Dear GTU Community,

As part of the Industrial Design Department’s events, a seminar titled “Designing Products for Industry in 100 Steps: Tofaş,” featuring Prof. Önder Küçükerman as the speaker, will be held on March 30, 2026, at 1:00 PM at the Gebze Technical University Congress and Culture Center.

📅 Date: Monday, March 30, 2026

🕘 Time: 1:00 PM

📍 Location: GTU Congress and Culture Center, Hall 2 (Blue Hall)

About Prof. Önder Küçükerman

Born in Trabzon in 1939, Prof. Önder Küçükerman graduated from the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts in 1965 and began his academic career at the same institution. Playing a pioneering role in the institutionalization of industrial design education in Turkey, Küçükerman established Turkey’s first Department of Industrial Design at the School of Applied Industrial Arts, founded in 1971 under the Academy of Fine Arts, and served as department chair continuously until 2006. At Mimar Sinan University, he served as Dean of the Faculty of Architecture (1987–1993), Chair of the Department of Industrial Product Design, Director of the Industrial Design Research and Publication Institute (ETAYE), and Founder of the Industrial Design Research Center (ETAM). In addition to his academic work, he served as a design manager and consultant at Paşabahçe, Türk Demirdöküm, Chrysler Truck Industry, Tofaş, and numerous other industrial firms, pioneering the integration of design with industry. Prof. Küçükerman, who has authored over seventy books in fields such as Industrial Design, creativity, traditional design culture in Anatolia, the automotive industry, and the history of design, was awarded the Turkish Design Council Honorary Award in 2019. He currently continues his academic work at Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts and Haliç University.

Seminar Content

The seminar will explore the development of Turkey’s automotive industry and the story of Tofaş’s transformation from an assembly-focused manufacturer into a strategic design and engineering center with global-scale R&D capabilities. The journey, which began in 1971 with the production of the Murat 124, will be illustrated with examples of design and product development processes spanning global projects such as the Doblo, Fiorino, and Linea. As part of the event, the design and R&D steps—from the conceptual phase of an industrial product through concept development, engineering integration, prototyping, production planning, and launch into the global market—will be evaluated from a holistic perspective. Tofaş’s acquired R&D capabilities, its capacity for intellectual and industrial property development, international collaborations, and its position within the global production network will be detailed. Additionally, the role of R&D in the context of design management, interdisciplinary work culture, innovative production technologies, and sustainable competitiveness in the automotive sector will be discussed.

The event is open to all faculty and university participants.
It is eligible for the GTÜ 110 Scientific and Technological Events Course.

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