Design alumna, Gizem Apak, has been announced as a 2021 winner for Turkey in the British Council Study UK Alumni Awards.
Congratulations to Brunel class of 2012 MA Design Strategy & Innovation alumna and Product Lead at Google, Gizem Apak, who has been named as the Professional Achievement Award winner for Turkey at the 2021 Study UK Alumni Awards.
The awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of alumni and showcase the impact and value of a UK higher education. Award winners are leaders in their fields who have used their experience of studying at a UK university to make a positive contribution to their communities, professions, and countries.
By coming to London and studying at Brunel, Gizem felt inspired by her teachers to be more curious as she broadened her perspective and enhanced her key skills including her creativity, problem solving and critical thinking. Reflecting on her time at university, she said that she wanted to thank Brunel for the unique perspective that she experienced and how it gave her the opportunity to learn from many new cultures, and enter into a career field that she loves. Gizem’s advice to any new students starting out at Brunel is to choose a successful career path that makes you happy, not to limit yourselves, and to embrace new opportunities.
Since graduating from Brunel, Gizem has worked in three different positions at Google over a five-year period, having now been promoted to the role of a Product Lead at Google Turkey, in which she is responsible for top Google client’s Ad investments for a certain product category. Her highlights of working for Google include working in Dublin at Google Ireland, travelling with the Google Leadership Programme to Tanzania and being able to give back to the community and environment through different initiatives. Discussing her future aspirations, Gizem spoke about how much she enjoys working at Google and in the technology world, and how she feels that there are going to be many exciting opportunities to expand her vision within the organisation.
Gizem is passionate about helping young people who want to get in to Design and have the experience that she had. She gives back by mentoring people from her high school and university in Turkey and has taken a keen interest to support Brunel students going forwards too.
The Development and Alumni Relations Office at Brunel University London are delighted for Gizem and her achievements.