Our Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal Participated in the 97th WAITRO Executive Board Meeting

The World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organizations (WAITRO), which is presided over by ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal for the 2025-2026 term, held its 97th Executive Board Meeting in Santiago, Chile.

The 97th Executive Board Meeting of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organizations (WAITRO), a global R&D cooperation network contributing to sustainable development and bringing together nearly 200 members from more than 70 countries, was held in Santiago between October 27-28. ITU Rector and WAITRO President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal participated in the meeting where WAITRO's strategic goals were evaluated in line with global developments.

The executive board members and representatives of the regional focal points from different continents engaged in fruitful exchanges of views. Opportunities to increase the international visibility of research outputs, strengthen academia-industry collaborations, and accelerate the transformation of the innovation ecosystem were discussed.

Our Rector Prof. Dr. Mandal, who expressed his satisfaction with his participation, noted that various topics were addressed before the WAITRO Summit 2026, which will be hosted by ITU next year. Our Rector stated that ITU will continue to contribute to the global goals of our country with its interdisciplinary research capacity, strong industry collaborations, and its responsibility- and impact-oriented research university vision.

Among the topics evaluated in detail at the meeting were new cooperation models in the regional focal points-industry-academia-public ecosystem environment, co-production, innovation and knowledge-sharing mechanisms aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, and the activation of regional networks.

The 96th WAITRO Executive Board Meeting was hosted by Istanbul Technical University (ITU) between April 7-9, 2025.

About WAITRO

WAITRO, the “global innovation family,” began its activities under the auspices of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in 1970. UNIDO remains an important partner of WAITRO today. Both organizations work together to strengthen the capacity of research institutions in developing countries within the common goals of sustainable industrial development and technological innovation. In this regard, activities such as collaboration on projects and initiatives, and the sharing of knowledge, expertise, and best practices are carried out with the aim of increasing the capacity of member organizations.

WAITRO provides a platform for international cooperation in R&D with a global innovation ecosystem where research and technology organizations, including universities, partner with the private sector and the public sector.