About

I’m Fırat Alkan, a mechatronics engineer based in Istanbul. Since 2022, I have been an R&D Engineer at ABB, leading the end-to-end integration of international Electrification R&D projects into Medium Voltage (MV) production facilities in Türkiye.

My work sits at the point where a product moves from development to reality. I act as the primary technical bridge between overseas technology teams and local stakeholders, oversee the transition of R&D outputs to the manufacturing floor, and manage the technical documentation and process optimization behind it. That gives me a close, practical understanding of how a product is built, documented and improved across its lifecycle.

I hold an MS in Engineering Management from Galatasaray University, where my graduation project examined digitalization and cost structure with PLM systems in production, and a BS in Mechatronics Engineering from Istanbul Bilgi University, focused on control systems, robotics and motion control. Before ABB, I worked on embedded avionics systems at Delta V Space Technologies.

Outside engineering, I volunteered for two months in the Erasmus+ “Life Imitates Art 2” project in Thessaloniki, Greece, which focused on community engagement and intercultural collaboration.

In Istanbul, I founded a community for international students. Through it, I organized meet-ups across the city and trips to places such as Cappadocia and Fethiye, bringing together people from many different countries. These experiences laid the foundation for the intercultural communication skills I rely on today when working with global teams.