The U.S. Mission in Türkiye brought international education and innovation expert Geoffrey Watson to Ankara and Istanbul this week as part of its ongoing efforts to promote U.S.-Turkish cooperation in higher education and educational technology. This initiative fosters increased cooperation between Türkiye and the U.S. based on mutual interest, including innovation and academic excellence.

Watson is the President and Chief Business Officer of the Minerva Project, a San Francisco-based startup that aims to revolutionize higher education. Previously, he was at Guild Education, helping working adults at some of America’s largest companies access education and skill-building programs. Watson has launched or advised more than two dozen education technology start-ups to help them grow and thrive and works to help private and public educational institutions transform to meet the educational needs of the 21st-century workforce. 

In Istanbul, Watson delivered a keynote speech on "Transforming Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" at the Educational Technology Summit, Türkiye’s largest gathering of education-minded entrepreneurs, administrators and journalists.

The theme of this year’s summit was "Collective Intelligence." Watson also visited the Ministry of National Education and spoke to dozens of high-level representatives from universities in Ankara and Istanbul, including during a roundtable discussion at the U.S. Embassy and through visits to Koç University, Middle East Technical University and Bahçeşehir University, to promote international advancement and cooperation in innovative education.

The U.S. Speaker Program is an initiative by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that helps U.S. embassies and consulates around the world engage foreign audiences. U.S. speakers represent various fields and expertise and are leaders in their sectors and communities.