Academic Year at GTU Starts with a Lecture by the Minister of Industry and Technology

October 22, 2024-GTU Office of Press and Public Relations

The opening ceremony of the 2024-2025 Academic Year at Gebze Technical University (GTU) takes place with enthusiastic participation at the GTU Congress and Cultural Center. The new academic year at GTU begins with the first lecture given by Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır. The ceremony is attended by Kocaeli Governor İlhami Aktaş, Naval Education and Training Garrison Commander Rear Admiral Hüseyin Tığlı, Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Berna Abiş, GTU Rector Prof. Hacı Ali Mantar, Kocaeli University Rector Nuh Zafer Cantürk, Gebze District Governor Mehmet Ali Özyiğit, Çayırova District Governor Ahmet Önal, Gebze Mayor Zinnur Büyükgöz, Darıca Mayor Muzaffer Bıyık, TÜBİTAK MAM President Prof. Burcu Özsoy, Kocaeli Provincial Police Chief Faruk Karaduman, GTU administration and academics, other officials, representatives from industry and public institutions, and students.

The Major Transformation in Türkiye's R&D Ecosystem

In his speech at the GTU Academic Year Opening Ceremony, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır stated that Türkiye has built a massive research and development ecosystem almost from scratch in the last 22 years, with the number of R&D employees approaching 300,000. He noted, "Türkiye's high-tech exports have surpassed $9 billion. We are talking about an approximate of ninefold increase in high-tech exports over 22 years. Today, we have a large technology, R&D, and innovation infrastructure and ecosystem, with incubation centers and acceleration programs serving technology ventures simultaneously across Türkiye in more than 200 universities."

Academic Studies Will Take the Lead in the "Century of Türkiye"

Minister Kacır stated that academic studies will be the most significant driving force in the journey of the Republic of Türkiye into its second century, the "Century of Türkiye." Highlighting that Turkish industry exports products and services worldwide, Kacır reported that the share of manufacturing industry in national income continues to rise. Some key points from Kacır's presentation include the following:

Increase in Welfare: The journey of Türkiye to develop, produce, and competitively export high-value products and systems using its own resources. It is a journey toward complete independence on one hand and an increase in welfare on the other. Of course, the infrastructure and ecosystem we have built in the last 22 years play a crucial role in this journey.

R&D Ecosystem: Türkiye has constructed a massive research and development ecosystem almost from scratch in the last 22 years. Today, the number of R&D employees in Türkiye is close to 300,000. We have R&D and design centers within more than 1,600 companies. Currently, there are 104 technoparks in Türkiye, where nearly 11,000 firms are conducting innovation-focused activities.

High-Tech Exports: Türkiye's high-tech exports have surpassed $9 billion. We are discussing an approximate of ninefold increase in high-tech exports over 22 years. Today, we have a large technology, R&D, and innovation infrastructure and ecosystem, with incubation centers and acceleration programs serving technology ventures simultaneously across Türkiye in more than 200 universities.

We Are at the Top: Türkiye is at the forefront in terms of the number of countries to which it exports intensively. Simultaneously, the size of our total exports has also increased at an enormous pace. This shows one of the parameters demonstrating the greatest strength of this country. From China to the heart of Europe, we are the one country that can export the most varied products to the most countries competitively.

Number One in the World: Today, Türkiye is number one in the world in military drones. We rank first in white goods production in Europe and second in the world. We rank first in solar panel production in Europe and fourth in the world, and we are number one in Europe in iron and steel production, cement production, and commercial vehicle production. We have over $35 billion in automotive exports, over $30 billion in chemical exports, and over $25 billion in machinery exports. In this respect, we are a country that produces value-added products and has a strong claim in high-tech products.

Technology Ventures: Türkiye now has billion-dollar technology ventures. In 2019, we announced the industrial and technology strategy and set a target of 10 unicorns according to our definition. We said there would be 10 Turkish technology ventures with a value exceeding one billion dollars. At that time, there were no unicorns, and many doubted they would ever exist. Today, we have 7 Turkish technology ventures with a value exceeding one billion dollars and classified as unicorns. Our goal is for 100,000 technology ventures to be born in Türkiye by 2030, with at least 100 of them exceeding a billion dollars in value and becoming unicorns. Türkiye is a country that can achieve this.

Investment Incentives: We want and wish for the transformation of Turkish industry to continue with a knowledge-based economy. As a ministry that offers investment incentives, we will make it mandatory for these firms to strengthen their research and development collaborations, just like in the defense industry.

National Space Program: With TÜRKSAT 6A, we gained experience in orbital operations for the first time. This experience will contribute to our Moon project. We aim to reach the Moon, 380,000 kilometers away, by firing our own developed hybrid rocket engine with our own space vehicle. This is one of the important goals of our National Space Program.

GTU’s Leadership in Technology and R&D Achievements

In his speech at the ceremony, GTU Rector Prof. Hacı Ali Mantar reminded that GTU was established with the aim of conducting R&D studies in high technology, transferring these studies to the industry, and being a leading technology university in Türkiye, emphasizing the university's academic achievements, its ranking in the country, and its success in R&D activities. Prof. Mantar stated: “With the rapid development of digital technologies, significant changes are taking place in R&D and education. The era of conducting R&D studies as a single discipline has been replaced by multidisciplinary and collaborative research. We are increasing our R&D collaborations and participating more in international projects to keep up with these changes. In the past year, we established our International Projects Office and increased our project applications fivefold. In this regard, our project budget has also grown by 900%.”

Innovative Steps in Education

Prof. Mantar also touched upon innovations in education, stating, “We have taken significant steps in education. We offer our students opportunities for long-term internships in the industry and provide industrial application courses. With the master’s program we initiated in artificial intelligence, we are popularizing interdisciplinary applications. Additionally, we provide opportunities for students to have their extracurricular activities evaluated through our micro-credit program.”

Building Confidence and Success Through Student Technology Teams

Prof. Mantar pointed out that student technology teams hold an important place at GTU, stating, “Our student technology teams have become an essential part of our education. These teams develop self-learning, planning, and teamwork skills working on a project basis. This success is measured not only by the rankings achieved in competitions, but also by the confidence and training our students gain. We have established a Coordination Office for Student Technology Teams to support these teams,” he said.

The ceremony continued after Rector Prof. Hacı Ali Mantar’s opening speech and Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır’s first lecture of the academic year, with the presentation of awards in various categories. Awards were presented to successful academics and students, including Research Incentive Awards, Service Awards, Loyalty Awards, and Master's and Doctoral Thesis Awards. Additionally, plaques were presented to supporting institutions and organizations. The event concluded with the presentation of success awards to students. The GTU family has stepped into the new academic year with this meaningful ceremony.

Award Categories & Recipients

Research Incentives Award:

Assoc. Prof. Ceren Çubukcu-Çerasi, Assoc. Prof. Büşra Özdenizci-Köse

Doctoral Thesis of the Year Award:

Asst. Prof. Pınar Pir (Advisor), Gülben Avşar-Özcan (PhD)

Prof. Bülent Sezen (Advisor), Yavuz Selim Balcıoğlu (PhD)

Prof. Mevlüt Karabulut (Advisor), Ali Kemal Mak (PhD)

Assoc. Prof. Orhan Sevimoğlu (Advisor), Özge Östürk-Sömek (PhD)

Master's Thesis of the Year Award:

Assoc. Prof. Engin Afacan (Advisor), Enes Sağlıcan

Asst. Prof. Ezgi Yavuz (Advisor), Selinay Kılıç-Zorba

Student Achievements Award (TEKNOFEST):

GTU Delta Alaz Team, YTG GTU Biosgas Innovators Team, Alfa Eta-H Team, GTU Gök Vatan Team, GTU Women's Volleyball Team

Service Award:

Assoc. Prof. Fatma Karaoğlu, Nihal Kara, Gökmen Işık, Aydın Kurt

Loyalty Award (Academic):

Prof. DSalih Zeki İmamoğlu, Prof. Ali Ata, Assoc. Prof. Hatice Gülay Algül

Loyalty Award (Administrative):

Ercan Sarı, Şahin Demir, Şükrü Günay

Donor Award (Bronze):

Muhammet Enes Kaya (Kale Balata), Celal Kaya (Kale Oto Radyatör), Umut Yeşiltepe (Hisar Çelik), Yeşim Destegül (Gama Technic), Adnan Köşker (Former Mayor of Gebze), Yakup Yönten (Büyük Anadolu Hospital), Mehmet Keskin (Yöre Süt)

Donor Award (Silver):

Buket Ergül (SARKUYSAN Inc.), Osman Üçüncü (Karbeton), Bülent Gülsar (Integrated Wood Industry and Trade Inc.), Oğuz Şerifalioğlu (Gebze Chamber of Commerce), Burcu Cürül-Keskin (FİBA Commercial Real Estate Investments Inc.), Ahmet Kotan (OCTOXLABS)

Donor Award (Gold):

Osman Okyay (Kale Seramik), Zinnur Büyükgöz (Gebze Municipality), Abdurrahman Aslantürk (Gebze Chamber of Commerce), Yusuf İzzettin Öztürk (İshakoğlu Beton), Tolga Kayalar (Kayalar Kimya), Ali Sinan Üstünel (Betek Boya)