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TÜBA and TÜBİTAK Science Awards Ceremony

The “TÜBA and TÜBİTAK Science Awards Ceremony”, organized jointly by TÜBA and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) under the auspices of the Presidency, was hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, TÜBA President Prof. Muzaffer Şeker, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Orhan Aydın, rectors from different universities, award-winning academics and their families attended the ceremony held at Beştepe National Congress and Culture Center with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

We are taking firm steps towards the goal of the era leading Türkiye.
In his speech at the ceremony, President Erdoğan said, “We are taking firm steps towards the goal of a great and powerful Türkiye that leads the era, rather than lagging behind it. We do not want to be satisfied with the successes that come and burst like soap bubbles. As a country and a nation, we stand firm on the ground and take steady steps. We make our plans for the medium and long term. We are in a much better position today compared to 2002.”

We are presenting these awards to 25 young scientists.
“Stating that a total of 7 works were deemed worthy of awards within the scope of TÜBA-TESEP, including four Scientific Copyright Awards, one Halil İnalcık special award, one Kemal Karpat special award and one jury special award, Erdoğan said, “Thus, we have given TÜBA TESEP awards to 246 Turkish scientific copyright works so far. Our TÜBA Outstanding Young Scientist Awards stand out as one of the first and most unique examples of the formation of a young academy in the world. This year, we are presenting these awards to 25 young scientists conducting scientific studies at 20 different universities.”

President Erdoğan shared the information that the number of young scientists who have won TÜBA GEBİP awards since 2001 increased to 669 and continued as follows: “We are presenting TÜBA International Academy Awards in three different categories to 4 distinguished scientists who have distinguished themselves with their original, pioneering and groundbreaking works at the international level. Together with these 4 names, we will present TÜBA International Academy Awards to a total of 32 pioneers of science. To date, 947 scientists have received TÜBA awards, which fill an important gap in the field of international science diplomacy.

The history of science is also a cemetery of unfinished works.
Recalling Avicenna's (Ibn Sina) words “Science and art migrate from where they are not appreciated” and the words of our ancestors “'Skill is subject to praise, without praise, goods are wasted”, Erdoğan emphasized that every work that is not appreciated, not rewarded, and not honored, although it does not lose anything of its original values, cannot have the desired effect in terms of reaching the masses.

Erdoğan said, “When we look at our personal lives and the journey of societies, we see how valuable encouragement and recognition are, especially when it comes to milestones. Many projects and ideas that had the potential to be groundbreaking have failed because they did not find support in time and have been relegated to the dusty shelves of history. In this respect, the history of science is also the graveyard of unfinished and incomplete works.” Stating that for many years science and technology in Türkiye was seen as a field of endeavor limited to the means of a handful of idealistic people with curiosity and enthusiasm, Erdoğan said the following:

“I have to emphasize here that although we are in an exceptional position in the world in terms of scientific accumulation, we are also a country that is very late in terms of its institutionalization. Many societies that are ahead of us today in terms of academic productivity have established science academies that have received the support of the state, institutionalized and gathered basic science disciplines under the same roof long before us. For example, a significant number of science academies in Europe were established in the 17th century.”

Stating that there were scientists working in various fields before the academy of sciences was established, Erdoğan said, “Even until the 18th century, it was the scientists and thinkers who grew up in the eastern civilization, the Turkish-Islamic world, who influenced, guided and fed European civilization. However, as a result of not being able to read the essence of the new era correctly, the inability to continue the process brought about regression.”

Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology, stated that they will continue to develop their capabilities in groundbreaking technologies in the coming period and said, “We will carry our country to the position it deserves in the world in science and technology with many steps we take from nuclear reactors to quantum technologies, from strategic materials to climate technologies and from critical raw materials to synthetic biology.”

Stating that the paradigms of the old world have collapsed and it is still unclear on which foundations the new world will rise, Kacır said, “We are members of a faith that considers scientific activities as worship and invites people to knowledge, information and learning. We are the heirs of an understanding of science and civilization based on reason, reasoning and contemplation. The important works put forward by valuable personalities who have been the minds of our civilization are proof of the intellectual and scientific vitality we had in different periods of history.”

We supported 91 thousand scientists as well as young people.
Pointing out that in the last 22 years, the country ranked 12th in the world in patent applications and 2nd in design applications, Kacır shared the following information: “We have increased our industrial property portfolio from 93 thousand to more than 2 million. With the effective incentive system we have created, we have built a strong infrastructure that will pave the way for R&D and innovation-oriented development. Today, more than 11 thousand technology initiatives in our 104 technoparks, and our entrepreneurs carry out innovative works with our R&D and design centers established within the companies and exceeding 1600 in number. The increase in our annual R&D expenditures from 1.2 billion dollars to 16 billion dollars and the increase in the number of R&D personnel from 29 thousand to 291 thousand is an indicator of where our innovation capacity has reached. In a period when the level of welfare and competitiveness of countries is determined by the level of ownership of scientific studies and technological innovations, TÜBİTAK continues to ensure that all segments of society meet science. In 2002, TÜBİTAK supported 1167 R&D projects with 1.5 billion liras in today's value, and this year, we have contributed 9 billion liras to 9 thousand 988 R&D projects. The number of companies benefiting from TÜBİTAK supports increased twelve-fold to 2 thousand 769. In 2002, approximately 1,000 scientists and young people benefited from TÜBİTAK's support, whereas this year we provided support to 91,000 scientists and students.”

2024 was the year of science and technology

Describing this year as a year of breakthroughs in science and technology, Kacır said that the Turkish defense industry continues to be the pioneer of technological breakthroughs. Kacır said that KAAN, the 5th generation fighter jet whose computers and operating system were developed by TÜBİTAK, made its first flight this year, BAYRAKTAR TB3 made world aviation history as the first unmanned aerial vehicle to land and take off from a ship with a short runway, and HÜRJET, Turkey's first jet-powered training aircraft, exceeded the speed of sound, He recalled that Turkey's first quantum computer was commissioned, the supercomputer ARF was put into use, the rubidium atomic clock was produced, TÜRKSAT 6A was sent into space, and Türkiye's first astronauts Alper Gezeravcı and Tuva Cihangir Atasever carried out scientific studies in space.

We will continue to work hard.

Noting that in today's world, scientific research and innovation are mostly in the hands of large profit-oriented technology companies, rather than public authorities or institutes with direct responsibility towards society, Kacır concluded his words as follows: “Even in areas such as artificial intelligence, which offers great opportunities ranging from medical discoveries to personalized education, disregard for the rules can lead to the catastrophe for humanity. The training of artificial intelligence models with data sets containing cultural biases, the lack of accountability and legal framework in artificial intelligence development processes pave the way to digital fascism. In this context, Your Excellency (President Erdoğan)'s call for 'A fairer world is possible' describes a historic goal for humanity. We, together with all our researchers and all those who contribute to Türkiye's science and technology journey, will continue working hard to realize this ambition for humanity. There is now a Türkiye that has realized a revolution of self-confidence. There is now a Türkiye that does not pay attention to those who say 'it cannot do it, it cannot succeed', there is now a Türkiye that trusts in the capabilities of its own children, in the effort of their minds, in the labor and sweat of their hearts. In the coming period, we will continue to develop our R&D and production infrastructure, academic competencies and qualified human resources in groundbreaking technologies. From nuclear reactors to quantum technologies, from strategic materials to climate technologies, and from critical raw materials to synthetic biology, we will carry our country to the position it deserves in science and technology.”

Our scientists give us confidence.
Stating that Türkiye will achieve its 2053-2071 goals with the intense efforts and sacrifices of scientists, TÜBA President Prof. Muzaffer Şeker drew attention to the importance of the guidance of science in shaping Türkiye's future while building the “Vision of Turkish Century”.

We continue to defend Palestine's rights in the international academic world with declarations and reports in different languages.
Stating that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stands against the inhumane, separatist, and anti-social propaganda carried out over the oppressed people fleeing from oppression and taking refuge in Türkiye, President Şeker thanked President Erdoğan for standing by humanity on all international platforms on behalf of TÜBA and not giving up on the just cause and said, “Israel continues to commit systematic genocide in Gaza, where the whole world closes its eyes and turns its back. What kind of a global dirty cooperation and imperial oppression order is there; artists cannot speak, journalists cannot write, academics cannot express their opinions. Artists and journalists who speak lose their jobs and academics lose their desks. Concepts such as freedom of thought and freedom of expression are shelved when discussing Israel's war crimes. As TÜBA, we continue to defend the rights of Palestine in the international academic world with the declarations and reports we have prepared in different languages.”

We have to protect the family.
Prof. Şeker stated that Türkiye has to protect the family and young people from global disinformation to entrust its strong and honorable stance in the international arena to future generations. He stated that families and the concept of family are under attack all over the world more intensely than ever before. He said that the systematic attacks against the family are the reflections of social engineering that aims to destroy the family, social solidarity, ignore human values and sanctities, and create selfish individuals who are addicted to gratification and pleasure.

He continued his speech by mentioning the use and effects of social media, which has been on the agenda in recent years: “We can only decisively fight this organized evil, which has the opportunity to spread rapidly with virtual information and documents based on ‘digital ignorance’ in the dark depths of social media. For this, non-governmental organizations and scientists have a great duty as well as decision-makers. It is important to develop strategies and raise awareness with the knowledge that artificial intelligence technologies offer a wide range of risks and opportunities from the security of personal data to commercial, political and social security at the international level and based on national security. Our current research and reporting continues through our working groups to investigate the social effects of the rapid transformation in information technologies, especially social media, and the ethical problems caused by artificial intelligence.”

He ended his speech by giving information about the programs and projects, science diplomacy activities and publications of the Academy.

We provide consultancy to our parliament, ministries and affiliated organizations, universities, young scientists and non-governmental organizations, especially the Presidential Strategy and Budget Presidency, by bringing together stakeholders on current issues, as in other examples of science academies in the world, with multidisciplinary scientific activities and reports. We effectively represent our country in the international arena, especially in the Science-20 group at the G20 summit, within the framework of science diplomacy. We clearly demonstrate our country's ethical and humanitarian stance based on social justice and equality in every scientific meeting. As TÜBA, we pay special attention to the Turkic World. TÜBA holds the presidency of the Union of Science Academies of the Turkic World; similarly, a member of TÜBA was elected as the president of the Union of Asian Science Academies and is currently serving in this capacity. With the responsibility of being Türkiye's national, autonomous academy of sciences, we continue our efforts to build the future with our ethical and qualified young scientists with high self-confidence and hope, who work for the independence and prosperity of the country, believe in their country, protect their values, understand the importance of family-society relations, and educate themselves. We would like to express our gratitude to you for the award programs and the Turkish-Islamic Science Culture Heritage Project that we carry out under your auspices.”

Prof. Orhan Aydın, President of TÜBİTAK, stated that the institution has taken important steps to contribute to the goals of the National Technology Move and that they continue to work with determination to contribute to Türkiye's march towards becoming a global power.

Emphasizing that science, technology and innovation policies are shaped within the framework of Türkiye's 12th Development Plan covering the period 2024-2028, Aydın said that this plan sets out the vision of becoming “a stable, strong and prosperous Türkiye in the Turkish Century, which is sensitive to the environment, resistant to disasters, produces high added value based on advanced technology, shares income fairly”. Aydın emphasized that the way to a strong economy and a prosperous society is through an understanding based on science, R&D, technology and innovation. Emphasizing that TÜBİTAK serves this understanding with its strong infrastructure, qualified researcher human resources and an effective governance model, Aydın said that they pioneered green and digital transformation and brought together researchers from the public, university and private sectors on innovative research platforms.

We aim to create motivation for new achievements.
Aydın stated that TÜBİTAK provides important R&D support to universities, public and private sectors, while contributing to the development of domestic and national technologies in many critical areas such as defense, aviation and space, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. Stating that they play a pioneering role in science communication with science centers, magazines, workshops, competitions and many other activities spread to every corner of Anatolia, and that they try to spread science to all segments of society, Aydın said: “In recent years, we have been making significant contributions to science diplomacy with our increasing bilateral and multiple collaborations, agreements, representation and management duties in important international organizations. The efforts of our young, dynamic and productive research human resources are reflected in international indicators. Our level of utilization of international research funding sources is increasing every year. With our increasing number of qualified publications, patents, projects and international collaborations, the international visibility of our universities and research institutions and the competitiveness of our industrialists are improving every year. In recent years, we look to the future with more confidence thanks to the policies and mechanisms developed for the sustainability of this accelerated improvement. On the one hand, we support the training of individuals who produce scientific knowledge, transform this knowledge into technology and put it to the service of society, and on the other hand, we attach great importance to recognizing the efforts of our successful scientists by rewarding them. This year, our awards are presented for the 59th time. With this award tradition, we aim to create motivation for new achievements.”

Following the protocol speeches, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır and TÜBA President Prof. Muzaffer Şeker presented President Erdoğan with Muhsin Kaleli's Karatay Madrasah Painting, the Maarif Encyclopedia prepared jointly by TÜBA and Turkey Maarif Foundation, and a selection of 2024 TÜBA publications.

President Erdoğan personally presented the awards to the academicians who received TÜBA and TÜBİTAK Science Awards, and took photos with the award-winning scientists to commemorate the day.

Before the award ceremony held at the Külliye, President Şeker presented the certificates to the winners of the TÜBA Science Awards with an organization held at The Ankara Hotel. Prof. Muzaffer Şeker congratulated the awardees at the ceremony attended by TÜBA members and the families of scientists and welcomed them to the TÜBA family.