Derin Kurultak
My name is Derin Kurultak. I have lived in Turkey all my life. I studied the BBADBA, which is the Dual Degree in Business Administration & Data and Business Analytics. I truly love this degree because it is well-rounded, like me. Even though I am a data and math person, I have an artistic side, too. Also, I am passionate about gender equality, so I became a coordinator of the Women in Business Club and president of the Girl Up Club.
"I want there to be a balance of men and women in all of the fields that we have in the world."
Wellness and equality in the classroom and beyond
Derin comes from a metropolitan port city called İzmir on the coast of the Aegean Sea. Growing up, she was always exposed to technology and business. Her father is an engineer with his own company, and her mother is a project manager. So IE University intrigued her for many reasons.
First and foremost, she knew that the five-year Dual Degree was exactly the right program for her. It has the benefit of being intense and broad at the same time, covering a wide range of subjects. There is the data and analytics side involving lots of calculations, analysis, and computer work. But there is also the business side, which plays to Derin’s creative strengths.
Derin doesn’t fit into one “box” as either technical or a creative person: she is both. She can code, but she also plays piano. She enjoys the social and action-oriented business side of the Dual Degree as well as the technical aspects.
Also, Derin enjoyed studying in two locations. The program started in Segovia, then moved to the IE Tower in Madrid. In both cases, Derin was thrilled to be a part of IE University’s incredibly international environment. The class of 2025 and 2026 is over 75% international, meaning there are endless networking opportunities and new things to learn from other cultures.
For example, in the Girl Up Club, she works to promote gender equality and help prevent violence against women. Meanwhile, in the Women in Business Club, Derin helps IE University students, both women and men, meet professionals from specific sectors to network and grow their careers, as well as work on themselves. Last year, she helped launch the Wellness Series. This series helps students learn how to improve their mental and physical health, which is becoming an increasingly important topic on campus and in the workplace.
After studying at IE University, Derin has a few ideas for her future. She would love to start her career at a company like Amazon or Google because they were born as startups and continue to foster a positive company culture that cares for its employees. At the same time, they are large international corporations with global reach and influence. In the long term, she would like to study a master’s or diploma program in psychology to better understand human behavior.