Collaboration Protocol Shaping the Future of Quantum Technologies at ITU

Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Q&Co Quantum Computing, and ComPro signed the “Collaboration Protocol on the Development of Quantum Computing and Service Systems.”

The signing ceremony for the protocol, which will strengthen Türkiye’s qualified human resources in critical technologies, was held on October 31, 2025, at our Ayazağa Campus with the participation of ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, ComPro Chairman of the Board Abdurrahman Keklik, ComPro Group CEO and Q&Co Quantum Computing Technology General Manager Murat Cantürk, and ITU TTO General Manager Bilal Çinici.

Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal emphasized that this valuable collaboration introduces a new innovation model that brings together scientific research, commercialization, and qualified human resources. Stating that at ITU they have carried the process beyond R&D, our Rector highlighted that with the Quantum Technologies Minor Program launched at ITU, undergraduate and graduate students are offered project-based learning opportunities. He explained that thanks to the collaboration implemented with the concept of a “co-learning laboratory,” ITU students will gain direct experience in the same environment with the R&D teams of Q&Co and ComPro.

ITU shaping Türkiye’s future in quantum and nuclear technologies

Our Rector stated that with this collaboration, they have achieved a first in Türkiye by transforming the goal of developing a competitive quantum processor prototype and producing the first domestic quantum processor by 2030 into a concrete roadmap. He emphasized that this process, under the guidance of the Ministry of Industry and Technology and with ITU assuming academic leadership in nuclear technologies, together with quantum technologies of critical importance, marks a significant turning point on our country’s path to becoming a pioneering and competitive actor in global competition. Prof. Dr. Mandal noted that taking these steps at ITU in two strategic fields that define the science and technology ecosystem of the future once again demonstrates that ITU is one of the main reference institutions shaping Türkiye’s future. He also referred to their determination, within the framework of the National Technology Initiative, to build the technologies of the future together at ITU with the vision of becoming a country that has a strong voice in quantum technologies.

A production process bringing together academics, researchers, and students

Within the scope of the protocol, a laboratory infrastructure and a research center dedicated to quantum systems will be established at our Ayazağa Campus. In an integrated production environment, studies will be carried out across a wide spectrum—from the quantum processor that will take the lead in the global technology race, to quantum computers and application algorithms.

In the first stage, a 25-person R&D team will begin working. In fields such as quantum materials technology, processor design, quantum computing, algorithm development, and software design in the quantum domain, academics, researchers, and students will come together at ITU in the same production process.

Ayazağa Campus, home of Türkiye’s firsts in the quantum domain

The center to be established at ITU will be the first production facility in our country where a commercial quantum computing service will be developed, starting from the hardware level. The process will begin with the establishment of infrastructures through which academic and commercial user quantum computing services will be operated for the first time in our country; it will reach its main goal when a quantum computer operating with a domestic processor takes its place in the computing system. In this way, through domestic and national resources, a share can also be gained from the innovation economy in strategic fields such as quantum artificial intelligence and quantum data security.