Dr. Çağla Gül Şenkardeş

Dr. Çağla Gül Şenkardeş is a Turkish academic, technology strategist and entrepreneur whose work spans blockchain technology, token economies, digital transformation, sustainability and inclusion. She is a Founding Board Member of Istanbul Blockchain Women, a nonprofit association established in 2018 to increase women's participation and visibility in blockchain and related technologies. She also founded Durugörü, a consultancy focused on strategy and digital transformation, and serves as a faculty member at Istanbul Bilgi University, where she leads the Entrepreneurship in Technology and Innovation program. Her work combines industry experience with interdisciplinary research into the social and economic implications of emerging technologies, including academic work developing a cryptofeminist framework for examining gender within blockchain and crypto ecosystems.

About Çağla Gül Şenkardeş

Dr. Çağla Gül Şenkardeş's career reflects an interdisciplinary progression from mechanical engineering into business, digital transformation, technology strategy, academia and blockchain research. This trajectory informs her current work across education, community building and scholarship. Her professional identity is distinct from the organizations she is affiliated with — Istanbul Bilgi University, Istanbul Blockchain Women, Durugörü and the Blockchain Turkey Platform are separate entities, and her roles within each are described individually below.

Education

According to her official Istanbul Bilgi University academic profile, Şenkardeş's educational background includes:

• PhD, Communications — Istanbul Bilgi University
• MSc, m-MBA — Sabancı University
• MSc, Business Administration — Istanbul University
• MSc, Mechanical Engineering — Yıldız Technical University
• BSc, Mechanical Engineering — Yıldız Technical University

Her doctoral research in communications at Istanbul Bilgi University oriented her work toward the intersection of technology, society and gender. This interdisciplinary foundation — engineering, business and communication studies — underpins her later blockchain and technology-strategy work.

From Engineering to Technology Strategy

Şenkardeş began her academic path in mechanical engineering, earning both her BSc and MSc at Yıldız Technical University. She subsequently pursued business education at Istanbul University and Sabancı University, bridging engineering with management and strategy. This combination positioned her for professional work in digital transformation, data management and technology adoption across sectors. She is not described as a software engineer; her technical background is in mechanical engineering and her later work focuses on strategy, research and education rather than software development.

Professional Career

Public professional biographies describe more than two decades of experience across sectors including logistics, automotive, media, venture capital, digital transformation and data management. Her career progression reflects a movement from engineering and operations into business strategy, digital transformation and eventually academia and blockchain-focused research. Specific positions and employers from her pre-academic career are not detailed here unless independently documented.

Digital Transformation & Data

Şenkardeş's professional work has involved technology adoption, organizational transformation, data management and innovation strategy. Her later academic and consultancy work builds on this industry experience, applying it to emerging technologies including blockchain. Company-wide transformation outcomes are not attributed solely to her; her role involved strategy and advisory work within broader organizational initiatives.

Founding Durugörü

Şenkardeş is identified in multiple professional sources as the founder of Durugörü, a consultancy focused on strategy and digital transformation. The consultancy's work connects her industry experience with her academic research into emerging technologies, token economies and digital transformation. The exact founding year and current operating status have not been independently verified from an official Durugörü corporate source; this profile does not publish unverified corporate registration details.

MenaPay (Historical Role)

Historical sources document Şenkardeş's involvement with MenaPay, a blockchain-based payment platform. A roundtable meeting organized by the Governance and Innovation Forum (GIF) in Türkiye listed her as CEO of MenaPay, where she discussed digital transformation and the technical details of blockchain-based payment systems. She is not identified as the founder or co-founder of MenaPay; separate sources identify Kader Kutun as co-founder. Şenkardeş's role at MenaPay was executive rather than founding. MenaPay's current operational status is not verified in this profile; the role is treated as historical.

Istanbul Blockchain Women

Istanbul Blockchain Women is a nonprofit association established in 2018 to increase women's presence in the blockchain ecosystem and raise awareness of blockchain technology among women. The organization describes itself as a community platform rather than a commercial blockchain company. Its mission centers on blockchain education, professional networking, women in technology, Web3 careers, awareness and community events. Şenkardeş is identified across multiple professional sources as a Founding Board Member of Istanbul Blockchain Women. She is not identified as the sole founder; the organization was established by a group of founding members. Her current role is documented as Board Member.

Founding Role

Professional biographies and conference speaker profiles consistently describe Şenkardeş as a Founding Board Member of Istanbul Blockchain Women. Some earlier sources used the term Co-Founder. This profile uses the verified designation Founding Board Member, which appears across her current professional biographies and is consistent with the organization's description as an association founded by a group. She is not the sole founder.

Why Istanbul Blockchain Women Was Created

The organization addresses the underrepresentation of women in blockchain and related technologies, limited visibility of women professionals in the ecosystem, professional networking gaps, education and access barriers, and broader industry participation challenges. The association's public mission references organizing social responsibility projects that provide positive discrimination to women in terms of technology. This profile does not publish participation statistics unless independently documented.

Women in Web3

Through Istanbul Blockchain Women and her academic work, Şenkardeş contributes to inclusion, education, career development, mentorship and representation of women in Web3 and blockchain. This work is evidence-based and connected to her academic research on technology and gender. The section avoids generic inspirational framing and focuses on documented activities: community organizing, university teaching, academic publishing and advisory roles.

Blockchain Turkey Platform

The Blockchain Turkey Platform (BCTR) was established on the initiative of the Turkish Informatics Foundation (TBV) as an independent, non-profit organization. BCTR serves as a multi-stakeholder platform bringing together financial institutions, corporates, technology companies, startups, academics and policymakers to support the development and responsible adoption of blockchain technology in Türkiye. BCTR is not a government regulator. Şenkardeş is listed on BCTR's official Advisory Board page as a member, identified as a lecturer at Istanbul Bilgi University. Her advisory role contributes academic and community perspectives to BCTR's work.

Istanbul Bilgi University

According to her official university academic profile, Şenkardeş holds the title Faculty Member, PhD and serves as Head of Entrepreneurship in Technology and Innovation and Director of the Entrepreneurship in Technology and Innovation Masters Program. She is affiliated with the Computer Technologies Department, Information Security Technology, within the School of Advanced Vocational Studies. Her official university title is the authoritative source for her current academic rank; this profile does not rely on older conference biographies or informal speaker titles. Some professional bios refer to her as Assistant or Associate Professor; the official university page lists her as Faculty Member, PhD and Head of Entrepreneurship in Technology and Innovation, which is the title used here.

Blockchain Education

According to her official university profile, Şenkardeş teaches the following courses:

• Blockchain Technology and Digital Currencies
• Technology & Society
• Entrepreneurship 101 / 102
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Design Principles in Computer Engineering

Her teaching covers blockchain technology, digital currencies, entrepreneurship, innovation and the relationship between technology and society. She is not described as teaching Solidity or programming courses; her blockchain teaching focuses on technology, applications and societal implications.

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

As Head of Entrepreneurship in Technology and Innovation and Director of the related Masters Program at Istanbul Bilgi University, Şenkardeş leads academic initiatives connecting entrepreneurship with emerging technology. Her role involves curriculum, research direction and program leadership in entrepreneurship education. The Entrepreneurship Excellence Center and related department responsibilities are part of her academic remit; exact center governance details are sourced from the university's official pages.

Research

Şenkardeş's research interests, as listed on her official university profile, are:

• Gender studies
• Technology & Gender
• Decentralized Technologies & Society
• Blockchain Technology as an infrastructure

Her funded research projects include:

• Lead Principal Investigator: An equity-based blockchain crowdfunding platform to issue security tokens for Turkish and Qatar start-up equities
• Researcher: Central Bank Digital Currencies from Legal Perspective

Her published academic work, indexed on Google Scholar and ResearchGate, covers topics including blockchain technology and NFTs, blockchain and sustainable development, gendered discourses, cryptofeminism and token-based crowdfunding. Publications are grouped thematically around blockchain, digital transformation, technology and society, gender equality, sustainability, token economies and crowdfunding. Non-peer-reviewed articles are not counted as academic journal papers in this profile.

Cryptofeminism

Multiple professional biographies and academic databases document that Şenkardeş presented academic work on cryptofeminism at the International World Women Congress in 2022. The paper appears in the Proceedings Book of World Women Conference-IV and is indexed on ResearchGate and Academia.edu. The author's abstract describes cryptofeminism as a concept referring to blockchain technology being discussed and added to academic literature. This profile uses cautious wording: Şenkardeş has presented and published academic work developing a cryptofeminist framework for examining gender within blockchain and crypto ecosystems. The claim that she introduced an entirely new theory to academic literature is drawn from her own abstract and is presented as her stated contribution rather than as an independently verified bibliographic fact. Earlier uses of the term cryptofeminism in other contexts are not excluded by this profile.

What Is Cryptofeminism?

As an academic research framework, cryptofeminism examines blockchain and crypto ecosystems through questions involving gender, access, participation, power, technology and economic opportunity. It analyzes how decentralized technologies interact with existing gender structures and whether they reproduce, transform or challenge patterns of inclusion and exclusion in digital communities. This profile presents cryptofeminism as an academic framework for analysis rather than as political advocacy.

Token Economies

Şenkardeş's academic and educational work addresses token-based economic systems, including digital assets, tokenization, utility, incentives, governance and crowdfunding. Her funded research on an equity-based blockchain crowdfunding platform for security tokens is directly relevant to this area. Specific theoretical models are attributed to her only where published in academic work.

Crowdfunding

Her research includes work on blockchain-based crowdfunding and token financing, evidenced by her funded project on security tokens for Turkish and Qatar start-up equities. This work connects token economics with entrepreneurial finance. This profile does not provide investment recommendations.

Crypto Payments & Regulation

Şenkardeş's professional profile includes commentary on cryptocurrency payments and Turkish regulation. Her academic research on Central Bank Digital Currencies from a legal perspective contributes to this area. She is presented as an academic and professional analyst, not as a regulator or regulatory authority.

Blockchain Development in Türkiye

Şenkardeş contributes to blockchain development in Türkiye through academic education at Istanbul Bilgi University, community building through Istanbul Blockchain Women, advisory work through the Blockchain Turkey Platform, academic research and participation in industry events. She is not described as the leader of Turkey's blockchain industry; her contribution is centered on education, community and research.

Technology & Sustainability

Her academic work includes research on blockchain technology within the context of sustainable development, examining the intersection of emerging technology, social impact and sustainable development. Specific publications are referenced where available; this section avoids generic ESG claims.

Gender Equality

Şenkardeş's work around gender equality is expressed through Istanbul Blockchain Women, academic research on technology and gender, mentorship and professional organizations including Yeniden Biz Women Association. This profile avoids unverifiable impact numbers.

Yeniden Biz

Public professional biographies associate Şenkardeş with Yeniden Biz Women Association as a board member. The organization's mission and her current role are described in her professional profiles. This profile includes the role where documented.

Other Advisory Roles

Şenkardeş is documented as an Advisory Board member of Tomorrow, in addition to her BCTR advisory role. Current advisory positions are distinguished from historical ones based on available sources. This profile does not create a long list of outdated positions.

Selected Publications

Representative academic work, indexed on Google Scholar and ResearchGate, includes:

• Cryptofeminism (2022) — World Women Conference-IV, Proceedings Book
• Blockchain Technology and NFTs: A Discussion on the Effects of Blockchain Technology — academic publication
• A Discussion on the Effects of Blockchain Technology Within the Context of Sustainable Development — academic publication
• A Critical Discourse Analysis: Gendered Discourses Within… — academic publication
• An Equity-Based Blockchain Crowdfunding Platform to Issue Security Tokens for Turkish and Qatar Start-up Equities — funded research project

Abstracts are not reproduced. Full bibliographic details are available on her Istanbul Bilgi University publications page, Google Scholar and ResearchGate.

Speaking & Conferences

Şenkardeş has spoken at events covering blockchain, Web3, women in technology, sustainability, tokenization and entrepreneurship. Documented appearances include industry and academic forums in Türkiye and internationally. This profile lists only meaningful, verifiable appearances and does not attempt to enumerate every panel.

What Is Çağla Gül Şenkardeş Working on Now?

Academic Role: Faculty Member, PhD at Istanbul Bilgi University; Head of Entrepreneurship in Technology and Innovation; Director of the Entrepreneurship in Technology and Innovation Masters Program.

Founder Role: Founder of Durugörü consultancy.

Community Role: Founding Board Member and current Board Member of Istanbul Blockchain Women.

Advisory Roles: Advisory Board Member of the Blockchain Turkey Platform; Advisory Board member of Tomorrow; Board Member of Yeniden Biz Women Association.

Research: Ongoing academic research on blockchain, token economies, gender and technology, decentralized technologies and society, and sustainability.

Why Çağla Gül Şenkardeş Matters in Crypto

Şenkardeş's contribution to the crypto ecosystem differs from founders who created exchanges, tokens or blockchain protocols. Her impact is centered on building blockchain communities, academic research, blockchain education, token-economy scholarship, technology strategy and increasing participation in Web3. This positions her profile on the institutional, educational and community-development side of the crypto ecosystem. Her technical contributions are not exaggerated; she is not a protocol or cryptocurrency founder.

Risks and Considerations

Academic research and educational content represent analysis and teaching, not investment advice. Token-economy research examines economic models and does not constitute financial recommendations. Community and advocacy work focuses on inclusion and education rather than commercial promotion. Readers should consult primary academic sources for full research details.