Introduction

The history of Turkey's Chemical Industry extends back only recently. In the early 20th century during the Ottoman period, aside from a few production facilities manufacturing soap and cleaning products, there were no chemical industry plants.

With the establishment of the Republic, as chemical-producing companies were founded, production began on explosives, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, detergents, printing inks and the final stages of textile dyes. From the 1950s onwards, chemical industry development accelerated during the planned economy period.

During the 1960-80 period, import substitution policies were maintained and investments were made in capital-intensive sectors such as petrochemicals, basic organic and inorganic chemicals and fertilizer production through state involvement.

With export-oriented policies implemented from the 1980s onwards, the sector reached its current level of development. However, the rapidly changing world, increasing competition, environmental pressures and the fact that the economic lifespan of most products developed by the sector is limited to 15 years necessitate R&D activities.

Despite this reality facing the sector, when compared with the world, Turkey's R&D efforts are not at sufficient levels. In the regional distribution of R&D expenditures, Europe, the USA and China rank in the top 3.

In the R&D intensity ranking, which measures the share of R&D expenditures in total sales, Japan held first place in 2012 with 4%, followed by the USA with 1.7%, the EU and India with 1.6% and South Korea with 1.3%.

China, despite its high R&D expenditure in absolute terms, has only achieved 0.8% R&D intensity ratio. In Turkey, R&D expenditures related to chemical products amounted to TRY 196 million in 2011 and TRY 242 million in 2012.

However, the amount of products commercialized as a result of R&D expenditures in Turkey is also not in a good position. While patent and utility model applications filed by individuals and organizations following R&D work constituted 18% of all applications made in 2000, their share in applications made specifically for the chemical sector was 3%.

In 2013, that ratio rose to 33% for total applications and 12% for applications specific to the chemical sector. In other words, there are certain issues related to the quality of R&D conducted with limited resources and in small quantities.

As a natural result of low R&D expenditures and R&D activities converted into innovation, the chemical industry, according to CEFIC data, saw Turkey importing high-technology chemical industry products worth EUR 3.1 billion as a result of R&D in 2012, while export value in the same category stands at EUR 158 million.

The share of these amounts in the industry's total imports is calculated at 11.3%, and in exports at 2.3%.

All this data shows that as a result of the importance given by leading firms active in the chemical industry worldwide to R&D activities, our country has fallen into an importer position in matters other than raw materials.

As a result, there is no branded chemical company at global scale. For a capital-intensive sector such as the chemical industry to conduct sustainable R&D activities is a path requiring patience and diligence.

Therefore, efficient use of budgets allocated for R&D activities, identification of branches with high development potential for the chemical industry and, most importantly, university-industry cooperation to determine correct R&D strategies has now become a necessity for every company in the sector regardless of size.

Technology Transfer Offices stand out as the most important interface providing such cooperations in Turkey.

Technology Transfer Office Structure and Definition

Technology Transfer Offices are rapidly developing institutions in Turkey. In the simplest terms, technology transfer offices provide services covering the entire commercialization process of inventions and innovative products resulting from scientific research.

In this scope, technology transfer offices are university affiliates that carry out information provision, coordination, research, guidance and cooperation development activities between technology-developing R&D organizations and industrial companies, academics and other R&D organizations.

Generally, TTOs provide services under five modules. Work conducted within these scopes is as follows;

Module-1: Awareness, Promotion, Information and Training Services

1. Conducting visits to academics and industry,

2. Organizing seminars, training, workshops, promotional events, etc.,

3. Arranging written and visual announcements.

4.Module-2: Services for Benefiting from Support Programs

5. Announcement of national and international project calls,

6. Project planning support,

7. Project monitoring and implementation support, etc.

8.Module-3: Development of University-Industry Cooperation,

9. Maturation of project ideas,

10. Matching of academics and industrialists,

11. Project planning support,

12. Utilization of university infrastructure capabilities.

13.Module-4: Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights,

14. Patent preliminary searches,

15. Development of institutional intellectual property policy,

16. Intellectual and industrial property rights and their protection,

17. Intellectual property rights portfolio management.

18.Module-5: Entrepreneurship and Business Services

19. Company formation/incorporation,

20. Technology entrepreneurship investments,

21. Meetings with investors,

22. Business development support.

23. In today's world where the nature of conflicts has changed, states with strong science and technology will have a say in the world to the extent that they convert these into production and technology. In this sense,

24. companies and countries that cannot keep pace with technological change will fall behind in competition. To not fall behind in competition

25. and to become a global player in world markets, all

26. companies must work closely with universities.

27. To achieve this goal, companies can

28. fund universities conducting and/or wishing to conduct R&D activities appropriate to their strategic objectives, or

29. use funds obtained through existing public resources.

34. The Future of the Chemical Industry: Technology Transfer Offices

35. When evaluating the future perspective of the chemical industry,

36. experts point out that the following topics will come to the fore

37. and the chemical industry will be shaped within the framework of these topics.

38. These are;

39. • High value-added production,

40. • Sustainable competition,

41. • Infrastructure required for production,

42. • Current technology,

43. • R&D and innovation,

44. • Success in foreign trade.

In this sense, high-technology products have now become one of the most important objectives of the chemical sector. R&D and innovation are crucial to reach this technology. In the future, R&D and innovation will be the sector's most important competitive strength factors.

Technologies consuming less energy, using less water, generating less waste, products and research aimed at saving basic inputs such as energy, water and raw materials are expected to gain more importance.

Most institutions providing education in the chemical industry field are advancing the work of their academics, together with state incentives, in line with the future perspective of the chemical industry.

In this sense, projects conducted alongside graduation, master's and doctoral theses emerging from relevant institutions are also pursued in line with this objective. Now a culture of developing solutions to the problems of relevant industry organizations has definitely taken root in the minds of our country's academics.

In this sense, there are also very successful examples of university-industry cooperation in Turkey's chemical field. However, as noted at the beginning of the article, R&D in the chemical industry and the resulting university-industry cooperation are not at the desired levels.

 

In face-to-face meetings I have personally conducted with certain investors in the chemical industry, the fundamental issue with university-industry relations is: investors not knowing how to begin the R&D work they want to do, concerns about competent academics suitable for the work they wish to conduct, and certain consulting firms and/or academics in the market breaking the industrialist's confidence and R&D willingness.

Such concerns and others like them can be overcome through TTOs, which serve the same purpose and employ experts in their fields, found in nearly every university.

The state, through TEYDEP, KOSGEP, the Ministry of Economy, Development Agencies and other institutions, has many fund sources for R&D and other areas.

Furthermore, in Technology Development Zones (TDZ), companies can establish R&D centers and benefit from tax advantages and support specifically defined for TDZs. Consulting services provided to companies regarding these matters are defined in TTOs' founding objectives.

The purpose of all these activities is to reduce R&D expenditures that incur extra costs for companies, create an R&D culture in companies and increase university-public-industry cooperation.

When used efficiently, these services, which prove quite beneficial, aim to support our country's development and bring competitive companies onto the world stage.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Turkey's capital-intensive chemical industry is not conducting R&D work at the desired levels for various reasons. One of the most effective ways to prevent this is to conduct R&D work in different or similar fields through a joint center.

To this end, establishing thematic R&D centers co-owned by several companies and moving them to TDZs could significantly contribute to reducing companies' R&D expenditures. Companies operating in the chemical industries should be open to technology transfer and working with regional TTOs.

Through TTOs' information networks, companies should adopt the culture of conducting technology transfer in relevant areas, further developing transferred technology jointly with relevant academics at universities and creating added value.

Additionally, after applying for funds provided by the state for significant amounts of technology, innovation and R&D-related resources, even if the outcome is often negative, companies should persist in applying.

Companies should allocate funds for R&D work in the chemical industry alongside these funds, and work together with TTOs in ensuring these funds are used efficiently and in accordance with their own strategies.

Every work conducted at universities can be a potential university-industry cooperation; companies must certainly monitor suitable work through TTOs and pressure TTOs to catalog them.

Furthermore, companies should evaluate mechanisms within their strategies that could fund academic work they see as having a future suited to their fields. The state should take encouraging measures for companies open to such matters and shift R&D funding at universities more towards the private sector.

R&D is now the future not only in the chemical sector but in all sectors. Therefore, it is an inescapable reality that the chemical industry, which is connected with almost all sectors in our country, must conduct R&D.

Managers in chemical industry companies should move beyond merchant mentality, place greater emphasis on public-university-industry cooperation and absolutely concentrate their internal dynamics and energy in this area.

Companies operating in the chemical industry should not forget that in the future, companies that perform innovation in the highest quality manner will continue to sustain and further enhance their existence.

Dr. Onur Tolga Okan - Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi / Technology Transfer Office - University-Industry Cooperation - Module Leader

Sources

Erman B., (2015). Proposal for a Concrete and Sustainable University-Industry Cooperation Model That Can Contribute to Establishing a Research Climate in Pharmaceuticals, Koç Üniversitesi Pharmaceutical Research Center Ertek E., (2014). Chemical Sector Report, Turkey Industrial Development Ministry Anonymous, (2015). Chemical Working Group Tenth Ten-Year Development Plan (2014-2018), Turkey Development Ministry Ulengin F., Ekici Ş.Ö., Çekyay, B., Özaydın Ö. and Kabak Ö. (2012). Chemical Industry Competitiveness Report, Editor: Emre Tamer, Sectoral Associations Federation Okan O.T.,(2016). Technology Transfer Offices, New Turkey Strategic Research Journal, Science and Technology Special Issue, Volume:2 page 476.