prof.dr.

(Semiha) S Denktas

Prof. Semiha Denktaş (Istanbul, 1973) studied Clinical & Health Psychology at Utrecht University and Integration & Migration Studies at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. She obtained her PhD on the subject of The Health and Healthcare use of Elderly First Generation Migrants in the Netherlands.

Denktaş played a seminal role in the establishment of the Erasmus University College, serving as Head of the Social & Behavioural Science department from 2013 to 1 September 2018. As of 1 September 2018, she leads the Behavioural Change pillar at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences Rotterdam (ESSB). As of 1 October 2018, Prof. Semiha Denktaş helds the position of Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

She has a vast amount of experience in large-scale, multi-disciplinary research programmes. In 2017, she started the Behavioural Insights Group Rotterdam (BIG’R) and HEALTHY’R together with the Municipality of Rotterdam. She continues to serve as Academic Director of these collaborations. Through these vessels and under her leadership, various research projects are being conducted in Rotterdam to examine and achieve behaviour change. These include behavioural studies aimed at promoting improved mental and physical health, with a special focus on marginalised and vulnerable groups.

Denktaş is a board member of Female Academics Moving toward Equity (FAME) of the Erasmus University Rotterdam; a group focused on the participation and empowerment of women in all academic ranks. She is also a board member of the “Coalitie Rotterdammers voor Mekaar” (Coalition of Rotterdammers for Each Other); a Rotterdam-focused coalition that engages its network to detect threats to social cohesion and strengthens and combines existing forces and initiatives to increase social cohesion.