Received her B.Sc in Industrial Engineering, in 1998 from Middle East Technical University. She later on continued her education in the University of Texas and received an M.Sc degree in Industrial Engineering, and consecutively an M.B.A degree in year 2003. Having served as the International Franchisee Consultant in a U.S based multinational corporation between years 2000-2003, she moved back to Turkey and continued her carreer in Planning and Budgeting in Turkey in the Automotive Industry. Between 2007-2011, she served as the Director University –Industry Collaboration Department of METUTECH (ODTU Teknokent) where she managed the Technology Transfer Office, International Projects and Administrative Process of existing and candidate tenant companies. Since 2011, she serves as the GENERAL MANAGER of B LKENT CYBERPARK, one of Turkey’s leading Technoparks and Incubation Centers. Mrs. Çakmakcı is also on the Administration Board of Bilkent University Technology Transfer Office

Ms. Cakar is Senior Specialist for the Technology Development Foundation of Turkey where she currently serves as a Senior Specialist/Project Manager for the Innovation Network in the Country of Turkey among other things. Her focus area and expertise is in the selection, evaluation and monitoring of R&D projects, project management, clusters, networks, valorization of research results, intellectual capital reporting, innovation policy, regional and national innovation systems, policy analysis and evaluation, corporate and academic spin-offs and incubators. Fluent in German, English and Turkish, she has completed coursework in Chemical Engineering from METU as well as having a MS in Science and Technology Policy.