A cooperation agreement was signed by Sabancı University and Technopark Istanbul. According to the agreement, the Sabancı University Research and Graduate Policy Directorate will provide Technology Transfer Office (TTO) services, Incubation Facility services and Technology Identification and Assessment services for one year, sharing institutional knowledge and experience.
Sabancı University will design the organizational structure and corporate identity for Technopark Istanbul’s Technology Transfer Office, including planning, policy development, project development, project management, IP portfolio and commercialization trainings for employees.
The Technology Identification and Assessment service includes contacting 50 companies, consulting with Technopark Istanbul to choose the most suitable companies, and identify the technological competence, innovation competence, R&D and project potentials of these prospective companies. The service also covers establishing supply and demand profiles of companies under 1. Business, 2. Technology, 3. R&D and Technology Development Projects, 4. Access to Funding, and monitoring related processes.
The agreement was signed by President Nihat Berker and Technopark Istanbul General Manager Turgut Şenol at a ceremony also attended by Vice President and Research and Graduate Policy Director Hasan Mandal, Secretary General Haluk Bal, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Dean Yusuf Menceloğlu, Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center Director Volkan Özgüz, Technopark Istanbul Assistant General Manager İsmail Arı, and members of the project team from Technopark Istanbul and Sabancı University.
The partnership between Sabancı University and Technopark Istanbul aims to bring a fresh perspective to the ecosystem aligned with Turkey’s vision and priorities regarding science, technology and innovation, and create an exemplary model for university-industry partnerships.
Technopark Istanbul
Located next to the Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, Technopark Istanbul is a science and technology estate established by the Undersecretariat of Defense Industry and the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce to contribute to the technology development capacity in Turkey and create a dynamic innovation environment that is open to entrepreneurship.
Technopark Istanbul is expected to be Turkey’s largest technology estate and one of the largest in Europe with 950,000 m² of indoor area and over 30,000 highly qualified employees, home to more than a thousand domestic and foreign R&D companies. The first phase of Technopark Istanbul has 2000 m² of incubation facility space in halls with an indoor area of 62,000 m², and the facility will grow to be Turkey’s largest and best-equipped by 2015, expanding to an area of 16,000 m². Entrepreneurs in Technopark Istanbul working on new technologies may be eligible for risk capital at varying levels.
The focus of Technopark Istanbul will be on Aeronautics and Aerospace, Defense, Advanced Electronics, Advanced Materials, Energy, Industrial Software and Medical Sciences. Horizontal technology components supporting these industries will also be able to apply to Technopark Istanbul.
Research and Graduate Policy Directorate
At Sabancı University, processes related to research management have been conducted by the Research and Graduate Policies (RGP) Directorate since 2001. RGP supports research at Sabancı University to reach its strategic targets and implement internal policies and assists research activities and innovation initiatives that aim to turn scientific and technological developments into social and economic benefits. Institutional management of research enables academic personnel to focus on the project, secures funding from appropriate public and private sources, ensures compliance with the contractual performance output obligations of research projects in the implementation phase, introduces accountability, and improves the conversion of research and its outputs economic value through partnerships, new ventures, investment in new knowledge, and national or international knowledge transfer opportunities.
Research at Sabancı University is an interdisciplinary endeavor with components in the Faculties of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, and Management; the Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, Sabancı University Istanbul Policy Center, Sabancı University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate; and the TÜSİAD Sabancı University Competitiveness Forum, Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum, and the Sabancı University Gender and Women Studies Forum.
The integrated structure of the Research and Graduate Policy Directorate incorporates Research Process Planning and Policy Development, Project Development Office, Technology Transfer Office, Project Management Office, Pre-Incubation and Accelerator Services Facility, Inovent, Inc., and European Enterprise Network Istanbul.