The number of participants in TEKNOFEST, Türkiye's largest technology and aerospace event, has surpassed 1.5 million. Since its inception in 2018, when it hosted around 20,000 competitors, TEKNOFEST has successfully reached over 1.5 million young people.
Thanks to the event, young individuals are developing new projects related to technology and science, enhancing their entrepreneurial skills, and fostering innovation, creativity, and engineering skills to shape Türkiye's technological future.
During the "16th International MEB Robot Competition," held in Erzurum, TEKNOFEST Secretary General Muhammet Saymaz commented on the festival.
He noted that TEKNOFEST 2024 was organized in Adana following competitions in 11 cities, stating, "This year we broke the record for competitor applications. In our first year (2018), the number of applicants was 20, but now over 1 million 650 thousand participants have applied. There is tremendous progress; when you open pathways for the Turkish nation and youth, their success and interest become evident."
Saymaz mentioned plans to hold TEKNOFEST in all Turkish cities and recalled the event's international dimension, including a trip to Azerbaijan in 2022.
He also discussed plans for TEKNOFEST in Cyprus and Istanbul next year, stating, "There has been a tremendous change in society's perspective on science, aviation, and space. There used to be a distance from technology, which we have broken. For example, even when you create something new at home or change the place of something, there was a notion of 'don't invent something that will complicate things.' This psychological barrier has been removed. Now, we encourage 'invent something that can lead to greater success and focus on science and technology.' We want yesterday's competitors to be today's entrepreneurs and tomorrow's investors. We have moved away from the imitative mindset that suggests 'don't create, use what is ready' to instilling confidence in our youth that 'yes, we can do it and do it better.'"
Saymaz emphasized the increasing interest in aviation, noting a generation that wants to complete the unfinished stories of Vecihi Hürkuş and Nuri Demirağ.
He highlighted the improved quality of competitions, saying, "In the rocket competition, we have two areas: assembly and launch. The transition rates from the assembly area to the launch area have increased from 30% to 85% this year. In our war competition, where a maximum of 4-5 drones used to operate simultaneously, this year 24 teams attempted their tasks at once. For the first time, a single team successfully completed their tasks and won an award. There has been a quantitative geometric increase, but also a tremendous increase in quality. If we have reached this point in seven years, we believe we will experience a significant positive explosion in the next 3-5 years."
Saymaz adding, "Society desires science, technology, aviation, and space at its cultural core; we see our future here. We want our youth to be interested and engaged in these fields, and we will provide them the space to excel. Because the events in Palestine and oppressed regions would not occur if the world were just. We say we should be both strong and just, but we will never adopt an aggressive stance because the codes our civilization imposes do not allow it. While developing science and technology, we want it to be deterrent-focused; perhaps we won't use it, but if we can make a tyrant think, 'What would Türkiye say?' when launching missiles at the oppressed, that would be the most valuable outcome for us."
Barış Küçük, a member of a team that participated in TEKNOFEST with a group of 10 and won the best presentation award in the Digital Technology Competition, shared that they developed themselves through the festival. He expressed intentions to participate in future competitions, stating, "We plan to continue to build on our successes. Because we believe our country needs high technology. This is necessary to reach the level of contemporary civilizations. Our goal is to contribute to our country achieving a high technology level. These competitions are very valuable for us."
