SICSS-Istanbul

July 6 to July 18, 2026 | Istanbul, Turkiye, Özyeğin University

Schedule & Materials

Monday July 6, 2026 - Sabancı University
  • 📁 All course materials (Google Drive)  ·  ▶️ All lecture recordings (YouTube)
    Every lecture was recorded and all slides, notebooks and datasets are shared openly, so the full program can be worked through independently.

  • Session Speaker Topic Materials Video
    Morning İnanç Arın (Sabancı University) Semantic Search, Embeddings, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation Materials Watch
    Afternoon Walid Magdy (University of Edinburgh) CSS with AI: Big Data, Misinformation, and Digital Behavior Watch
Tuesday July 7, 2026 - Piri Reis University (SIU Day)
  • Session Speaker Topic Materials Video
    Morning Chris Barrie (New York University) Reproducible AI: Replication and Prompt Stability in Social Science Materials Watch
    Afternoon IEEE Signal Processing and Communications Conference Computational Social Science session Notes (PDF)
Wednesday July 8, 2026 - Özyeğin University
  • Session Speaker Topic Materials Video
    Morning Ceren Budak (University of Michigan) Simulating Public Deliberation with Multi-Agent LLMs Materials Watch
    Afternoon Tuba Bircan (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) Migration Forecasting with AI: LLMs and Feature Selection Materials Watch
    Late afternoon Philipp Lorenz-Spreen (TU Dresden) CSS for Democracy: Platforms, Polarization, and LLMs Materials Watch
Thursday July 9, 2026 - Sabancı University
  • Session Speaker Topic Materials Video
    Morning Serkant Adıgüzel (Sabancı University) Modern Causal Inference with Difference-in-Differences in R Materials Watch
    Afternoon Ali Najafi (Sabancı University) Prompt Engineering, AI Agents, and LLMs for Social Science Materials Watch
    Late afternoon Yunus Emre Tapan (Northeastern University) The Anthropology of Machines: Understanding LLMs From Within Materials Watch
Friday July 10, 2026 - Koç University
  • Session Speaker Topic Materials Video
    Morning Şükrü Atsızelti (Koç University) Embeddings in CSS: From Word Vectors to Cultural Meaning Materials Watch
    Afternoon Fuat Kına (Marmara) & Helin Yaren Ekmen (Koç) Large Language Models to Simulate Public Opinion Materials Watch
    Late afternoon Merih Angın (Koç University)
Saturday July 11, 2026 - Boğaziçi University
  • Session Speaker Topic Materials Video
    Morning Albert Ali Salah (Utrecht University) AI for Social Good: Mobile Phone Data, Migration, and CSS Materials Watch
    Afternoon Onur Güngör (Boğaziçi University) Simulating Human Behavior with LLM Agents: Online Market Prompts Watch
    Evening Bosphorus boat trip (social program)
Sunday July 12, 2026
  • Free day — Istanbul visit.

Monday July 13, 2026
  • Company visit: Kariyer.net

Tuesday July 14, 2026 - Özyeğin + Koç Joint Day (Well-being & LLMs)
  • Session Speaker Topic Materials Video
    Afternoon Dakota W. Cintron Social Asymmetry, Loneliness, and LLMs for Social Science Materials Watch
    Late afternoon Dirk Wulff (Max Planck Institute) Large Language Models for Psychological Conceptual Clarity Materials Watch
Wednesday July 15, 2026 - Group Project Work
  • Participants worked in teams on their research projects, with faculty and TA support available throughout.

  • Evening — Open-air cinema

Thursday July 16, 2026 - Group Project Work
  • Team project work.

  • Evening — Open-air cinema

Friday July 17, 2026 - Group Project Work
  • Team project work and preparation for final presentations.

Saturday July 18, 2026 - Presentation Day
  • Final project presentations by all participant groups, followed by a closing networking event.

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