ITU Left Its Mark on the Future at TEKNOFEST 2025 Istanbul

The world's largest Aviation, Space, and Technology Festival, TEKNOFEST, was hosted at Atatürk Airport from September 17-21, 2025. Istanbul Technical University (ITU), which participated in TEKNOFEST 2025 in Istanbul, was once again the center of attention with its achievements and the vehicles it exhibited.

TEKNOFEST 2025 in Istanbul saw ITU project teams bring great pride to the ITU family with their innovative projects and the awards they won. ITU students achieved success in the fields of rockets, UAVs, autonomous vehicles, chip designs, health technologies, architecture, environmental technologies, nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, maritime, and sustainability.

ITU students won a total of 15 awards, including five First Places, one Second Place, five Third Places, and four special awards in different categories.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented the “First Place” awards to our ATA Team, PARGEL Team, and Nodus Team at the TEKNOFEST Istanbul awards ceremony.

ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal stated that the wide range of achievements of ITU students at TEKNOFEST 2025, who working diligently like bees, demonstrating courage and determination at every step and aspiring to “achieve the impossible” in science, technology, and innovation, brought great joy and pride to the ITU family. He also thanked the faculty advisors who contributed to the project teams in terms of team spirit, solidarity, and determination to overcome boundaries.

Prof. Dr. Mandal stated that the teams' work goes beyond simply winning awards, noting that they have discovered themselves and taken on responsibility through innovative projects. He emphasized that these efforts both accelerate the momentum of the National Technology Initiative and have become symbols of the steps taken toward a Fully Independent Türkiye. He expressed his belief that the ITU family will continue to work together with the same determination and resolve to achieve even greater successes that will make our country a pioneer in future technologies and add value to humanity.

At the ITU stand, which attracted significant interest from TEKNOFEST 2025 participants, CoHE President Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar and Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır met with our students.

During his visit to the ComPro Bilişim and Q&Co stand, our Rector held an extensive meeting with the Board of Directors regarding the Quantum Laboratory to be established at ITU. He stated that they would continue working on this collaboration, which he described as a pioneer that will accelerate our country's digital transformation journey, and that they aim to offer new opportunities on a global scale to our researchers and young people.

Our Rector visited the TÜBİTAK Entrepreneurship Support Program tent and met with entrepreneurs. Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal pointed out the value of the high number of ITU graduates among the entrepreneurs, stating that this is an indication of the vitality, productivity, and sustainability of ITU's entrepreneurship ecosystem, which has grown stronger over the years. Emphasizing that young people are at the center of learning, producing, and developing together at ITU from their undergraduate education onwards, Prof. Dr. Mandal stated that ITU will continue to be a strong partner in the entrepreneurship ecosystem by blending science, engineering, and innovation with young people.

Among the ITU initiatives that attracted attention at the TÜBİTAK Entrepreneurship Support Program tent were:

The company founded by Prof. Dr. Tolgahan Çoğulu, a faculty member at Turkish Music State Conservatory and developer of the Microtonal Guitar project supported by TÜBİTAK, and our graduate Hakan Görener demonstrates the value-creating potential of entrepreneurship at the intersection of science and art.

The entire team at Beespenser consists of ITU graduates. With the goal of transforming an idea born in the laboratory into a technology company that creates value on a global scale, it stands out with its Monobee device and conductive ink products, which combine speed and accessibility in electronic circuit production.

With the support of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, hosted by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office and in collaboration with WIPO, our Rector Prof. Dr. Mandal shared the excitement of the inventors at the Turkish Patent ISIF'25 10th International Invention Fair Award Ceremony held at TEKNOFEST Istanbul.  He stated that every new invention produced in the light of science will continue to inspire young generations while adding value to our country. ITU students won a total of 7 medals at Turkish Patent ISIF'25, including 1 Gold, 3 Silver, and 3 Bronze. The awards were presented at a ceremony attended by Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır.

Among the projects awarded the Gold Medal was the project titled “A Short Circuit Protection System for Battery Packs” developed jointly by our faculty members Prof. Dr. Derya Ahmet Kocabaş and Dr. Kubilay Özgüç. The invention aims to enhance safety in high-voltage battery packs, while also seeking to develop safe and sustainable solutions in energy technologies.

TEKNOFEST 2025 Istanbul award-winning ITU project teams:

ATA Team – Fighter UAV Competition: “First Place”

VLS Team – Chip Design Competition / Analog Design Category: “First Place”

Our student Hilal Parlakçı and her Dockminds Team won first place in the 3T Competition in Oncology.

Our Architecture Faculty alumnus Muhammed Musa Aktürk (Nodus Team) won “First” place in the Architectural and Visual Design Competition / Stage Designs Category.

ITU MTAL student Barın Güzel Demirci (PARGEL Team) won “First” place in the Pardus Debugging and Suggestion Competition.

ITU Solar Car Team – Robotaxi Full-Scale Autonomous Vehicle Competition / Unique Vehicle Category: “Second Place”

AUV Team – Unmanned Underwater Systems Competition / Advanced Technology Category: Most Original Software Award + “Third Place”

Sungur Team – Underwater Rocket Competition: “Third Place”

ITUNOM Team – Fighter UAV Competition: “Third Place”

Fodlair Team – Environment and Energy Technologies Competition / Environment Technologies Category: “Third Place”

Reaktify Team - Nuclear Energy Technologies Design Competition / Detail Design Category: “Third Place”

RAKE Team – Unmanned Ground Vehicle Competition: Best Design Award

HyperBee Team – Hyperloop Development Competition / Electromagnetic Levitation System Development Category: Electromagnetic Levitation System Development Award

KGS Team – DENEYAP Startup Program: Project Support Worth 150,000 TL with Grant Award

The achievements of ITU students who won awards at the 10th International Invention Fair of Turkish Patent ISIF'25

Gold Medal

Invention: A Short Circuit Protection System for Battery Packs

Owners: Prof. Dr. Derya Ahmet Kocabaş, Dr. Kubilay Özgüç

Silver Medal

Invention: Advanced Leak-Proof Transparent Laminar Floor Container

Owners: Assoc. Prof. Ece Eseller-Bayat, Omid Bagheri, Research Assistant Ozan Alver, Mehmet Şamil Gündüz

Silver Medal

Invention: A Telescopic Anti-Roll System Using The Magnus Effect

Owners: Prof. Dr. Hakan Akyıldız, Özgür Üstün

Silver Medal

Invention: Optical-Reading Viscosity-Measuring Microfluidic System Based on Microsyringe

Owners: Assoc. Prof. Onur Ferhanoğlu, Assistant Professor Ahmet Can Erten

Bronze Medal

Invention: A Textile-Based Stretchable Comb Sensor And Manufacturing Method

Owners: Research Assistant Kadir Özlem, Assistant Professor Aslı Atalay, Assoc. Prof. Gökhan İnce, Assistant Professor Münire Sibel Çetin, İbrahim Adel Khamis Ahmed, Dr. Ayşe Feyza Yılmaz, Prof. Özgür Atalay

Bronze Medal

Invention: Bioplastic Production With Fraction Of Whey Components And Biodegradable/Biocompatible Membrane Production Method

Owners: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Derya Yüksel İmer, Prof. Dr. Güçlü İnsel, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Didem Güven, Prof. Dr. Emine Çokgör, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gülsüm Emel Zengin Balcı, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Dilaver, Balcı Elifnur Gezmiş, Yavuz Sama Al-Mutwalli

Bronze Medal

Invention: True Location And Orientation Acquisition Device For Land Robots

Owners: Prof. Dr. Volkan Sezer, Research Assistant Ahmet Kağızman