney Park, thanks to the City of Kearney.

Topic: The Collapse of Accelerated and Squezzed Epistemic Systems: Towards Slowed-Down, Optimal & Natural Neuro-Epistemic Paradigms

Dr. Lecturer Mehmet Şirin Demir is a faculty member in the Department of Social Studies Education at the Faculty of Education, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University (YYÜ), and also serves as the Director of the YYÜ Information Transfer Research and Application Center.

After graduating from the Department of English Language Education at Atatürk University, Kazım Karabekir Faculty of Education (1986–1990), he worked for three years as an English teacher within the Ministry of National Education. He then worked for nearly 20 years as a lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature at the Faculty of Letters, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University.

He completed his master's degree in the field of American Literature and his Ph.D. in the field of Educational Sciences, specializing in neuroeducation.

Our esteemed scholar has been diligently engaging with and following the scientific and intellectual agenda of the 21st century in English for over 30 years. He constantly navigates and reads across multiple disciplines, particularly focusing on interdisciplinary perspectives, research, and discoveries related to the neurosciences.

Therefore, with the permission of you esteemed guests, we hope that you will attach great significance to the unconventional and non-linear insights or manifestos that he will present — well beyond the bounds of traditional educational paradigms — and that you will contribute to the synergy of the conference.