Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Nihat Ergün attended the 2nd R&D Centers Summit. Minister Ergün, who visited the TÜBİTAK stand at the summit, was presented with a smart ID card and a photograph of Kocaeli taken from the RASAT satellite.
The 2nd R&D Centers Summit organized by the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology started at the Istanbul Congress Center. Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Nihat Ergün opened the summit, which was organized to exhibit the work carried out by R&D centers, review the outputs, share them with the public, and create information and awareness.
Stating that the role of R&D centers in the innovation ecosystem will be discussed at the summit, Minister Ergün said that the products produced in R&D centers will also be exhibited. Stating that the projects and products to be seen in the exhibition will be another expression of the new Turkey, Ergün said, "It is of great importance to take into account the opinions and ideas of all stakeholders in our management approach. I would like to emphasize that the summit will shed light on the steps we will take in the coming period regarding R&D centers. Although Turkey has come a long way, it is still not at the level we desire."
Stating that the Ministry is in close contact with R&D centers, Ergün said, "Two issues emerge in our workshops and meetings with R&D centers. One of them is to reduce the number of 50 full-time researchers to establish an R&D center a little more, so that more companies can establish R&D centers, and the other is to include the time spent by researchers outside the R&D center within the scope of exemption."
Convenience for R&D Centers
Ergün stated that they have made a legal arrangement to reduce the number of 50 full-time researchers, that they will bring this to the parliamentary agenda in the near future, that they plan to reduce this number to 30 researchers, and that a regulation amendment study has been initiated to include the period outside R&D centers within the scope of exemption.
Stating that it is important that nearly 40 thousand researchers work in technoparks and R&D centers, Ergün said, "More than 2,500 companies are conducting research on projects in technoparks. Research on 3 thousand 600 projects continues in 148 R&D centers. We are progressing numerically. This is a good thing, but our next steps will be different. We are now prioritizing increasing quality by creating and using impact analyses and performance indices. We have entered a new phase in terms of both R&D centers and technology development zones. Now it is time to gradually collect the outputs, products and revenues."
Minister Ergün Receives New Identity Card
After the opening speech, Minister Ergün gave R&D Center Certificates to the companies and took a family photo. After the ceremony, Ergün visited the stands where the works developed in R&D centers were exhibited and visited the TÜBİTAK stand. Minister Ergün was presented with the new chip ID card that will be distributed starting from the new year. He was also presented with a photograph of Kocaeli taken by the RASAT satellite.
