Prof. ŞÜKRAN ŞAHİN

Prof. Dr. Şükran Şahin graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Landscape Architecture in 1986. After working in an architectural office for a short period, she has been a member of the academic staff of the department from which she graduated since 1987. Dr. Şahin completed her Master of Science degree in 1989 (Thesis: Problems of Urban Street Trees in Ankara and Necessary Precautions in Terms of Landscape Architecture) and her PhD in 1996 (Thesis: A Research on the Determination and Evaluation of the Landscape Potential of Dikmen Valley) at the Ankara University Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Department of Landscape Architecture. During her doctoral studies, she attended a certificate program on Environment-Related Rural Planning at CHIEAM IAMZ in Zaragoza, Spain, for one year (1992-1993), and subsequently conducted research on the economics of natural resources at the University of Bologna, Italy, for five months. Her primary areas of interest include landscape ecology, landscape characterization, landscape planning, landscape analysis and assessment of river corridors, climate-based design, environmental impact assessment, and particularly ecological impact assessment.

Dr. Şahin served as a researcher in an EU FP7 project (2007-2010) and as an executive national stakeholder in a World Bank project (2009-2012) regarding land degradation. She worked as an instructor and assistant coordinator in the projects titled "Efficient Use of Computers for Office Management, GIS, CAD/CAM Applications" (1993) and "European Masters Degree Course on Environmental Management" (1994-1997), which were supported by the European Union MED-CAMPUS program and conducted at Ankara University. Furthermore, she served as an instructor on environmental management tools in the "European Masters Degree in Eco-Integrated Mechanical Engineering" projects supported by the European Union TEMPUS program and carried out at Gdansk and Szczecin Technical Universities in Poland (1995-1997). Dr. Şahin has served as the principal investigator for three projects supported by the Ankara University Research Fund, focusing on tourism potential, the effects of green areas on climate, and phenological observations in urban parks, respectively. In the field of landscape analysis and assessment of river corridors, where she gained expertise through her doctorate, she has conducted studies on Dikmen Brook, Imrahor Creek, and Zir Brook in Ankara, as well as the crossings of the Kızılırmak River in the cities of Sivas and Kirşehir. Between 2025 and 2026, she participated in landscape analysis and assessment within an interdisciplinary project for the rehabilitation of Lake Aksehir in Turkey, which had dried up, for a period of three months. Since the beginning of 2025, she has been a partner in the EC Erasmus+ (Alliances for Innovation) project titled "Ecological Planning and Design for Disaster Management (EPD-Net)" and is responsible for WP6 (Work Package 6), which covers Sustainability and Exploitation activities.

Dr. Şahin was involved as a third-party ecological monitor within the framework of project EIA reports for the BTC Crude Oil Pipeline Project between 2003 and 2007. She took part in the review of reinstatement plan method statements in terms of ecological concerns. Additionally, she monitored the compliance of the project contractor's ongoing ecological restoration activities with the project standards defined by the EIA and the method statement in the field and provided recommendations.

She served as a coordinator of a project supported by the TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye)  KAMAG (Public Research Grant Committee) 1007 program, and as a result of this project, which involved three Ministries, the "National Technical Guideline for Landscape Character Analysis and Evaluation at Regional and Sub-Regional Scales" (2014) was published. As a result of another research project in which she participated as the project coordinator, the work titled "Technical Guideline for Landscape Restoration and Reclamation in River Corridors" (2014) was published by the relevant Ministry. Apart from those mentioned, she has taken part in numerous studies as a researcher or consultant.

Dr. Şahin has participated as an organizer and/or participant in numerous national and international academic events and has a large number of works within this scope.

Dr. Şahin took part in the establishment of the Ankara University Latin American Studies Center (2009) and served as the Vice Director of the same unit for a period. She served as the Vice Chair of the Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Landscape Architecture between 2007-2009 and 2010-2012. She carried out the duty of Vice Dean of the Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture between December 1, 2016, and July 2017. She is currently the Department Chair.

Dr. Şahin is among the founders of TAPLAK (Association for Accreditation of Planning and Design Programs), established in 2019, and currently serves as a member of the 3rd Term Board of Directors. Between 2018 and 2026, she took an active role as a Board Member for the 12th, 13th, 15th, and 16th terms of the UCTEA Chamber of Landscape Architects. From 2017 to 2025, she served as the Turkish Delegate to the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) Europe. She also contributed to the same organization as a member of the Mediterranean Research Working Group (Med-Net) between 2018 and 2026. Within IFLA World, she is a member of the Migration and Landscape Working Group. Additionally, she has been a member of the Ankara Geopark Scientific Board since 2021.

Dr. Şahin is proficient in English and Spanish.