Prof. Dr. Deniz Kılınç

Prof. Dr. Deniz Kilinc has over 25 years of combined academic and industry experience in computer engineering, software development, and artificial intelligence. He has held diverse roles such as software architect, project manager, department manager, executive board member, and co-founder of Nesnel Yazılım, one of the early software startups in Turkey. He is currently a professor at İzmir Bakırçay University, Department of Computer Engineering, and has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers in areas including software architecture, data science, and machine learning. Beyond academia, Dr. Kilinc is an active entrepreneur and product builder. He founded KalybeAI, a company delivering data science and AI-powered SaaS solutions, and led the spin-off of Vinter, an AI-driven recruitment platform that has since been transferred as an independent product. He has also spearheaded AI-powered SaaS platforms across HRTech, FinTech, InsurTech, and ManufacturingTech, focusing on scalable microservices architectures, SaaS productization, and AI/ML integrations. He continues to serve as a principal investigator, consultant, and referee in government-funded and industrial R&D projects (TÜBİTAK, Ministry of Science, corporate R&D centers), while mentoring award-winning student teams and supporting startups. Passionate about software, AI, and technology entrepreneurship, Prof. Kilinc bridges research with real-world impact, helping organizations and startups design, launch, and scale next-generation SaaS products.