Q&A with Dr Gamze Koseoglu
"What does your role involve?"
Two main components of my role are research and teaching.
"What do you enjoy most about your position?"
I love doing research and trying to find answers to questions that I find interesting. I feel so lucky that I get paid to read and answer questions about things that I am passionate about! I should say that as an extrovert, it is sometimes difficult for me to do research by myself for long hours. Luckily, another great part of my job is, I have the opportunity to balance this with teaching. I love being on the stage and interacting with students as much as I love doing research.
"Tell us about your background?"
I was born in Turkey and lived in Ankara until I was 24 years old. After completing my undergrad degree in City and Regional Planning, I did an MBA. During that time, I got involved in research in Organisational Behavior. I loved doing research so much that I moved to the USA to do my PhD at Georgia Institute of Technology. I lived in Atlanta for about 9 years. After graduation, I moved to Australia in 2016.
"Tell us about something you are currently researching?"
I work on employee creativity, social networks, and leadership. Recently, I have been working on topics such as how social networks of creative employees change over time, and how leaders’ perfectionism can impact followers’ creativity.
"What is something your students have taught you?"
Students taught me the value of being authentic. When I first started teaching, I was a PhD student, and I was so afraid of making mistakes and I was very shy. Then, I realized that when I open up and share my true self, I develop a stronger bond with the students. Students don’t care if I make a mistake while lecturing or while writing an exam. They care about the fact that I genuinely care about them, and I am being myself.
"What would surprise people to know about you?"
My name means “dimple” and my last name means “son of a man who cannot grow facial hair”. My great grandfather migrated to Turkey from Russia, and he was a blond man, which was very rare in his region. My family thinks that it is probably why he was called “kose” in his town, and ended up picking this last name.
"What advice would you give to your younger self?"
Life is short, don’t stress over things that you have no control over.
"If you were not an academic, what would you like to do?"
I would love to be an actor. When I watch movies, I sometimes pause the movie and try acting, imitating the person on the screen. Well, it hasn’t been well received by friends and family so far, they end up laughing at me. However, I still think I’m good at it!
"What are your hobbies or interests?"
I love board games, and I own more than 150 board games! My favourite games are: Terraforming Mars, Pandemic Legacy (0, 1 and 2), and Terramystica. I also love rollercoasters (my favourite is the Incredible Hulk Coaster in Universal Studios, Orlando), and visiting abandoned buildings to take photos (my favourite abandoned place is Wanli UFO village in Taiwan, check out my photo!).
Dr Gamze Koseoglu
Senior Lecturer In Management