Hi, I’m İlkay...

Tech Pioneer, Academic, and AI Enthusiast.

I completed my primary, middle, and high school education in the Havsa district of Edirne, attending Sokollu Primary School and Havsa High School. My academic journey spanned across Yıldız Technical, Trakya, Anadolu, and Sakarya universities, allowing me to grow in both technical and social academic fields.

My journey with computers and professional life began during my school years, where I had the opportunity to work both at our family business and in various other sectors. However, the machine that completely changed my life entered the picture in 1984 while I was a Mechanical Engineering student at Yıldız University. I wrote my very first lines of code on a friend's Amstrad PC in the study halls of the Abdi İpekçi Boys' Dormitory.

I was proud to be among the very first graduates of Trakya University’s Computer Programming department. In 1988, during a meeting featuring the legendary Prof. Dr. Oğuz Manas, we established our first internet connection thanks to the opportunities he provided. I also remember my dear professor, the late Prof. Dr. Abdüssamet Marşoğlu, with endless gratitude and respect for giving us a profession that shaped our entire lives.

My first registered job was as a Turing Triptych officer at the Kapıkule Border Gate. Following that, I took my first entrepreneurial step in 1989 by opening EBİM Computer & Engineering the very first IT and computer service business in Edirne. In 1992, I started working at PTT (Edirne) as an ADIS Automation Coordinator. When the company split in 1995, I remained within Türk Telekom. There, I developed custom software from scratch, including early institutional websites, switchboard automation, internal billing-collection systems, and HR automation.

Between 2000 and 2006, I was selected to be part of an elite, 12-person Web Technologies Development Working Group within the Türk Telekom Headquarters. This gave me the opportunity to contribute to nationwide corporate systems and public infrastructure. Witnessing the birth of early public internet and web structures in Turkey completely transformed my vision.

Following Türk Telekom's privatization in 2006, I transitioned to Trakya University's IT Department, where I joined a highly productive team. While I continued to develop independent software, my primary focus shifted to network design and architecture. I also occasionally served as the Acting Department Head. During this period, I also had the opportunity to complete the Master’s degree that I had started while working at Türk Telekom.

In 2009, I began working as a Lecturer at the newly established Tunca Vocational School, which offers distance learning education. Shortly after, I was appointed as Vice Director a role I proudly continue to serve today.

Since 2017, I have developed a deep fascination with Artificial Intelligence. This pursuit is purely out of personal curiosity and self-development, with no academic goals attached. Right now, I am heavily focused on building agentic web applications and automation systems. It's just a hobby... you can check it out at ilk.ai

Beyond the tech world, I am a Congress Member of Fenerbahçe SK, and table tennis holds a massive, irreplaceable place in my life.

I also run a web and social media platform where I share my personal health journey. The entire system is an AI Agentic System that I completely designed and coded myself. You can access it at www.ostomyfan.com. If you follow the @ostomyfan social media accounts, you can find daily, up to date information it's all on the page.

I’ll keep adding more to this page as ideas cross my mind... 

İlkay