Vision

Advancing software engineering through evidence-based research and industry collaboration

Impact Highlights

  • 130+ peer-reviewed publications in leading software engineering venues
  • €6.5M+ in competitive research funding, including strong industry participation
  • 15+ years of industry-engaged research in software-intensive systems
  • Leadership roles across major journals, conferences, and research initiatives

Research Interests

My research focuses on empirical and data-driven software engineering with a strong emphasis on industry relevance and practical impact. I work closely with industrial partners to study, design, and evaluate development practices in real-world contexts. Core research areas include:

  • AI-enabled and analytics-based development practices
  • Data-driven decision support for software development and management
  • Software quality, defects, and technical debt in large-scale systems
  • Human, organizational, and socio-technical aspects of software development
  • Empirical methods for industry–academia collaboration

A central goal of my work is to translate empirical evidence into actionable guidance that helps organizations improve reliability, productivity, and sustainability, while contributing robust scientific knowledge to the field of software engineering.

Short Bio

Burak Turhan is Full Professor of Software Engineering and Head of the Software Engineering and Information Systems (SEIS) Research Unit at the University of Oulu, where he leads one of Finland’s largest software engineering research environments. His work is guided by the view that software engineering research should produce actionable evidence for improving practice in real-world development settings. His research focuses on empirical and data-driven software engineering, especially in close collaboration with industry. Over more than 15 years of industry-engaged research in software-intensive systems, he has studied and evaluated development practices in operational contexts, with interests spanning AI-enabled and analytics-based development, data-driven decision support, software quality, defects, technical debt, and the human and socio-technical dimensions of software work. Turhan has published more than 130 peer-reviewed papers in leading software engineering venues and secured over €6.5 million in competitive research funding, with strong industry participation. He has also served in leadership roles across major journals, conferences, and research initiatives. Alongside his research and academic leadership, he is committed to strengthening industry–academia collaboration, supporting innovation ecosystems, and educating the next generation of software engineering experts.

Academic Positions

  • 2021-PresentFull Professor

    Faculty of Info. Tech. and Electrical Eng.
    University of Oulu, Finland

  • 2018-2020Associate Professor

    Faculty of Information Technology
    Monash University, Australia

  • 2017-2018Senior Lecturer

    Dept. of Computer Science
    Brunel University London, UK

  • 2014-2018Full Professor

    Faculty of Info. Tech. and Electrical Eng.
    University of Oulu, Finland

  • 2009-2014Postdoctoral Research Fellow

    Dept. of Information Processing Science
    University of Oulu, Finland

  • 2009-2009Research Associate

    Institute for Information Technology
    National Research Council, Canada

  • 2002-2008Research and Teaching Assistant

    Department of Computer Engineering
    Bogazici University, Turkey