It is not unusual for technoparks to be established in regions where there are technology-intensive industrial branches. BUDOTEK, established in cooperation with Dudullu OIZ and Bogazici University, is one of the rare technoparks established in an industrial zone. In this way, the companies operating in the technopark can establish business cooperations by making close contacts with industrial companies in addition to training activities. We talked about the activities of the technopark and the advantages of operating in an industrial zone, with BUDOTEK General Manager Bulent Uner, who underlined that industrialists meet with academics there.
Bulent, can you please talk about yourself a bit?
I graduated from Bogazici University Mechanical Engineering Department in 1985. I completed my master’s degree in Industrial Engineering Department of the same university in 1988. I have worked in the private sector for 20 years. I started working as a project engineer, and then worked as a senior manager. Then I started my own consulting company and also I started lecturing at Bogazici University to transfer my know-how to the students. I acted as the deputy director of industrial relations at Bogazici University. Then I managed to establish the first technopark at the university. I also involved in the establishment of technology transfer office.
The technopark was established a short time ago. What would you like to say about this?
Our application actually dates back to a very old time. It took until 2018 for us to get permission for the Technopark from the Council of Ministers. Thus, BUDOTEK, the technopark’s management company, was established in October 2018. Afterwards, we completed the construction of the technopark and started to accept companies. In fact, we packed a very serious workload into one year.
Can you tell us a bit about the activities of the technopark?
The main activities of the technopark are actually carried out by the companies there. The main purpose of technoparks is to support companies to carry out qualified R&D projects and software development with government incentives. In addition to these, our technopark also offers services such as entrepreneurship supports, training, seminars and social activities. The main area of activity of BUDOTEK is to ensure that the companies in the technopark operate in accordance with the Law on Technology Development Zones, as well as to inspect, report and find companies that will operate accordingly.
How many companies are there at BUDOTEK and which sectors do these companies mainly operate at?
There are 50 companies at our technopark, and the rate of occupancy reached 90 percent. Looking at the companies, we see that they are involved in a wide range of sectors, from nano-technology to genetic research, electronics to machinery, autonomous vehicles to defense industry, or logistics to finance sector. Most of the companies, on the other hand, are software developing companies. As you know, software development contributes to the development of many sectors today.biliyorsunuz.
What are the advantages of operating at an OIZ?
At first, our participation in an OIZ seemed a bit strange to some people. Later, when they witnessed the activities here, they realized the advantages it offered. Companies that carry out R&D activities need different companies, especially when they need to manufacture or do a small test on a prototype. Therefore it is very important for us to operate at an OIZ. In addition to large industrial organizations from which our companies can receive engineering support, there are also SMEs such as IMES, DES and KADOSAN that can offer manufacturing and material support. Also, the availability of a sports facility and several food/drink places in the area where the technopark is located also offers great convenience in terms of social life. Another advantage is that academic referees are assigned for the project applications received by the technopark and these referees come to the technopark to assess these applications, bringing academia closer to industry. Another advantage is that it brings academics who act as referees to assess projects to the industrial zone, and introduces them to industrial representatives there. Following the establishment of our technopark, we started to carry out an Industry 4.0 project together with Bogazici University and Dudullu OIZ, and took an inventory of how ready the companies around us were for Industry 4.0.
What is the place and importance of technoparks in university – industry cooperation?
BUDOTEK was established with the harmony of universities and the industry. The OIZ administration and Bogazici University also have a high power. Combining these two forces puts us in a privileged place.
The fact that our technopark was established with its own sources and without any external support also differentiates us. Also, we are the closest technopark to the city center of Asian side. I believe that it is a great advantage that we were established with the collaboration of industry and university. Due to the functioning of technoparks, there must definitely be an academic contribution. Representatives from the sectors should definitely take part in project selection, approval and finalization processes. Our technopark has become a place where the industrialists and academics meet and get acquainted.
Are there any areas that you will focus on in 2020?
2019 was the year when we started our construction and company acceptance processes. 2020, on the other hand, will be a year when incubation will stand out. Here, we have also cerated a physical infrastructure that will train the young entrepreneurs. We also give a great importance to “intellectual property” issue. We want to continue our work on this issue, which has been neglected for years in Türkiye and it is still not known how it will benefit. During the company acceptance processes, we tried to select companies that are engaged in the “technologies of the future”. In 2020, supporting these companies will be one of the main issues we will focus on.
Do you have any work to help entrepreneurs expand abroad?
When assessing the projects, we pay attention to the contribution of the project to the national economy, as well as its potential in foreign markets. We also consider whether the entrepreneurs are competent people who can open up to foreign markets. We have never thought of just “filling the building”. Thanks to the high demand, we have the possibility of choosing the best ones. For instance, one of our companies, Adastec, is working on autonomous vehicles. They became one of the two companies invited to discuss the autonomous transformation of passenger buses in the U.S. Recently, our Minister of Industry and Technology visited us. He examined the vehicle, which can move by itself in the parking lot.
Can you give information about the application processes of entrepreneurs?
We receive applications online through our website. All documents come to us online. We send all the documents to the academic referees. The referees assess the documents online. The related law states that projects must be assessed by at least three referees, at least two of whom are academicians and at least one of whom is a sector representative. We make the assessments according to this rule. However, not satisfying only with these, we assemble an assessment board consisting of at least five academics and five sector representatives. Thus, we ensure that the scores given by different referees are normalized and undergo a more fair evaluation. We also ensure the prioritization of the accepted companies within themselves.
At the moment, we have only five places left for the companies and we are making the assessment much more strictly now. We present the projects that have passed this assessment board to the board of directors. The board of directors carries out a final audit and assessment, and either acceptance or rejection decisions are announced. If accepted, a decision is made on how many square meters at which area will be given for the company in question. The entire assessment process usually takes about one and a half months.
“There are 50 companies at our technopark, and the rate of occupancy reached to 90 percent.” These companies are operating in a wide variety of sectors.”
The coronavirus pandemic has significantly affected the world economy. How do you think start-ups should take a position in the next period? Is there a company in your organization that works on prevention with the virus?
Every difficulty and every crisis creates the need to find new solutions and develop new technologies. The emergence of COVID-19 and its transformation into an epidemic also revealed new needs. Mechanisms for working from home have been developed. We have changed the way we do business, as well as our business processes. The fight against coronavirus has opened new doors not only for entrepreneurs and start-ups working in medical/biomedical fields, but also for companies in other fields. Companies are going outside their usual product range. For instance, we urgently moved education to online platforms, which led to the emergence of new technologies and further development of existing technologies. This is a great opportunity for start-ups. There are start-ups trying to develop masks, diagnostic kits, vaccines and medicines. It’s a race against time. Some of them will reach the result, and some of them will make very serious improvements in their R&D capacities and competencies, even if they do not reach the result immediately. I believe that this is very valuable. There are two very important aspects for a start-up: To feel and see a need and to quickly reach the necessary resources in order to respond to that need. Start-ups that develop their capacities in these areas will greatly increase their chances of success. We have a start-up called Epigenetiks working on COVID-19 at BUDOTEK. The founder of the company is a graduate of Bogaziçi University and a faculty Member of Acibadem University: Prof. Dr. Ugur Sezerman. As you know, coronavirus tests take a long time to give results, and these tests are performed with PCR. Ugur has developed a test kit that works without PCR and provides faster results. The test results were successful. Currently, transition to mass production is on the way. I hope that this and other similar studies will be successfully concluded, and this crisis will bring us new competencies and new technologies.
Finally, what would you like to say about today’s trending technologies?
We often hear about the concepts of IoT, machine learning, big data, artificial intelligence and nano-technology. Today’s main trend is customization, in fact, micro-customization. Today, mobile phones, medicines, elder/patient care systems, or even the ovens we buy for our houses are customizable. The devices we use for communication are shaped according to our own communication preferences. Any technology that break away from this main trend is destined to fail.
