President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the TÜBA and TÜBİTAK Science Awards Ceremony held at Beştepe National Congress and Culture Centre. Stating that he was very pleased to be together with scientists on the occasion of the ceremony, Erdoğan wished success to scientists carrying out scientific studies in Türkiye and abroad.
‘We provided 128 billion liras of support to 32 thousand 940 projects’
President Erdoğan said, ‘We increased the number of Research and Development Centres from zero to 1329 and the number of Design Centres from zero to 331. The number of Technoparks increased from 2 to 104. We have established a total of 130 ‘Deneyap Technology Workshops’ in every province of our country in order to increase awareness of technology. We have opened the horizons of our students in this field by introducing courses on information technologies in primary and secondary education curricula. In our Technoparks, 11 thousand 158 companies and 116 thousand 321 personnel are engaged in joint production with university-industry co-operation. We have completed a total of 61,500 projects and 15,955 projects are ongoing.’
Noting that a total of 128 billion liras of support was provided to 32 thousand 940 projects through TÜBİTAK Academic Research and Development programmes, Erdoğan said, ‘Within the scope of Scientist Support, we provided 35 billion liras of support to 381 thousand 730 scientists. Within the scope of support programmes carried out for the private sector, we supported 26 thousand 447 projects with 109 billion liras of resources.’
‘We are taking firm steps towards the goal of a great and strong Türkiye leading the era’
Pointing out that they encourage young people to ‘pursue inventions’ with great enthusiasm through TEKNOFEST competitions, President Erdoğan drew attention to the fact that more than 790 thousand teams applied to TEKNOFEST, which was organised for the 9th time this year, in 50 different categories. Underlining that they have seen very well what young people and scientists can achieve and accomplish if they are given the opportunity and no obstacles are placed in front of them, Erdoğan said, ‘We are preparing our children for the future in terms of being scientists and entrepreneurship with the research project competitions, national and international science olympiads we organise. As can be seen, we are taking firm steps towards the goal of a great and powerful Türkiye that leads the era, not lagging behind it. We do not want to be satisfied with the successes that come and go like soap bubbles. As a country and nation, we stand firmly on the ground and take firm steps. We are making our plans for the medium and long term.’
‘We supported 91 thousand scientists and young people’
Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır spoke at the TÜBA and TÜBİTAK Science Awards Ceremony held at Beştepe National Congress and Culture Centre with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Stating that the paradigms of the old world have collapsed and it is still unclear on which foundations the new world will rise, Kacır said, ‘We are members of a belief that sees scientific activities as a worship and invites people to science, knowledge and learning. We are the heirs of an understanding of science and civilisation based on reason, reasoning and contemplation. The important works put forward by valuable personalities who have been the minds of our civilisation are proof of the intellectual and scientific vitality we have in different periods of history.’
In this period when the level of welfare and competitiveness of countries is determined by the level of ownership of scientific studies and technological innovations, TÜBİTAK continues to ensure that all segments of society meet with science. In 2002, TUBITAK supported 1167 R&D projects with 1.5 billion liras in today's value, and this year we have contributed 9 billion liras to 9 thousand 988 R&D projects. The number of companies benefiting from TUBITAK supports has increased 12 times to 2 thousand 769. While approximately 1000 scientists and young people benefited from TUBITAK supports in 2002, we provided support to 91 thousand scientists and students this year.’
‘2024 was the year of science and technology ’
Describing this year as a year of breakthroughs in science and technology, Kacır said that the Turkish defence industry continued to be the pioneer of technological breakthroughs. Kacır reminded that the supercomputer ARF was put into use, the rubidium atomic clock was produced, TÜRKSAT 6A was sent into space and Türkiye's first astronauts Alper Gezeravcı and Tuva Cihangir Atasever carried out scientific studies in space. Emphasising that each of these programmes and projects carried out under the leadership of President Erdoğan are the footsteps of Türkiye's march to the summit in science and technology and the flares of the Turkish Century, Kacır said: ‘Türkiye's first space science mission, which we carried out with the strong leadership of your Excellency, is the proof that a Türkiye is being built where Turkish children will not give up dreaming of any dream on the grounds that it belongs to the children of other countries.’
‘We continue our work with determination and determination to contribute to our country's march towards becoming a global power’
Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydın, President of TÜBİTAK, stated that the institution has taken important steps to contribute to the National Technology Move targets and that they continue to work with determination and determination to contribute to Türkiye's march towards becoming a global power.
Emphasising that science, technology and innovation policies are shaped within the framework of Türkiye's 12th Development Plan covering the period 2024-2028, Aydın said that this plan sets out the vision of becoming ‘a stable, strong and prosperous Türkiye that is sensitive to the environment, resistant to disasters, produces high added value based on advanced technology, shares income fairly and shares income fairly in the Turkish Century’.
Prof. Dr. Aydın said, ‘In line with this vision, TÜBİTAK is taking important steps to contribute to the National Technology Move targets under the leadership of our Ministry of Industry and Technology. We continue our work with determination and determination to contribute to our country's march towards becoming a global power by achieving the high goals set by you.’
Prof. Dr. Aydın emphasised that the way to a strong economy and a prosperous society is through an understanding based on science, R&D, technology and innovation. Emphasising that TÜBİTAK serves this understanding with its strong infrastructure, qualified researcher human resources and an effective governance model, Aydın said that they pioneered green and digital transformation and brought together researchers from the public, university and private sectors on innovative research platforms.
‘We aim to create motivation for new achievements with our award tradition’
Prof. Dr.Aydın stated that as TÜBİTAK, while providing important R&D support to universities, public and private sectors, they also contribute to the development of domestic and national technologies in many critical areas such as defence, aviation and space, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. Stating that they play a pioneering role in science communication with science centres, magazines, workshops, competitions and many activities spread to every corner of Anatolia, and that they try to spread science to all segments of the society, Aydın emphasised: ‘We make significant contributions to science diplomacy with our bilateral and multiple collaborations, agreements, representation and management duties we undertake in important international institutions.’
Noting that the efforts of our young, dynamic and productive research human resources are reflected in international indicators, Aydın said, ‘Our level of benefiting from international research funding sources is increasing every year. With our increasing number of qualified publications, patents, projects and international cooperation, the international visibility of our universities and research institutions and the competitiveness of our industrialists are getting better every year.’
Prof. Dr. Aydın said, ‘In recent years, we look to the future with more confidence with the policies and mechanisms developed for the sustainability of this accelerated improvement. On the one hand, we support the training of individuals who produce scientific knowledge, transform this knowledge into technology and offer it to the service of society, on the other hand, we attach great importance to appreciating the efforts of our successful scientists by rewarding them.’
TÜBİTAK President Aydın said, ‘This year, our awards will find their owners for the 59th time. With this award tradition, we aim to create motivation for new achievements.’
Science and Technology Gift from TÜBİTAK to President Erdoğan
Minister Kacır and TÜBİTAK President Aydın presented President Erdoğan with an atomic watch produced based on RAFS, Türkiye's first domestic and national rubidium-based atomic watch.
This gift was designed based on Türkiye's first domestic and national rubidium-based atomic clock (RAFS) produced by TÜBİTAK National Metrology Institute (UME). The design was inspired by the engineering works of Al-Jazari and the architecture of Ulug Bey Madrasah, along with the Sun, Moon and Star figures symbolising the Turks' admiration for the sky and their knowledge of astronomy.
Atomic clocks, a technology beyond time, stand out as very high-tech systems that produce time information at least one million times more accurate than the clocks we use in daily life. TÜBİTAK UME has successfully completed the production of rubidium-based atomic clocks in order to strengthen Türkiye's domestic positioning system. This clock will be sent into space to be tested and will contribute to Türkiye's domestic positioning system. In addition, the use of atomic clocks plays a major role in important technologies such as 5G, autonomous vehicles and defence systems. These developments will increase Türkiye's competitiveness in the global technology arena.
Türkiye's first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı also presented President Erdoğan with the pen that Erdoğan had previously gifted him to use in the International Space Station. Gezeravcı also presented Erdoğan with the letter he wrote in space with the pen in question, dedicated to the Turkish nation and Turkish youth.
The ceremony was attended by Numan Kurtulmuş, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye; Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan; Osman Aşkın Bak, Minister of Youth and Sports; Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology; Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Şeker, President of TÜBA; Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education; Efkan Ala, Deputy Chairman of the AK Party; Ömer İleri, Deputy Chairman of the AK Party; Muhammed Emin Akbaşoğlu, Deputy Chairman of the AK Party Parliamentary Group; Alper Gezeravcı, Türkiye's first astronaut; and Tuva Cihangir Atasever, Türkiye's second astronaut.
