Elif Toker-Turnalar

Born and bred in London, Elif has lived in several different countries. She has a dynamism for multiculturalism and multidisciplinary thought and inclusion.

Researcher, lecturer, public speaker and specialist in Political Communication, Turkish Politics and Public Relations, especially in the education sector, with the values and ideas to help anyone understand how issues and topics develop.

A natural people person. A skilled communicator. She thrives on creating the possibility for connecting people who can work and enjoy experiences together.

She has worked in Higher Education as an IR, Politics or PR & Communications lecturer and researcher. And has also worked in the PR industry where her first mentor was the distinguished Betul Mardin (IPRA past President).

Module Leader and researcher at Regent's University, London.

Leading PR Campaigns, Political Communication, Interpersonal Communications, Crisis Communications Management, Cultural Issues and the Media, PR Strategy and Management, Media Relations, Integrated Marketing Communications as well as Diaspora and their Media.

She is researched and published with colleagues on Digital Literacy and the understanding of Politics and News by emerging adults with an emphasis on social media platforms, mainly Facebook.

She has an ongoing project that developed out of her Turkish heritage and MA thesis (military politics in political decision making) on understanding Turkish politics and the developing cultural understanding of Turkish society today.

She continues to work voluntarily in her local community as a leader for various associations and societies as well as being an active school community governor.

Elif has a passion to help others realise the potential of good communication skills and the difference it can make to their own identity, education and future development.

Qualifications

• September 2001 – January 2009, University of Westminster, Researcher Political Communication, and Specialised in Professional Control of the Media in late developed countries. Advisors: Prof. Steven Barnett & Prof. Jean Seaton
• October 1996 – September 1999, Bogazici University Istanbul, Turkey. MA Political Science and International Relations. Thesis topic: “The Formal Role of the Military in Political Decision Making: Egypt and Turkey”. Advisors: Prof. Ersin Kalaycioglu and Dr. William Hale
• September 1992 – June 1996, Middlesex University, BA in Politics, History and Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Emphases on European Union, EU law, pre and post 1989 Eastern Bloc countries, Political History and Political theory.

Social Media

Twitter and Instagram: @elftok

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eliftokerturnalar

• Supervised a number of students with their MA research on topics around Political Communication

Research Interests

• Political Communication used by late developing countries.
• Research and understanding of Political PR as well as corporate PR and how this has developed in recent times with technological changes.
• To examine the PR of individual countries on the International Relations stage.
• The Formal Role of the Military in Political Decision Making.

• Jean Monnet European Union award to complete research at the University of Westminster, London. Full tuition fees and living expenses.