Project factory

Having reached an occupancy rate of 97.68 percent last year, Izmir University of Economics (IUE), which is the 4th most preferred foundation university in Turkey in undergraduate programs, knows no bounds when it comes to research projects. As of July of this year, the number of corporate and applied research projects carried out by IUE academics reached 104. The total budget of national and international projects reached 103 million TL. The fact that 49 of the projects carried out in different fields such as engineering, software, automotive, medical equipment, industrial design, fine arts, medicine, business administration and architecture were realized by university-industry cooperation was remarkable. As a result of the studies carried out within the University so far, 19 patents have been obtained; 9 utility models, 35 trademarks, 13 design registrations, 3 international, 6 national patents and 5 trademark protection applications were made.

CAMPUS IZMIR SHOWED ITS EFFECT

IUE Rector Prof. Dr. Murat Aşkar emphasized that they saw the positive reflections of Campus Izmir, which they created as the first model of university-city integration in Turkey. Stating that universities should be in a structure where projects are produced and research activities are supported continuously, Prof. Dr. Aşkar said, “Our aim is to conduct training and research that will contribute to the production of high value-added products and services in our country. The strength of the University in this regard comes from the productivity, hard work, research and entrepreneurship of its academics. We are very lucky to have an experienced teaching staff who understand the requirements of the new age and transfer this change to projects, learning methods and course subjects. We are a unique team, a beautiful family with more than 900 academics. I believe that this unity and synergy will bring us new successes in the coming period.”

MET BY GRANTS AND FUNDS

Vice-Rector for Research Prof. Dr. Levent Eren said, “The number of our research projects, which was 43 in 2018 and 82 last year, has now reached 104. These consist of joint studies carried out with the European Union (EU), TUBITAK, development agencies, unitary research projects and projects realized with university-industry cooperation. Project budgets were met by national or international grants, and funds from companies. In addition, the University has provided 30 entrepreneurs with a grant support of more than 600 thousand TL with training and mentoring supports within the scope of TUBITAK 1512 Entrepreneurship Support Program. IUE Project Development and Technology Transfer Office undertakes important tasks in the complete execution of all these processes, increasing communication with the business world, entrepreneurship and intellectual property.”

WE HAVE FOUR UNITS

IUE Project Development and Technology Transfer Office Coordinator Onur Kanyılmaz said, “All technology transfer activities planned and carried out at the University are managed by our office. We have 4 units within the Office, namely the ‘National and International Project Funding and Project Management Unit’, the ‘University-Industry Cooperation Unit’, the ‘Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights and Commercialization Unit’ and the ‘Entrepreneurship and Incorporation Unit’. Our biggest goal is to take steps to transform ideas into high value-added products and services in cooperation with Izmir Chamber of Commerce and Izmir Science Park.”