TEKNOFEST, the world's largest aviation and space festival held with growing interest and excitement every year, hosted the International and High School Efficiency Challenge (EC) Electric Vehicle Competitions this year with the contributions of TÜBİTAK RUTE and TÜBİTAK BİTO.
The races, held at TÜBİTAK Gebze Campus in Kocaeli, aim to raise awareness on alternative energy sources and electric vehicle technologies and to produce environmentally friendly vehicles with the aim of raising qualified human resources.
GREAT SUPPORT FOR THE COMPETITORS FROM MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY KACIR AND SELÇUK BAYRAKTAR
The competitions were opened by Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology, and Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, President of TÜBİTAK (ITU Rector). Minister Kacır stated that these competitions make significant contributions to Türkiye's National Technology Move and pave the way for the development of technological entrepreneurs. He also stated that young people gain theoretical and practical experience and shape Türkiye's technological future. Minister Kacır also stated that TEKNOFEST will continue to encourage innovative approaches in mobility technologies and to create qualified human resources in this field.
Emphasizing that the young people who participated in the competitions in the past years have established their own technological initiatives and contributed to Türkiye's technological journey, Minister Kacır continued his words as follows.
"With our electromobil and hydromobil competitions, we train human resources that adopt innovative approaches in mobility technologies and experience them not only in theory but also in practical applications. Those who participated in these competitions in the past years have now established their technological initiatives and are powering Türkiye's national technology journey. This year, more than 600 teams participated in our electromobiles, hydromobiles and electric vehicle competition among high schools, and 73 of these teams qualified for the finals. We are here at the TÜBİTAK research center campus with 73 teams and nearly 1000 of our friends. We believe that the young people who grow up from these teams will be pioneering Türkiye's journey to the future in TÜBİTAK research institutes, in the leading institutions of the national technology move, in the star organizations of our defense industry, and of course in their own technology initiatives.
FLOOD OF LOVE FROM YOUNG PEOPLE FOR SELÇUK BAYRAKTAR AND ELVAN KUZUCU HIDIR
TEKNOFEST Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar and T3 Foundation Chairman and General Manager Elvan Kuzucu Hıdır visited the event and met with the young competitors.
Selçuk Bayraktar, who was welcomed with great interest and love by the contestant youth, stated that TEKNOFEST has grown rapidly and now attracts interest from all over the world. Stating that the main purpose of TEKNOFEST is to raise young people who develop high technology and introduce these technologies to the world, especially with the results of these competitions, Bayraktar stated that the world's largest technology companies usually start with small initiatives and drew attention to the support TEKNOFEST provides to the development of such initiatives.
Answering the questions of journalists, Bayraktar continued his speech as follows.
"The biggest wind of change in the world is coming into our lives through high technology. The highest level of prosperity, as well as independence, comes through high technology. Of course, not through its use, but through its development. Step by step, step by step, we aim to see that bottom wave, the bottom wave of Türkiye's National Technology Movement, is starting to come, that it is starting to come in the form of initiatives, and that it will turn into initiatives that will make its mark on the world, God willing. We see that all of the world's biggest technology companies started with small teams, which we call 'garage companies' like those at TEKNOFEST. We have started to see this wave starting to form, and hopefully it will continue to rise..”
73 TEAMS REACHED THE FINALS IN THE COMPETITIONS
The competitions offered students the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge and practical experience about electric vehicle technologies. While the International Efficiency Challenge Electric Vehicle Competitions were organized in the electromobile and hydromobile categories, the Inter-High School Competitions were held only in the electromobile category. While 36 electromobiles and 14 hydromobiles teams competed in the international category, 23 teams competed in the Inter-High School branch. In total, more than 600 teams applied and 73 of these teams advanced to the finals.
The competitions were held on the 1370-meter track within the TÜBİTAK Campus. The awards were presented by İlhami Aktaş, Governor of Kocaeli, Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, Rector of Istanbul Technical University, İsmail Doğan, President of TÜBİTAK, Dr. Tolgahan Kaya, Director of TÜBİTAK RUTE, and Dr. Abdullah Buğrahan Karaveli, President of Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mining Research Institute (TENMAK).
The award-winning teams will receive their awards at the TEKNOFEST Aviation, Space and Technology Festival to be held at Adana Şakirpaşa Airport on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 and Sunday, October 6, 2024. It was announced that a total of over 1 million TL will be awarded to the winners of the competitions. Organized by TÜBİTAK BİTO and TÜBİTAK Rail Transportation Technologies Institute (RUTE), these competitions aim to raise awareness among university and high school students about alternative energy sources and to raise competent human resources in this field.
