Born in Edirne in 1983, he completed his primary, secondary, and high school education in Edirne before beginning his higher education at Trakya University Faculty of Education in 2000. After completing his undergraduate studies in 2004, Ilgaz began his master's studies that same year and was accepted into the doctoral program in 2008. Following the completion of his doctorate, he began working as an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Sciences at the Faculty of Education, Trakya University, in 2012. He was promoted to associate professor in 2020. Between 2019 and 2024, he served as the Director of the Trakya University Institute of Roman Language and Culture Studies. Currently, he has held the position of Deputy Head of Department in the Department of Educational Sciences at the Faculty of Education, Trakya University, since 2014, and the position of Head of the Division of Curriculum and Instruction since 2018. Ilgaz's academic work primarily focuses on the development and evaluation of educational programs, teacher training, the analysis of large-scale education datasets (PISA, ICILS, ICCS, etc.), social-emotional learning, digital literacy, and the impact of educational policies on curricula. His research particularly emphasises the adaptation of educational programs to different contexts, the effects of teacher characteristics on student achievement, and the contributions of international educational research to educational policies.

Sedef Zeyrekli Yaş, 2000-2005 yılları arasında Hacettepe Üniversitesi İİBF Kamu Yönetimi bölümünde lisans eğitimini, 2005-2009 senelerinde Trakya Üniversitesi Kamu Yönetimi Anabilim Dalında yüksek lisans eğitimini, 2011-2017 yılları arasında ise Trakya Üniversitesi Uluslararası İlişkiler Anabilim Dalında doktora eğitimini tamamlamıştır. Ayrıca Anadolu Üniversitesi İktisat Fakültesi Uluslararası İlişkiler bölümü ve Açıköğretim Fakültesi Sosyoloji bölümü lisans diplomalarına sahiptir. 2023 yılında doçent unvanını alan Zeyrekli Yaş'ın çalışma alanları Türk siyasi hayatı, siyaset sosyolojisi, siyasi davranış, anayasa ve siyasi kurumlardır. Zeyrekli Yaş’ın mevzubahis alanlarda ulusal ve uluslararası mecrada yayınlanan çeşitli bildiri, makale, kitap ve kitap bölümleri bulunmaktadır.