Prof. Emrah Safa Gürkan: Soft skills have become important in business life

Istanbul Medipol University Human Rights and Environmental Ethics Club organized an event titled “From Academy to Life” for the midterm week. Prof. Emrah Safa Gürkan came together with Medipol students at the event moderated by Dr. Fatih Baha Aydın. In the interview held at the South Campus Conference Hall, Prof. Gürkan shared his academic and sectoral experiences with the students and stated that young people have an academic advantage with the developing technology. Expressing that Türkiye used to be closed to the world but that the situation has changed now, Prof. Gürkan continued as follows: “Young people in our country are quite lucky in terms of accessing academic resources. But they may fall into the mistake of trying to learn everything at the same time. For example, many of our students prefer to get a double degree or study more than one subject simultaneously. While this can be quite beneficial with the right planning and focus, in order to be successful in business life, it is necessary to focus not only on technical knowledge but also on social skills, which we call soft skills. In today’s business world, skills such as knowing what to say and where to say it, communicating effectively, and adapting to teamwork are of great importance. Therefore, devoting time and energy to these skills, as well as academic goals, can provide a much more holistic development in terms of career.”