Turkey Innovation Week Held

  Turkey Innovation Week, organized by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) under the coordination of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Commerce, was held on 3-4 May 2019 at Istanbul Congress Center. During the two-day event, in addition to innovation-focused conferences featuring expert speakers including Shazam co-founder Chris Barton, innovative exhibitions and workshop sessions were also organized. Turkey Innovation Week reached approximately 40,000 participants, the highest attendance to date, with 20,800 on the first day alone. TİM President İsmail Gülle stated: "This event, which we organized as the Turkish Exporters Assembly, has reinforced that innovation is the single destination. To achieve our 'Turkey with Trade Surplus' goal, which we have voiced at every platform, and to make export records sustainable, we can only succeed by integrating innovation and technological transformation into our production and exports." On the final day of Turkey Innovation Week, the "Darüşşafaka Award Ceremony for Innovative Youth Contribution" was held. The ceremony was attended by Youth and Sports Minister Dr. Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu, Youth and Sports Vice Minister Halis Yunus Ersöz and Transport and Infrastructure Ministry Vice Minister Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan. Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) President İsmail Gülle delivered a speech at the ceremony. "We launched our Innovation Week with the presence of the President and our Ministers, alongside highly valued speakers and panels. We experienced a magnificent day. Our halls overflowed with ambitious young people pursuing innovation and our companies. This event, which we organized as the Turkish Exporters Assembly, has reinforced that innovation is the single destination. To achieve our 'Turkey with Trade Surplus' goal, which we have voiced at every platform, and to make export records sustainable, we can only succeed by integrating innovation and technological transformation into our production and exports. Seeing that a significant portion of the guests filling this hall today consists of young colleagues from our InnovatİM family is extremely gratifying and hopeful. If we want to build the path leading to the future starting today, it is vital that our youth be at the center of this process. Because we can reach the future with your dynamic and innovative perspectives. We can write new stories with your boundless energy." TİM President Gülle concluded his remarks: "The President says in every forum: 'Without mastering technology, we cannot sustain our independence.' Indeed, as Turkey, from data production to security, defense, health, education, information technologies to artificial intelligence, we must stand on our own feet in every field. We must give the necessary importance to technology mastery and become a country that not only uses technology but designs, produces and even exports it. We must conduct this process collectively, with awareness of mutual interdependence between countries and with a win-win principle." At the Darüşşafaka Award Ceremony for Innovative Youth Contribution, Darüşşafaka High School FRC Robot Club, which has made Turkey proud internationally with its high engineering and robotics achievements, received an award. Four project teams of InnovatİM with international success—METU Formula Racing, ATAÜNİ Formula Racing, ITU APIS, and ITU AUV Team—were awarded Special Prizes for Innovative Youth Contribution within the scope of Turkey Innovation Week. On the final day of the event, panels were organized on "From Smart Cities to Conscious Cities", "From Digital Transformation to Production Transformation: New Horizons in Industry", "What's Happening in Space?", "New Route for Exports: From Price Competition to Knowledge Competition" and "Innovation in Finance: Fintech and Blockchain Technologies". Recent developments related to innovation were discussed at these panels. The panels featured expert names in their fields worldwide and in Turkey, including Shazam co-founder Chris Barton, Human Works co-founder and futurist Rudy de Waele, NASA CIO Omar Hatamleh, former NASA rocket engineer Kevin J. Debruin and astrophysicist Dr. Umut Yıldız. April exports exceeded USD 15 billion April export figures were also announced at Turkey Innovation Week. According to the general trade system, April exports increased 5.4% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching USD 15 billion 273 million. Thus, for the first time in the country's history, April exports surpassed USD 15 billion. In the first four months of the year, exports reached USD 60 billion with 3.8% growth, while exports over the last 12 months reached USD 179 billion with 5.8% growth.