A research stay at Boston College - Field report by Resul Zoroğlu

As part of his PhD in economics, Resul Zoroğlu, research assistant at the Chair of Economic Policy, completed a seven-month research stay at Boston College in the USA from September 2024 to March 2025. The focus was on academic exchange with the internationally recognised pioneers of market and mechanism design, Prof. Utku Ünver and Prof. Tayfun Sönmez, as well as working on their own research project with close thematic links to the work of both professors. The two professors are known, among other things, for their pioneering research into the organisation and optimisation of kidney exchange programmes, the practical implementation of which has saved lives worldwide. They have also made significant contributions to the allocation of medical resources, the design of fair allocation procedures in the education system and the further development of theoretical concepts in mechanism design.

Resul Zoroğlu was part of a dynamic research environment with more than 60 international doctoral students. Regular dissertation workshops, seminars and personal support from the professors characterised the stay significantly. In addition to valuable feedback on his own projects, Mr Zoroğlu was also able to develop a joint paper with Mr Rouault, a visiting researcher from Paris.

In addition to his research, Resul used the opportunity to discover the cultural diversity of the USA. Overall, the stay was a formative personal and academic experience, from which Resul Zoroğlu returned with new impulses and a strengthened network.

The research stay also marked a special milestone in his academic career: back in 2017, he was introduced to the research of Prof Ünver and Prof Sönmez during a seminar at the University of Mannheim - and awakened in him the desire to one day work with these pioneers of market and mechanism design. Seven years later, this wish has become a reality. Resul has not only realised a scientific dream, but has also shown that it is possible to make it into the international research elite despite difficult starting conditions and without an academic environment.