The President of TÜBİTAK, Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, met with Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı, the Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the EU, in Brussels. During the meeting, which emphasized the continuity of the successful line achieved by our country's stakeholders in terms of participation in the Horizon Europe Program as of 2019, the latest updates on Türkiye's participation in the Digital Europe Program were shared.
Prof. Dr. Mandal and Ambassador Kaymakcı also discussed current relations with the European Union and upcoming activities planned between the European Commission and Türkiye.
As part of the Brussels contacts, President Mandal also met with Ambassador Zeki Levent Gümrükçü, the Permanent Representative of Türkiye to NATO. The meeting evaluated the latest developments within the NATO Innovation Fund and the effective participation of our country in the fund. They also discussed the contributions of TÜBİTAK SAGE and TÜBİTAK BİLGEM to the activities within the NATO DIANA Accelerator Program.
President Mandal emphasized the strategic importance of benefiting from NATO's Innovation and DIANA Fund mechanisms for our country, stating, "We will continue to develop our deep and innovative technologies in line with our strategic objectives."
Green Deal and digital transformation on the agenda...
During the meeting between President Hasan Mandal and Julien Guerrier, the Director of Joint Policies Centre of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, the agenda focused on the European Commission's current strategic priorities such as the Green Deal and digital transformation, as well as impact analysis studies conducted.
In the discussions evaluating their work on global issues within the framework of the Horizon Europe Program, consultations were held to increase the number of successful SMEs, particularly in relation to the European Innovation Council.
President Mandal emphasized the need to effectively utilize the current scientific research results in eliminating urgent global problems such as COVID and climate change.
In the meeting with Signe Ratso, the Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, the increasing success of our stakeholders within the Horizon Europe Program and the intensive participation of our country's stakeholders, especially in missions focused on global issues, were once again appreciated. The progress made towards hosting the Marmara Urban Forum in Istanbul in October, within the scope of the Cities Mission, and the next High-Level Dialogue event to be held in Türkiye, following the previous one held in Brussels, were discussed.
Finally, discussions were held regarding the brokerage event, which is planned to take place in Brussels in November and will focus on the Green Deal topics. It was emphasized that this event, with the participation of more than 300 participants, mostly from our country, will be a great opportunity for establishing new collaborations within the Horizon Europe framework.
"We are always open to contributing with best practices through our research ecosystem and national priority and support programs."
During the Brussels meetings, President Mandal also met with Ronald De Bruin, the Director of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) program. They discussed the importance of science communication, the effectiveness of current projects, and participation in upcoming actions planned by COST.
President Mandal expressed satisfaction with Türkiye being one of the top three countries with 99% active participation in COST actions last year. He stated, "We have expressed that we are always open to contributing with good practices thanks to the compatibility of our research ecosystem and national priority and support programs with effective process management." The meeting also addressed the COST National Information Day that will be held in our country in 2024.
23.06.2023