Ömer Burhanoğlu

Our New Theme is “Urban Mobility”!

 

Today, there are so many groundbreaking developments in space research, energy use, health technology, fashion design, environmental planning and many other fields that it is a matter of curiosity how the period we are in will be called by historians centuries later.

 

In parallel, all sectors around the world focus on the innovation produced by technology entrepreneurs and further increase their competitiveness by supporting the startup ecosystem.

 

We are witnessing a tremendous transformation in the automotive and mobility sectors, as in every sector. And in this transformation, the perspectives and speed of technology startups are very critical.

 

At this point, our responsibility as the Turkish automotive industry is huge for both our country and the world.

With this awareness, as OİB, the only coordinator association of the Turkish automotive industry in exports, we participated in the largest entrepreneurial event of the sector, which started in 2012 under the name "R&D Project Market and Automotive Component Design Competition in the Turkish Automotive Sector" and continues under the name "Future of Automotive Design Competition" since 2019. We are signing. From past to present, we set out with this awareness and the awareness of activating the potential we have.

 

With our competition, which is short OGTY, the activities provided so far with the contributions of the Ministry of Commerce, such as overseas training, laboratory and mentoring supports, transfer of projects to the industry, and most importantly, setting an example for other sectors, show that we have achieved our goals.

 

The design process is not just about coming up with an idea. We are aware of the necessity of working on an innovative idea with determination and determination for a long time and in an environment with sufficient opportunities. For this reason, we have supported and continue to support successful projects in many ways over the past 12 years, even after the competition is completed.

 

In the competitions that have been held with the participation of more than 14 thousand people to date, more than 5 thousand applications have been evaluated and 124 projects have been awarded.

 

Among the finalists, 11 students who were deemed eligible to receive Overseas Design Scholarships by the Ministry of Commerce studied in countries such as Italy, Australia and the USA, and their education/living expenses were supported by the Ministry of Commerce and covered by OİB.

 

In addition to the awards they have received, the owners of the projects that have won the competitions we have organized so far are entitled to develop their projects in the İTÜ Core Program, the Incubation Center of İTÜ ARI Teknokent, thanks to the cooperation we have been continuing for eight years.

 

To summarize the results between 2015 and 2023, these projects received an investment of 692.2 million TL and provided employment for 1541 people, and they are taking firm steps towards becoming Turkey's industrialists with both national and international success.

 

In addition, startups supported by the ITU Çekirdek Incubation Program are rewarded at the Big Bang Startup Challenge event, where the best ones are determined every year. At the end of the Big Bang event, entrepreneurial groups that are successful and establish companies are provided with opportunities such as mentoring, training, business development and access to the investor network, in line with their entrepreneurial skills, for a year.

 

We will hold the Future of Automotive Design Competition for the 13th time this year on October 23, 2024.

 

In this year's competition; In line with the theme of "Urban Mobility", we focused on solutions within the scope of Autonomous Vehicles, Vehicle Sharing, IoT (Internet of Things), Sustainability and Mobile, Data, Sharing, Energy Management and projects that will make a difference for the country and region in the automotive industry.

 

In this year's competition, our total award will be distributed to 5 projects that deserve 3 million TL and Patent Registration awards. The first-place project will be awarded 900 thousand TL, the second-place project will be awarded 600 thousand TL, the third-place project will be awarded 550 thousand TL, the fourth-place project will be awarded 500 thousand TL, and the fifth-place project will be awarded 450 thousand TL. They will also be able to benefit from the support provided to successful projects as they have done so far.

 

We work harder every year to convey the change and transformation in the automotive industry to younger generations and to combine our experiences with their ideas to bring our country to a leading position. The interest shown in our increasingly branded event makes us happy. I would like to thank our participants who attended our event and shared their ideas with us and wish them success.

 

T.R., who shared the same feelings with us in this event and helped us achieve our goals. I would like to thank the Ministry of Commerce and the Turkish Exporters Assembly, our stakeholder İTÜ ARI Teknokent for their contributions to the execution of the project, OİB Board of Directors and Project Executive Board Members, the valuable jury members who evaluated and voted on the projects, and the entire project team.

 

Kind regards,

 

Ömer Burhanoğlu
Head of Project Implementation Board