Ertuğrul is a Barnett Scholar and DPhil student in Social Policy. His research interests span a number of topics related to child welfare, including social policies for children and families, education, social investment, with a particular focus on the disadvantaged. His doctoral project centres around configurational comparative methods and focuses on welfare state policies towards children. Specifically, he is interested in understanding the conditions under which governments promote children's social rights.
Ertuğrul holds a master’s degree in Comparative Social Policy from the University of Oxford, and a bachelor’s in Political Science with a minor in Economics from Bilkent University, Ankara. Prior to commencing his DPhil, Ertugrul worked for civil society in Turkey in the field of education and conducted research and advocacy activities, focusing mainly on inequalities in access to quality education, education of Syrian children under temporary protection, early childhood education and care, and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).