Prof.Dr. Funda Sivrikaya Serifoglu is the founding president of Duzce University, Turkey. She is currently working as the dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at Istanbul Bilgi University. She is the founding president of International Women's Forum (IWF) Turkey, and of the first women leadership program in higher education (TULIP). She received her B.S. (valedictorian) and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial Engineering from Boğaziçi University, and her M.S. degree in Engineering Economic Systems from Stanford University.

Prof.Dr. Sivrikaya Şeifoğlu has national and international publications with citations in indexed journals. She has served as referee and editor for scientific journals and has experience in r&d projects. She served as the project leader/coordinator of several pioneering projects in Turkey in the areas of sustainable development, women, education, and others.

She was an invited guest by the European Parliament and the European Commision within the European Union Visitors Programme (EUVP) in 2008. She was also invited to take part in the State Visitor Leadership Programme of the American Government in 2010.

Prof.Dr. Funda Sivrikaya Serifoglu is married, and she is the proud mother of Buke (24) and Kaan (18).