1773 ITU Technopark Is Opened

ITU continues to implement new projects to develop products and services through R&D projects and to increase our country’s technology export. In this context, ITU announced that 1773 ITU Technopark is established with a brand new mentality and structure and started to accept project applications.

Istanbul Technical University (ITU) announced the establishment of a brand new technopark, which will operate in accordance with the Law on Technology Development Zones and prioritize university-industry cooperation, together with its partners who are leaders in their fields. ITU invites entrepreneurs and companies who want to conduct R&D projects and develop products with the support of the university and the incentive advantages of the technopark to cooperate at 1773 ITU Technopark.

In the announcement, ITU Rector and Chair of the Board of Directors of 1773 ITU Technopark Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu said, “Unlike our previous technopark experiences, this time ITU has the majority share. We will carry out a wider range of R&D activities not only in software, but in the research areas of all faculties, in close cooperation with the university, hand in hand with domestic and foreign industrial organizations in all fields. Thanks to the large share of ITU, the necessary coordination and close cooperation between the university and the technopark will be maintained at all times. However, while doing these, we will not increase the density of our campuses by building additional large office buildings.”

Prof. Dr. Koyuncu: “We Will Make a Difference by Working Closely with the Industry.”

Prof. Dr. Koyuncu expressed the following in his statement: “The Board of Directors of 1773 ITU Technopark decided to appoint Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Tunçalp, a faculty member of ITU Department of Management Engineering, who is known for his work in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, as the General Manager. Under his leadership, we will increase technology transfer activities at 1773 ITU Technopark and provide prototyping, testing and similar services. We will make a difference by working closely with the industry. I wish him and our entire team success.”

Thanking Prof. Dr. Koyuncu and the members of the Board of Directors for his appointment, 1773 ITU Technopark General Manager Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Tunçalp stated that they will start receiving applications for R&D projects in the coming days and said, “We welcome institutions and organizations in all industrial fields to Ayazağa and Florya to conduct R&D together with ITU. Our two buildings in these regions will be followed by the work we will do around ITU campuses in the coming months. With our incubation and acceleration programs, we will always support the entrepreneurship ecosystem, especially those who develop technology products for the industry. We will work with all our strength to open the way for those who create advanced technology.”

Strong Partnership Structure

ITU’s technopark initiative, which aims to embrace different industrial areas, is supported by important institutions and organizations in Türkiye’s industry and trade. 1773 ITU Technopark, a large 61 percent share of which belongs to Istanbul Technical University, has a strong partnership structure. In this context, Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, TUSAŞ Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc., Teknopark Istanbul, Havelsan Inc., and SAHA Istanbul Defense Aviation and Space Cluster Association are among the shareholders of 1773 ITU Technopark. The shareholders and stakeholders of 1773 ITU Technopark state that they aim to add great strength to Türkiye and ITU with the projects the technopark will host, the resources it will create and the research opportunities it will offer.

1773 ITU Technopark, whose boundaries were announced in the Official Gazette on July 28, 2022, covers an area of 40,000 square meters in ITU Ayazağa Campus, including the ITU Design and Prototype Center, and a second area of 60,000 square meters on ITU’s Florya site, including a laboratory building used by ITU Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in the past.

Detailed information about 1773 ITU Technopark and application forms for project owners and entrepreneurs who want to take part in the technopark can be accessed here.