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The "First International Technology Transfer Symposium," organized with the collaboration of 39 national and six international institutions and 45 universities as stakeholders, is being hosted by Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU).
The symposium aims to present and facilitate the commercialization of technological innovations from basic sciences to engineering, health sciences, and social sciences on a global scale.
The symposium, organized at the OMU Atatürk Congress and Cultural Center, was attended by Samsun Governor Orhan Tavlı, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, OMU Rector Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal, along with vice-rectors Prof. Dr. Selim Eren, Prof. Dr. Sevim Alışır, Prof. Dr. Murat Terzi, University General Secretary Prof. Dr. İdris Varıcı, numerous domestic and international university rectors, public institution managers, academics, industry representatives, and many students.
Supported by the Samsun Governorship, Samsun Metropolitan Municipality (SBB), Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRK PATENT), National Agency, and the University Industry Collaboration Centers Platform (ÜSİMP), along with the Medical Promotion and Marketing (TTP), the symposium is being held in a hybrid format. The event features 500 scientists, including 23 international scientists from 6 different countries.
The two-day event includes guest speakers such as the Rector of Malaysia Technology University Prof. Datuk Ts. Dr. Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, Rector of Indonesia's IPB University Prof. Dr. Arif Satria, and Rector of Uzbekistan's Alfraganus University Prof. Dr. Makhmudov Muhammadismoil Mukhıtdınovich, contributing to a broad discussion on technology transfer.
In his opening remarks, Governor Orhan Tavlı highlighted Samsun's potential and dynamism, noting significant advancements in technology transfer efforts, particularly through OMU, Samsun University, Samsun Technopark, and the Samsun Chamber of Commerce. "With these developments, the number of organized industrial zones in Samsun has risen to 14. We are striving to unite all dynamics of our city. The foundation of universities should be community-based, and the community should always be involved. Samsun is a city with strong human resources. Blessed with fertile lands and being productive in agriculture, particularly with the Kızılırmak Delta, Yeşilırmak, and Vezirköprü, agriculture, along with trade and industry, adds to this strength. At this point, it is more appropriate to talk about 'Organized Technology Zones' rather than 'Organized Industrial Zones.' Additionally, 90% of the companies investing in the Technopark are conducting their operations in industrial production," said Tavlı.
Samsun Governor Orhan Tavlı expressed his commitment to integrating organized industrial zones with Samsun Technopark and OMU, aiming to enhance Samsun's development by collaborating with all city dynamics. He highlighted the transfer of expertise from major cities to manage these industrial zones. He noted the active involvement of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, along with development agencies and institutions, in these efforts. "I hope that the 'First International Technology Transfer Symposium' organized in Samsun will benefit our city, our country, and especially all humanity," stated Tavlı.
In his speech, Rector Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal discussed the relational network of civilizations in terms of space, time, and action, which can either nourish and strengthen each other or conflict and consequently destroy. "At this stage, either solidarity or war can be observed. In this network, knowledge is fundamental and universal; however, personalized information, techniques, and technology are powerful tools that differentiate civilizations in their own time and space," said Ünal.
Rector Ünal emphasized that technology transfer is a mandatory action for developing countries. "Today's subject of the symposium, technology transfer, is an obligatory action for us, described as developing countries. This transfer is a means of continuing competition in nations and civilizations that are in sweet competition and solidarity, thus a tool for survival and efficacy. In civilizations in conflict, it is the guarantor of trust in time and space and an indispensable condition for effectiveness. Being able to buy, even having bought, represents a limited power. With its accompanying values, language, and concepts, technology continues to expand an area that is culturally integrated but altered because it does not produce it on its own. Therefore, technology is considered a primary area in espionage activities between states," he added.
Referring to the oppression in Gaza, human rights, and international law, Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal commented on this course of events: "Today's events in Gaza need to be reinterpreted through this perspective. Human rights, international law, courts, justice, values, and everything else produced by Western civilization have taken their place behind the ongoing genocide and immoral war conducted by the state of Israel, all at the cost of destroying them. They are now thrusting this reality into our faces: if you are united, you are strong, if you are strong, you have rights and law; otherwise, your existence has no meaning. Iraq, Libya, Syria, Bosnia, Arakan, East Turkestan, and the next in line. The glorious resistance of the people of Palestine holds the same value and mission as the Kuva-yi Milliye of the Turkish nation, and I pray to God Almighty that the glorious resistance, maintained by our brothers and sisters with the strength of faith despite all the impossibilities, will be crowned with victory."
Informing participants about the features of the JobSocial application developed by OMU, Rector Ünal continued:
"Even though our geographies differ, as children of the same civilization, we need each other's capabilities and talents in a world where our nations face independence, and our culture and civilization face security and survival issues. The transfer of existing knowledge, sharing skills in technology and technique, and, importantly, the sharing of our resources to ensure healthy information production processes, the efficient use of our human resources, thus facilitating knowledge production and reducing costs, are of vital importance. Therefore, we are in pursuit of strengthening the common ground for cooperation among our universities. As a result of this pursuit, we have developed the mobile application JopSocial, which is available in markets in collaboration with University-TTO. This app facilitates and accelerates access to experts in the field with the help of artificial intelligence while also measuring suitability for partnerships in projects, internships, jobs, and employee recruitment. It is well-known to all of us that technological development and its products are possible by employing the right minds at the right places and times. Hence, brain drain is risky."
Emphasizing the need to adopt a culture of producing more results through cooperation, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal said, "In today’s meeting, we are focused on creating value and impact from technology. The technology transfer process, which we have been discussing for a long time, has become a new topic for all of us, and in this meeting, we are determined to produce more outcomes. Because the first step towards success is focusing on producing outcomes. Our knowledge of creating value from technology lays the groundwork for a transformation towards creating impact from technology. However, how we want to implement this transformation is becoming more important than what we want to do. We may be talking about cooperation, but we really need to adopt a culture of working together and producing more results through cooperation. As we have discussed many times before, collaboration may suffice to produce technology, but moving together and collaborating is crucial for creating an impact. That is why we are striving to produce more results here today. We are ready to take steps towards transforming technology into impact with everyone’s contributions."
Symposium webpage: https://itets.omu.edu.tr/
Symposium flow link: https://itets.omu.edu.tr/symposium-program-2/
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