STEM’s Summit at ITU: “For a Sustainable Future”

STEM’s (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Summit, organized by ITU Department of Management Engineering and ITU GINOVA, was held at ITU Ayazağa Campus SDCC on December 6-7. The summit, organized with the motto “For a sustainable future”, featured presentations and trainings combining entrepreneurship and innovation with science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

STEM’s Summit, organized through the cooperation of Istanbul Technical University, Department of Management Engineering and ITU GINOVA (Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation) with the slogan “For a sustainable future”, was held as a hybrid event at the Süleyman Demirel Cultural Center in ITU Ayazağa Campus on December 6-7. The summit, which offered both physical and online participation opportunity to its participants, brought together well-known names of the private sector from Türkiye and ITU students. In addition, the contributions of GINOVA to the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem of our country were emphasized at the summit.

The opening ceremony of the STEM’s Summit was attended by ITU’s Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Bülent Güloğlu, Head of ITU Department of Management Engineering Prof. Dr. Hatice Camgöz Akdağ, İTÜ Ginova Manager Assoc. Prof. Dr. Adnan Veysel Ertemel, faculty members and a large number of students. In her opening speech, Prof. Dr. Hatice Camgöz Akdağ, Head of ITU Department of Management Engineering and STEM’s Summit coordinator, emphasized that the summit brings together sustainability enthusiasts with faculty members and students, adding that “It is an instructive and creative summit where science, technology, engineering and mathematics as well as entrepreneurship and innovation will be discussed.”

ITU: Entrepreneurial university that transforms the future

Our Vice-Rector and Head of the Department of Economics Prof. Dr. Bülent Güloğlu addressed the audience in the opening speech of the summit. Prof. Dr. Güloğlu said, “As the world changes, professions and the labor market are also changing. New professions have emerged with the digital transformation. This situation reveals the necessity of keeping education always up-to-date.” and proceeded as follows: “This education is carried out with new education models such as STEM. I think that this summit will create significant awareness for the continuous updating of education systems. In addition to mastering STEM fields, an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset should be acquired. Universities are a part of this transformation and the concept of entrepreneurial university comes to the fore. ITU will bring entrepreneurship to the forefront more with its units such as GINOVA, TTO and with the incubation centers whose number it will increase.”

At the STEM’s Summit, ITU faculty members and speakers from the private sector focused on topics such as STEM’s potential to solve the world’s problems, increasing women’s participation in STEM subjects, creating a plan for change, and how to create design thinking experiences that encourage students to be solution creators. The topics “The future is here”, “You are the future”, “Shaping the future with STEM sustainable technologies”, “Türkiye’s ecosystem”, “veteran and young entrepreneurs and investors”, “improvement journey with questions”, “Sustainability with STEM” were discussed. Presentations were made by student project groups, as well as representatives from various non-governmental organizations and the private sector operating on a global scale.

In addition to presentations and speeches, STEM’s Summit provided its participants with a rich experience of digesting sustainability through coffee talks and trainings. Students exchanged ideas with private sector representatives at the stands opened by companies that prioritize sustainability. At the end of the summit, certificates were presented to the participants.

Click to access the program of STEM’s Summit.