A cooperation agreement was signed between Sabancı University, the Undersecretariat of Defense Industry and the leading companies in the industry as part of the Program to Train Researchers for the Defense Industry.
The signing ceremony was held at the Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum in Emirgan with the attendance of Sabancı University Acting President Professor Ayşe Kadıoğlu, Assistant Undersecretary of Defense Industry Dr. Cemal Sami Tüfekçi, and the executives of the leading institutions in the industry including ASELSAN Elektronik Sanayii A.Ş., CTECH Bilişim Teknolojileri Sanayii Ticaret A.Ş., HAVELSAN Hava Elektronik Sanayii A.Ş., ROKETSAN Roket Sanayii ve Ticaret A.Ş., TUSAŞ Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayii A.Ş. and TEI Tusaş Motor Sanayii A.Ş.
Building partnerships between universities, public institutions and private companies for the creation and utilization of technology is extremely important.
Speaking at the ceremony, Sabancı University Acting President Professor Ayşe Kadıoğlu said, "We are delighted to have this meeting at the Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum. Building partnerships between universities, public institutions and private companies for the creation and utilization of technology is extremely important. Universities play the largest role in encouraging creativity through training and research. However, public and private partnerships are what brings research to life. We believe that cooperation with the leading institutions in the industry is instrumental for training new researchers to the industry and implementing projects. This is why we have convened as part of the Program to Train Researchers for the Defense Industry overseen by the Undersecretariat of Defense Industry. As Sabancı University, we are prepared to provide all the support we can through the impressive capabilities and robust infrastructure of our university to ensure a systematic flow of information in the defense industry, leading to the training of qualified researchers and effective cooperation opportunities."
Also speaking in the ceremony, Assistant Undersecretary of Defense Industry Dr. Cemal Sami Tüfekçi said, "In order to achieve our objective of 'Full Domesticity in Basic and Advanced Technologies', which is one of the objectives set by the Undersecretariat for 2020 and beyond, we need to expand our foundation in technology through effective university-industry cooperation, which in turn required qualified people. We have a great need for more scientists and researchers for greater science in Turkey.
The High Council for Science and Technology has set a target of 300,000 researchers by 2023. It is planned that 60% of the 300.000 researchers, or 180,000 individuals, will be employed by the private sector. One of the efforts we undertook to reach our R&D objectives is the Program to Train Researchers for the Defense Industry.
The Program will enable systematic flow of information between defense industry companies and universities depending on the priorities of the industry, existing R&D needs, and the direction of the Undersecretariat, and will ultimately help to meet the need for qualified R&D personnel in the defense industry.
Today's cooperation protocol involves Sabancı University and CTECH in the ecosystem, where we now have 18 universities and 35 defense companies. I would like to thank everyone who played a part in achieving this objective, and restate my confidence that more universities and defense companies will be included in the Program in the future in order to promote university-industry cooperation, which will serve to meet the need for qualified people and cutting-edge research in the defense industry."