Collaboration Among Companies (B2B and Clusters)

ODTU TEKNOKENT hosts a total of more than 400 companies actively involved in R&D, more than 140 of which are defence industry oriented, as well as many research centers and laboratories located in ODTU. As of 2010, these defence-oriented companies are assembled as Teknokent Defence Industry Cluster (TSSK). These companies possess complementary and value adding vertical expertise in developing new products and services for defence, aviation and security sectors.

ODTU TEKNOKENT Defence Industry Cluster started out with the vision that the critically indigenous demands of Turkish Armed Forces shall be supplied by national defence companies through R&D-focused partnerships with universities, and that technology shall be developed for international markets via R&D-focused partnerships of national defence companies, universities and other companies. To this end, the cluster, with its affiliate companies of different scales (primes to SMEs) is commissioned to facilitate efficient use of resources and to correctly plan new investments by not only fostering intra-cluster collaboration and internationalization activities, but also transferring its accumulated know-how to other domestic and foreign sectors.

In 2012, authorized experts of European Secretariat Cluster Analysis (ESCA) visited ODTU Teknokent Defence Industry Cluster as part of a benchmarking study and inspected the cluster with its management structure, activities and prepared a detailed report emphasizing the status of the cluster among similar clusters in the EU. As a result of this study, TSSK was awarded, for a period of two years, with a “bronze label”, which qualified it to apply for European Strategic Cluster Partnerships (ESCP) program and thus initiate strategic partnerships with relevant clusters within Europe and receive funding for operations. 

With the establishment of Defence Industry Research and Technology Development Center (SATGEB) in ODTU TEKNOKENT, the prime contractors of Turkish Defense Industry, ASELSAN, HAVELSAN and TAI set up their own R&D departments in the zone. TSSK is comprised of prime contractors and SMEs operating in the fields of manned and unmanned vehicles; advanced materials, CBRN technologies, protective vehicle and material technologies; human-machine interface; cryptography, coding, encryption, electronic intelligence systems; modeling and simulation, simulation systems; communication, electronic and information systems; sensors and electronic systems, dataLink technologies as well as various related engineering services such as testing, calibration, modeling and maintenance. The driving force of the cluster is the R&D projects stimulated by the synergy between university, industry and research. 

The affiliates of TSSK have contributed a great deal into most of the large platform projects that have come to life in Turkey in the recent years. To exemplify, Turkey’s first medium altitude unmanned air vehicle ANKA, Turkey’s first attack and tactical reconnaissance helicopter ATAK; first modern tank ALTAY, first national ship MİLGEM and first high-resolution earth observation satellite GÖKTURK 2 contain software, hardware and systems developed by ODTU TSSK affiliate companies.

On the other hand, in 2011, to enable university-industry cooperation in defence industry, Researchers Development Program for the Defence Industry (SAYP) has been initiated with the strategic partnership of ODTU and the Undersecretariat for Turkish Defence Industries (SSM), targeting post graduate students of ODTU, who are employed in defence companies that have now become a part of this program: Aselsan, Roketsan, Tusaş, FNSS, MİLSOFT ve HAVELSAN. Wtihin the scope of the program post graduate students/researchers at ODTU, who are working in the aforementioned companies, work on topics prioritized by SSM such that their theses eventually contribute to medium to long term R&D strategies of the companies they are working at.

Moreover, research centers and centers of excellence in ODTU that give support to defence industry are also considered as stakeholders of the cluster.

For detailed information, please visit www.tssk.org.tr

ODTU TEKNOKENT continued clustering activities that had started out with defence industry in 2010, with Information Communication Technologies and Telecommunications. Approximately, %50 of all the companies located in Teknokent currently serve the ICT sector and these companies are significant actors of the ICT sector both in national and international platforms. To serve the intended mission of ODTU TEKNOKENT in terms of creating and sustaining a living ecosystem, the ICT Cluster plays an important role.

The mission of the ODTU TEKNOKENT ICT Cluster is to bring companies of various scales and academicians together, and create a sustainable ecosystem where they can realize innovative R&D projects and achieve international recognition.

Among other goals of the cluster are facilitating the inclusion of ODTU and its academicians into the aforementioned studies (especially into the potentials projects) and contributing to the recruitment of the human resources by the university, to live up to the needs of the sector. It is planned to organize training and other activities that ae necessary for the development of quality infrastructure of the cluster members.

ODTU TEKNOKENT ICT Cluster affiliates are mainly operate in fields like corporate software, information security, distance learning, smart systems, mobile applications, gaming, e-health, big data and cloud.

 

In recent years, clustering activities were emphasized in order for ODTÜ TEKNOKENT companies to receive share from domestic and international markets, increase their cooperation and work collaboratively, in 2010, Defence Industry Cluster and in 2014, ICT Cluster were established. In addition to these two existing clusters, in 2016 clustering studies were also started in the field of "Advanced Health Technologies". 

The established cluster was designated as "Advanced Health Technologies Cluster (T.HEALTH)" and the focus was identified as "technology advancing cluster". T.HEALTH is not an alternative to the already existing health clusters whereas will have a collaborative and complementary nature being in close contact with them.