Harun’s Introduction
About Me
My name is Harun Celik and I am an international student from Turkey getting my PhD Degree in History. History and data science might seem like polar opposites to a lot of people but for me, the disciplines not only intersect at interesting places, but compliment each other well. I find that historians are particularly good at viewing phenomena from multiple perspectives, and data scientists are particularly good at presenting data from different vantage points. These things are certainly similar but not the same.
I’m doing my PhD because I like to experiment. In particular, I care about experimenting with interdisciplinary methodologies to help approach questions in social disciplines by providing a different angle than what’s traditionally taken. I am pursuing my degree as a way to learn about the different ways that I can approach subjects I care deeply about. These include…
- Developing pedagogy around The Use of Technology in the Social Sciences.
- Using Research to Develop Programs that Practice Experiential Learning.
- Experimenting with Data Science and Spatial Technology on Historical Data.
- Reading about the Historical Development of Our Contemporary Urban Landscape.
My DSPG Experience
As an additional degree, I’ve completed the Graduate GIS Certificate Program at ISU and sought for ways to practice these skills on projects that had some public influence. This is how I stumbled across the DSPG program and applied to be a graduate fellow for summer of 2022. I enjoyed the experience so much that I wanted to rejoin the following summer in 2023 with a couple of additional responsibilities. After sharing my ideas with the Community and Economic Development Extension team, I was lucky to get an assistantship that focused on improving the DSPG program with the responses we’ve received from past participants through our surveys.
I really enjoy the DSPG program for a multitude of reasons, but here a couple of my favorites.
- The program supports communal and personal learning.
- Participants to the program come from varying levels of education, from first year students to PhD candidates. This usually means that everyone comes in at different skill levels and uses that to either develop the skills that they already know or learn new ones.
- Projects are quite varied in their goals and flexible for hands-on learning
- Different clients expect different results and for a lot of the projects, it is the exploration conducted by students that shapes the final deliverable of the projects.
- The program address real questions by clients interested in learning from data.
- The DSPG projects address complex and real questions about the social world making the application of data science skills extremely practical for real-world scenarios.
My DSPG Expectations This Year
Being the coordinator of the program for the first time, my main objectives are to make sure that the DSPG experience is enjoyable and informative for everyone involved. I have yet to solidify all my thoughts but here is a mindmap of what I expect will be my top three goals for this summer.
Fun Fact
I play the bass guitar and I love to explore different genres of music, especially ones where the bass guitar has a prominent or unique role. I’d be happy to take any recommendations if you have any favorite albums or songs.
Lately I’ve been listening to Lugares Comunes by Inti-Illimari.