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May 27, 2025 - GTU Office of Press and Public Relations
Students from Gebze Technical University (GTU) achieve great success by ranking among the top teams in an international competition.
Under the supervision of Asst. Prof. Ümit Barış Kutman and Asst. Prof. Bahar Yıldız-Kutman, Molecular Biology and Genetics undergraduate students Başak Ayyıldız and Simay Akpınar represented Türkiye with distinction at the prestigious UrbanFarm 2025 international competition held in Stockholm and organized by the University of Bologna. Preparing their theses at the Plant Biotechnology, Physiology, and Nutrition Laboratory, Ayyıldız and Akpınar attracted attention with their projects focused on transforming urban brownfields into sustainable urban farming spaces.
In the final round, the team "Flourish," including Başak Ayyıldız, won first place, marking a significant achievement. Meanwhile, the "Harvest Hub" team, led by Simay Akpınar, secured fifth place with a successful presentation. These results once again highlighted the competence of Turkish youth in sustainable urban living and biotechnology.
The UrbanFarm 2025 competition, held for the seventh time, started with 12 teams, and 6 teams with 45 participants advanced to the final. The projects aimed to transform an unused area on the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) campus into a sustainable urban garden accessible to students and local residents. After an intense three-month development process, the projects culminated in final presentations.
During the competition, participants visited companies such as Grönska, Nära, and Green and Growing; toured the underground vertical farming facility at the Fotografiska Museum; and explored various city gardens, including the Swedish Museum of Natural History and Huvudsta Trädgård. Workshops and events were also held with students from countries including Finland, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Egypt, and Nepal.
The first-place "Flourish" team earned the “Young Mind Award” presented by the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), along with a one-year ISHS membership for each team member. All finalist teams’ projects will be featured as chapter authors in a book with an ISBN. Details of the winning project will be published in this month’s issue of the ISHS journal, sharing their work with the international scientific community.
Additionally, Elif Uzluer, a student from the GTU's Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering who took part in the “Harvest Hub” team, and Eylül Gedik and Firdevs Sena Ertürk, students from GTU's Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture who completed the competition in the “Urban Green Synergy” and “GreenFusion Hub” teams, which placed 3rd and 4th respectively, made significant achievements by participating online in the competition. |
