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Dr Meltem Ilkan (PhD)

Meltem coaches the people who keep Further and Higher Education running: learners, educators and managers. Her coaching focuses on performance, productivity and the demands of sustained intellectual work, and on the personal tensions woven through it.
She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and Communication from Birkbeck, University of London, following a Fulbright-awarded MA at Penn State. Her doctoral research on student and teacher cognition shapes a simple working discipline: pay attention to how thinking is organised, and how language carries it. In education, how a problem is named determines what can be done with it. The difference between "why are you behind?" and "what's getting in the way?" is a small shift in wording, but it changes what someone is willing to say and what they then notice in themselves.
Meltem has led education departments since 2015 and mentored teachers through supervision and observation throughout her career. Through Together Wise, which she co-founded and runs as Managing Director, Meltem partners with colleges, universities and education providers on embedded learning and development: teaching quality, staff development and curriculum improvement. Together Wise also runs structured online focus groups for individuals in education. In both, the work builds habits that hold: focus, growth and belonging that the person carries on after the partnership or sessions end.
 

Dr. Meltem Ilkan Phd

Selected achievements and responsibilities

  • PhD in Applied Linguistics and Communication with a focus on teacher cognition

  • Master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language

  • Cambridge CELTA qualification

  • Designed and developed curricula and learning frameworks independently

  • Led and supported multicultural teaching and professional teams

  • Advisory responsibility for quality assurance, academic standards, and progression frameworks

  • Safer recruitment and safeguarding responsibility

  • Professional experience across the United States, Cyprus, Scotland, and EnglandCurrently undertaking two professional coaching certifications

Ovgu Adatas (MA)

Övgü Adatas is an experienced education and learning and development professional with over a decade of work across the UK and internationally. Her background spans teaching, curriculum leadership, quality assurance, and operational management within schools, adult learning, and training organisations. She has worked with learners of all ages and supported multidisciplinary teams across language, skills, and employability provision.

Övgü holds a BA in English Language Teaching and Spanish and a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching from King’s College London. Earlier in her career, she lived and worked in Spain, teaching in primary and secondary settings and developing a strong understanding of language learning through cultural immersion.

Known for a people-centred and organised approach, Övgü brings clarity and high standards to her work. She has led learning programmes, supported staff development, overseen assessment and safeguarding processes, and worked confidently in remote and hybrid environments. Her work is guided by inclusion, quality, and practical impact.

Ovgu Adatas (MA)

Selected achievements and responsibilities

  • Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching from King’s College London

  • BA in English Language Teaching and Spanish

  • Cambridge CELTA qualification

  • Cambridge CELTYL qualification

  • Led learning programmes across schools, adult learning, and training contexts

  • Responsibility for quality assurance, assessment, safer recruitment, and safeguarding

  • Supported staff development and multidisciplinary teams

  • Teaching experience in primary and secondary education settings in Spain

  • Delivery across in-person, remote, and hybrid environments

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