The Faculty of Management hosted dr. Esra Bal Külahi

At the end of 2021, the Faculty of Management had the honor to host a brilliant woman of letters, Dr. Esra Bal Külahi. Being academically successful, Dr. Bal Külahi has received her Ph.D. in BA at Instanbul University. She prides herself on three papers that she previously published in prestigious journals. When asked why she has decided to pursue a career in academia, she stated that she considers communication as the essence of her life and that academia allows her to fulfill her life purpose through teaching, mentoring students, interacting with colleagues as well as learning continuously. Another reason why she chose to work in academia was the fact, that contributing to scientific knowledge within her research areas gives her a sense of achievement.

Not only is she a great scholar, but she is also a very passionate person when it comes to vegan food. Dr. Bal Külahi expressed her interest in creating new vegan recipes and reading and researching topics such as child psychology, trauma, and child brain development.

Originating from Turkey, Dr. Bal Külahi has visited the Czech Republic twice before she has decided to stay here in Jindřichův Hradec for three months. Since she last visited, she took a liking to the historical architecture and while staying here this time around, she made the most of her time and visited local cafes and restaurants.

She had come to the Faculty of Management for the first time three years ago taking on the role of an Erasmus lecturer. Due to her experience staying with the faculty in the past, it was important for her to come back here. Among other deciding factors she mentioned the University’s academic background and international success. Arriving here in hopes to contribute to the academic achievements of FM, she managed to do so by completing and submitting a systematic literature review on eco-innovation to the Baltic Journal of Management. During her research stay, she was also able to publish an article titled „Impact of covid-19 outbreak on consumer behavioral responses in the Turkish context“ in a Turkish peer-review journal. Even with her limited time here she was able to carry out two papers which in our personal opinion is very impressive.

Dr. Bal Külahi believes this experience is a cornerstone in her career and that it helped improve her perspective. She said that she became more confident in her research skills. Working closely with Doc. Ing. Tomáš Kincl, Dr. Esra Bal Külahi had nothing to share but words full of kindness: „Doc. Ing. Tomáš Kincl is one of the best and motivating mentors in my life. I am grateful to him for his guidance and collaboration. For sure, we will keep in touch for the future agenda.“

Besides researching for her papers, Dr. Bal Külahi took on a role of a lecturer as well. She regularly led seminars, where she shared her memories and experiences from the times she was a Ph.D. student herself. Enthusiastic about leading seminars she expressed her excitement to us: „For me, the seminars were an efficient and interactive environment for learning and exchanging knowledge and experiences.“ Dr. Bal Külahi further stated she feels like she was able to gain academic and professional skills during her stay at the Faculty of Management.

Overall, Dr. Bal Külahi is truly content with spending her time at the Faculty of Management. And even though she’ll be returning to Instanbul soon, her journey with our faculty doesn’t end here. She’s already taken on a new project with Ing. Jiří Dvořák, Ph.D.. We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for her! We’ll be anticipating and looking forward to Dr. Bal Külahi’s next visit.