Harvard University and Bahçeşehir University Launch Two Major Projects

The Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Law and Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences are launching joint programs with the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.

Prof. Dr. Christopher Stone, Director of the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and Prof. Dr. Feridun Yenisey, Director of Global Law Programs at the Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Law, will research how the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure regulating the relationship between public prosecutors and the police, and the rights it grants to crime victims, are implemented.

Through the research conducted by Professor Christopher Stone, one of the world's leading experts in comparative law, the points at which the Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure, which regulates defendants' and victims' rights at the highest level, falls short in practice will be identified. As a result of the research, Bahçeşehir and Harvard legal scholars will also develop a series of recommendations for decision-makers and legislators. As part of the project, Prof. Dr. Feridun Yenisey, faculty member of the Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Law, will give lectures at Harvard University on Turkish Criminal Procedure Law. Similarly, Professor Phil Heyman from Harvard will teach courses at Bahçeşehir University. Within this framework, Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Law students will be able to attend Criminal Law programs at Harvard University as visitors.

A professor of Criminal Law at Harvard University, Christopher Stone also chairs the Harvard University Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management. Professor Stone also chairs Altus, an alliance of NGOs and academic centers in Russia, India, Chile, Nigeria, Brazil and the US working on justice sector reform.

A Second Project with Harvard University from the Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences

Prof. Dr. Pippa Norris, a faculty member of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and Bahçeşehir University President Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Esmer are launching another joint research program. Within the framework of the project, for which preparations have begun, cultural, social and political change in Türkiye will be examined from a global and comparative perspective. The project also includes a jointly conducted field study. The data collected within the project will be analyzed jointly by Harvard and Bahçeşehir experts, and the first results will be discussed at a meeting at Bahçeşehir University with the participation of Harvard faculty members. Later, Bahçeşehir University faculty members will give lectures at Harvard University.

Another attractive aspect of the two universities' joint project is that Bahçeşehir University students will also have the opportunity to take part in the fieldwork. In this way, students will be able to combine their theoretical knowledge with practice in the field and take part in a Harvard University project.

Prof. Dr. Pippa Norris, is a very well-known name in the global social and political science community. A faculty member at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government since 1992, Norris has also been a visiting professor at universities such as Columbia, Berkeley and Cape Town. Having received her PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE), Prof. Norris also teaches in the Department of Government at Harvard University in addition to the Kennedy School of Government. Having served on the executive boards of the American Political Science Association and the International Political Science Association, Prof. Dr. Pippa Norris has also served as a consultant to organizations such as the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. Prof. Norris has many published books and articles, and her publications have been translated into more than 12 languages. Her book "A Virtuous Circle" was named the best political communication book in 2006.