22
Feb 22

Meet the Chamber Blog: Onder Canbulat

Learn more about Onder Canbulat as he answers questions about his work at the Chamber and life to date.

OnderWhat is your role at the Chamber?

I support the Safety & Environment team, BTA & BROA, by developing and providing technical policy assistance to advance their decarbonisation agenda, including the safety and technical aspects of the net-zero emission fuels and technologies.

Last book you read?

Mostly, I like to read poems, articles or short stories, but the last book I read was a personal development book called "Don't Give Up, Miracles Are On The Way" from Kinsun. It is an exciting book that helped me become more self-aware while reading. This lovely book helped me understand my true self which is a real challenge for most of us.

Favourite holiday destination?

I love to travel, and I do not have a favourite destination, but I like places with nature, history and culture. For example, I enjoy visiting the Mediterranean. I have not been to all continents and regions yet but I am looking forward to discovering them. I also love small towns and natural villages like Pitlochry or Luss in Scotland, Balatonfüred or Zigetwar in Hungary, Maçka and Şirince in Turkey. I enjoy vibrant districts in big cities like Westend in Glasgow, Besiktas or Eminonu in Istanbul, and medium-size compact cities where everything is within a walkable distance like Lviv, York, Eskisehir, Capadocia and Malmö. I enjoy walking around in these places and feel the history genuine-life experience amassed with a lovely cuisine.

One thing that would surprise you about me.

I grew up in a small village, where around 200 people lived until I was the age of 6. Then, we moved to the nearest wee city called Zile, where I lived until the age of 17. My hometown Zile is known as the place where the shortest letter in history was written; "I came; I saw; I conquered: Veni, Vidi, Vici" attributed to Julius Caesar who, according to Appian, used the phrase in a letter to the Roman Senate around 47 BC. Until the age of 15, I did not have a chance to visit any other city due to financial difficulties; I spent all my holidays in our village to help with farming. Then, I moved to the biggest city in Europe, Istanbul, to complete my bachelor's degree in Engineering and stayed at a student accommodation that was the same size as my village! Therefore, I have been trying my best to be involved in as many charity activities as possible to support students or people who have difficulties like cultural shock or financial challenges while studying.

Career highlight

Before joining the UK Chamber, I had been a maritime transport and management specialist for over a decade, with a PhD in Integrated Energy Efficiency of Shipping (Awarded in 2021), an MSc in Global Supply Chain Management (Awarded in 2014) and a BEng Maritime Transport-Management Engineering (Awarded in 2010) degree. I have experience in management, teaching, research and writing academic publications. I have taken part in several international projects funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the EU's Erasmus Programme, and the Scottish government. I collaborated on maritime transport, energy-related projects, green port and decarbonising UK freight transport, maritime education for energy efficiency, and sustainable decommissioning. In the future, I would like to be a person who would be remembered for his contributions to Climate Change actions for the UK and the World.

The person you most admire and why?

I can say that many people inspire me, most of whom lived in previous centuries and some in this century. If I must choose one of them from the recent century, I can say it is Sunay Akın. He is a poet, writer, TV host, journalist, and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Istanbul Toy Museum and Cat Museum (which is opening soon). The main reason is that he is a real gentleman and an outstanding philanthropist who inspire kids to love the World. I also mention two more people; one of them is Florence Nightingale, a social reformer, statistician, and founder of modern nursing. I admire her efforts during the wartime; she managed and trained many nurses, made hospitals cleaner and safer places, wrote over 150 books, and created one of the first versions of the pie chart. Florence gained the nickname 'the Lady with the Lamp' during her work at Scutari. 'The Times' reported that she would walk among the beds at night, checking the wounded men holding a light in her hand. Even these covid days, I think this lamp brighten most of our life. Finally, I would like to mention Mustafa Kemal, a revolutionary statesman, author, and the founding father of modern Turkey. He undertook sweeping progressive reforms, which modernised Turkey into a secular, industrialised country. I also admire him because he supported modern education for kids without any class or caste system, supported gender equality, and delivered the right to vote for women in 1926. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill recognised him as a great hero and stated that "Ataturk's death is not only a loss for the country but for Europe is the greatest loss."