I’m a fourth year PhD student in Computer Science at UCC. Before joining Insight, I received my BSc and MSc degrees in Industrial Engineering from Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey. My PhD studies are supervised by Prof. S. Armagan Tarim and Prof. Barry O’Sullivan. My research interests include supply chain management, inventory management, optimisation, and AI/ML applications in these areas. Currently, I’m working on developing various heuristics for the optimisation of perishable inventory systems and the inventory routing problem.
What do you most enjoy about your research with Insight?
I enjoy doing research and working on my research interests. Academic research has always fascinated me since it allows me to apply the previous knowledge into my research area, to deal with various challenges, and finally to make a contribution to this area by coming up with new and original ideas and methods.
Insight provides us with an excellent research environment (lab, computers, servers, access to the literature etc.). It has very knowledgeable colleagues and strong global connections with academia and the industry. Moreover, the events and seminars organised by Insight can be inspiring for new research ideas and also provide good opportunities to create a network with the researchers well-known in their area or working on similar areas.
People are very friendly and nice to each other in Insight. It makes me more eager to share and discuss the research ideas with the colleagues and the supervisors without hesitation. The friendly approach of the people in Insight makes it easier to get new friends and to avoid feeling loneliness.
What is the most challenging aspect of doing a PhD?
In PhD, we own all of our time. It is actually a big challenge, since it requires outstanding time management skills and we have limited time. To maintain an efficient research process, it is necessary to develop a habit of balancing the time for research, teaching, hobbies and socialising while dealing with the time pressure.
As a person who started PhD remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I particularly found studying remotely challenging, since beginning to study too far away from the office, colleagues, supervisors, etc., requires extra time management skills and extra effort to maintain focus and efficiency.
Another challenging aspect is that the PhD research is “open ended” and subject to unexpected and disappointing results. By “open-ended”, I mean it is possible that after a long time of research all the study may become garbage and we lose several months or even years if we fail to achieve our expected output. The stress of waiting for a paper submission decision is also a challenging aspect.
When you’re not working on your PhD, what pastimes do you enjoy?
In my spare time, I enjoy doing sports activities, such as working out at the gym, wall climbing, archery, and cycling. Other than that, I like going hiking in West Cork and the nearby seaside towns.
