07.02.2014 İstanbul
Speaking at the TOBB Turkey Higher Education Council meeting, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that it would not be possible to reach the 2023 goals just with exports in only 10 years and that it was necessary to additionally commercialize new inventions in order to do this and that a great burden falls to TÜBİTAK in this regard.
Reminding that a
project to change the structure of the university and private sector
cooperation, one which will provide financial support to universities is being
develop by TÜBİTAK, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that TÜBİTAK is once again competing
its mission in an admirable fashion. The TOBB President said , “The structure
which incentivizes inventions in the USA is the R&D system. Without it,
there would be no technical developments in the USA.”
TOBB Turkey Higher
Education Council meeting on February 7th, 2014, was host to TOBB
President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Yücel
Altunbaşak.
During the meeting
Sector Council President Bekir Okan emphasized the importance give to
universities in regards to R&D, however, he went on to report that only
20-25% of projects put forth by academicians are accepted and that only a share
11% is set aside for these projects within universities. Okan stated that costs
pertaining to projects for universities reach 30%.
TÜBİTAK President
Prof. Dr. Yücel Altunbaşak stated that the project TÜBİTAK has been quietly
working on for a long time will change the very foundations of university
dynamics and that this will prove to be a revolutionary for the development of
universities.
Stating that
conducting R&D is dependent on finance, Altunbaşak reported that TÜBİTAK is
developing an instrument to address this issue; that it will only be possible
to achieve the 2023 goals after overcoming the ‘middle-income traps’.
Altunbaşak went on to
detail the situation regarding R&D, financing it and the institutional
structure pertaining to it in Turkey.
During the second
part of the meeting the problems and suggestions which are to be mentioned
during the Turkey Sector Economy Summit were discussed.
