Turquality and Brand Speciality Vision Program at ITU

End-to-End Turquality and Brand Speciality Vision Program, organized with the collaboration of ITU Continuing Education Center, Progroup and TDKF, started with the opening ceremony and first lecture held in a special session at Ayazağa Campus on February 9, 2024.

Istanbul Technical University (ITU) is hosting an important event that strengthens university-industry-public cooperation. The opening ceremony and first lecture of the End-to-End Turquality and Brand Speciality Vision Program was held with a special session at Süleyman Demirel Cultural Center in Ayazağa Campus on February 9.

The opening ceremony hosted by our Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu was attended by Republic of Türkiye Minister of Trade Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat, TDKF President and former Minister of State Kürşad Tüzmen, Director General of Exports Mehmet Ali Kılıçkaya, TİM Deputy Chairman Ahmet Güleç, as well as businesspeople, academics, trainees and ITU students.

Dr. Salim Çam, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Progroup, was the first to speak at the ceremony and made a presentation on the importance and history of Turquality, and the 49 hours of training that will take place at our Maçka Campus on Fridays and Saturdays until March 9.

Program that increases branding and competitiveness

In his speech addressing the participants, our Rector stated that the End-to-End Turquality and Brand Speciality Vision Program trainings at ITU will fulfill an important need. Prof. Dr. Koyuncu emphasized that giving the training through university-industry cooperation indicates a great vision and said, “Valuable academics and sector representatives who are experts raised by our country in the field of foreign trade will contribute to the training to be held at ITU Continuing Education Center with the support of our Ministry of Trade.”

TDKF President and former Minister of State Kürşad Tüzmen mentioned the 250-year role ITU played in training young minds. Tüzmen emphasized the parameters required for the development of foreign trade and called on the trainees to participate in the trainings.

“ITU always creates sympathy”

Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye, gave the first lecture titled “Turquality and Brand Opening Lecture” at the program. Minister Prof. Dr. Bolat underlined that since 2004, Turquality has been aiming for an export attack in which added value, knowledge economy, technological share and innovation will add value, and he shared current developments on important issues such as the green deal.

In his speech, Prof. Dr. Bolat described ITU as a “distinguished institution that always creates warmth and sympathy in our hearts” and stated that his family members became university students for the first time in ITU’s “Industry Engineering” department.

Raising employer graduates

The special session continued with a panel discussion on topics such as the interaction between foreign currency earning services and universities, idea development, and establishment of start-ups in universities. In the panel moderated by Kürşad Tüzmen; Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu, Prof. Dr. Bülent Güloğlu, Dr. Salim Çam, Mehmet Ali Kılıçkaya, Abdullah Bozatlı and Hakan Güldağ took part as speakers. At the end of the event, the panelists answered questions posed by the audience.

About Turquality

Turquality is a vision program, which is unique in the world and aims to increase our country’s exports and increase the share of value-added products in exports. Within the scope of the End-to-End Turquality and Brand Speciality Vision Program, training is provided by experts on various topics such as “foreign currency earning activities”, “Turquality business model algorithm”, “supply chain management”, “artificial intelligence and digitalization”, and “new product development”. At the end of the training, trainees are presented with certificates of achievement.