"YILDIZ KULUÇKA" opens as new hub for entrepreneurs

Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi, aiming to educate individuals equipped with universal values in a globalising world, continuously renewing themselves, questioning, creative and entrepreneurial, targets meeting all needs of entrepreneurs with technology-based innovative business ideas and capable of converting these ideas into projects through YILDIZ KULUÇKA within Yıldız Teknopark. YILDIZ KULUÇKA, which will host all stakeholders of Turkey's entrepreneurship ecosystem and holds the distinction of being Turkey's largest in this field, was inaugurated on 20 October Thursday at Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Davutpaşa Campus. The opening event brought together numerous fund managers, angel investment networks, individual investors, private sector representatives, academics, students and more than 100 entrepreneurs. YILDIZ KULUÇKA, located within Yıldız Teknopark, aims to bring a new dimension to the entrepreneurship ecosystem as Turkey's most comprehensive incubation centre. YILDIZ KULUÇKA, an incubation and acceleration programme offering offices, infrastructure, workshops, laboratories, training and mentoring services to entrepreneurs with innovative ideas from the business idea stage through to company establishment, commercialisation and investment, currently supports more than 90 entrepreneurs in bringing innovative business ideas to life. YILDIZ KULUÇKA, which hosts projects benefiting from national and international grant support, features noteworthy work such as "Artificial Skin with Touch Sensation" which will be used by NASA and has received investment, and "Vein Visualisation Spray" which has won numerous awards. 60 per cent of entrepreneurs in the incubator operate in sectors such as medical, machinery manufacturing, electronics, energy, food industry and chemicals, targeting the production of innovative products or equipment.

Yıldız Teknopark, established in 2003 at Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Davutpaşa Campus, together with its Ikitelli Campus which became operational at the end of 2014, hosts more than 6,000 R&D and software personnel in over 380 companies across 125,000 m2 of R&D offices in 11 buildings.

New ventures begin operations in the incubation offices within Yıldız Teknopark, prototypes are realised in workshops,experiments are conducted in laboratories and training, mentoring and consulting services required by entrepreneurs are provided free of charge. With the opening, the new incubation area made available to entrepreneurs offers pre-incubation for entrepreneurs with business ideas who have not yet reached the company establishment stage, incubation for entrepreneurs who have developed their business ideas and reached the company establishment stage, and post-incubation support for successful continuing entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the headquarters of the International Incubation Centre, which was recently approved for USD 3.85 million support by KOSGEB and will be established in Silicon Valley, USA, in partnership with Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Gebze Teknik Üniversitesi, Hasan Kalyoncu Üniversitesi and Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi, is also located in this area. Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Rector Prof. Dr. Bahri Şahin, in a statement on the matter, said: "We believe that the Incubation Centre within Yıldız Teknopark will play an important role in strengthening R&D and entrepreneurship culture at our university and in our country. We have brought together all stakeholders that an entrepreneur may need—from education to mentoring, from offices to prototype workshops, from laboratories to social spaces and investors—in the Yıldız Teknopark Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. Almost all companies in Yıldız KULUÇKA consist of academics, recent graduates and students. Having supported more than 150 ventures since its establishment, Yıldız KULUÇKA aims to support more than 250 technological ventures in realising their dreams with our new office spaces. Open to all entrepreneurs, innovative entrepreneurs operating in Yıldız KULUÇKA will sign projects that will make Turkey a pioneer in the world."