Elif Sercen Nurcan graduated from Bogazici University’s Department of Political Science and International Relations in 2016 together with a double major in Economics. In 2017, she was awarded the MEXT Research Scholarship by the Japanese government and entered Meiji University’s Graduate School of Political Science and Economics in Tokyo. She obtained her MA with her thesis on the Japanese semiconductor industry policies in 2020. Enrolled in the same department since 2020, her current Ph.D. research is on Japan's cybersecurity policies. She has presented at various international conferences in institutions such as Taiwan National University of Political Science, Thammasat University in Thailand, and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, and has four peer-reviewed academic publications. Her research interests also include the political economy of East Asia, contemporary Japanese politics, and the role of the state in the development of high-tech industries.