KADIR HAS UNIVERSITESI

Their core work

Kadir Has University (KHAS) is a private research university in Istanbul with a distinctive blend of social science research and applied energy work. They conduct research on gender equality in academia, industrial heritage preservation, AI applications in labour economics, and sustainable energy systems including geothermal and industrial park energy cooperation. Their strength lies in bridging technical topics (energy modelling, AI/deep learning) with social and policy dimensions (participatory governance, gender mainstreaming), making them a versatile partner for interdisciplinary EU projects.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

KHAS began its H2020 journey (2016-2018) focused on institutional gender equality and industrial park energy models, primarily as a participant in larger consortia. From 2019 onward, they shifted into a leadership role — coordinating three projects — and broadened into urban heritage, AI-driven labour analysis, and deeper energy technology work (geothermal, ORC systems). The trend is clear: they moved from being a contributing partner in social policy projects to leading their own interdisciplinary research combining technology (AI, energy) with societal challenges (gender, heritage, employment).

KHAS is building coordinator capacity and moving toward AI-augmented social science research, making them an increasingly attractive lead partner for interdisciplinary Horizon Europe proposals.

How they like to work

KHAS balances coordination and participation almost evenly (3 coordinated, 4 as participant), which is unusual for a mid-sized Turkish university — it signals growing ambition and project management maturity. With 79 unique partners across 20 countries, they maintain a broad European network rather than relying on a small circle of repeat collaborators. Their preference for CSA and MSCA-RISE schemes suggests they are comfortable with coordination-heavy, networking-oriented projects rather than purely technical deliverables.

KHAS has built a wide network of 79 unique partners spanning 20 countries, indicating strong pan-European reach unusual for a Turkish institution. Their network likely concentrates in Southern and Central Europe given their energy and social science project profiles.

What sets them apart

KHAS occupies a rare niche as a Turkish university that actively coordinates EU projects — not just participates — across both technical and social science domains. Their ability to combine hard technology topics (geothermal energy, AI/deep learning) with social dimensions (gender analysis, heritage governance, labour economics) makes them an ideal partner when a consortium needs to address the human and societal impact side of a technical proposal. For Widening Country eligibility, they also bring geographic diversity that strengthens consortium composition for Horizon Europe calls.

Highlights from their portfolio

• GenderEX
  Their largest project (EUR 369K) and a coordinator role, signaling KHAS as a recognized leader in gender mainstreaming for research institutions.
• AI4LABOUR
  Represents their newest direction — applying AI and deep learning to macroeconomic labour analysis — a topic with high policy relevance and commercial potential.
• Open ENTRANCE
  Contributed to open energy transition models at European scale with 12 stakeholder workshops, demonstrating capacity for large-scale policy-relevant research.