The "University-Industry Cooperation Success Awards Ceremony," organized by the University-Industry Cooperation Center (ÜSİM) operating under the Kastamonu University Technology Transfer Office (TTO), brought together academics, industrialists, and representatives of stakeholder institutions.
At the ceremony held on June 18, 2026, in the Teknokent Ilgaz Conference Hall, academics who contributed to the meeting of knowledge produced at the university with the industry and stakeholders who supported the collaboration ecosystem were awarded.
The program began with a film introducing the activities of Kastamonu Teknokent and the Technology Transfer Office of Kastamonu University. The opening speech of the ceremony was delivered by Prof. Dr. Alperen Kaymakcı, Director of the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) at Kastamonu University and General Manager of Kastamonu Teknokent.
In his speech, Prof. Dr. Kaymakcı emphasized the strategic importance of university-industry collaboration for regional development, stating that the work carried out by the Technopolis and the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) contributes to both the commercialization of academic knowledge and the development of the R&D capacity needed by the industry. Additionally, noting that the collaborations established through ÜSİM are increasingly yielding tangible results, Kaymakcı thanked all the academics and stakeholders involved.
Following Prof. Dr. Kaymakcı, Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Atalan emphasized that the program was not just an award ceremony, saying, "Today, we are gathered here to celebrate together the story of knowledge turning into production, ideas into value, and labor into social benefit."
Stating that universities are not merely institutions that produce knowledge, Prof.Dr.Atalan said that modern universities have become structures that conduct research, generate innovation, support entrepreneurship, and disseminate the knowledge they produce to society. Prof.Dr. Atalan, who drew attention to the fact that university-industry cooperation is no longer a choice but a necessity, emphasized that societies in which scientific knowledge meets production gain a competitive advantage.
The last speaker of the program, Deputy Governor Hakan Kubalı, touched upon the importance of university-industry collaboration in regional development. Stating that the transfer of knowledge produced in universities to the field plays a critical role in economic growth and the development of a qualified workforce, Kubalı expressed his satisfaction with the strengthening of the collaboration ecosystem in Kastamonu and thanked all stakeholders.
As part of the program, a presentation on ÜSİM's activities and contributions to regional development was conducted by Lecturer Kazım Yasin Özbey. Özbey stated that ÜSİM's Technology Transfer Office is one of its five main service areas and that it serves as a bridge between academics, industrial organizations, and public institutions.
Stating that visits to industrial organizations in the province were carried out within the framework of the ÜSİM Committee and the Industry and Technology Cooperation Board (SANTEK) established in 2021, Özbey expressed that firms operating in organized industrial zones in Sinop, Çankırı, Karabük, Bartın, and Zonguldak, in addition to Kastamonu, were also reached. Özbey stated that more than 100 company visits have been conducted so far, and during the 2020–2026 period, 147 companies and institutions were brought together with 69 academics, resulting in a total of 157 university-industry collaboration activities being implemented.
During the award presentation section of the ceremony, awards were presented to academics who contributed to university-industry collaboration. It was also announced that the TTO service fee rate would be applied at 5% instead of 15% for the first collaboration activity conducted by the awarded academics within the scope of ÜSİM.
The Success Award in the R&D Consultancy Category was presented to Prof. Dr. Mehmet Cengiz Baloğlu, a faculty member of the Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, for his contributions to enhancing the innovation capacity of industrial organizations. The award was presented by Prof. Dr. Alperen Kaymakcı.
The Project Category Achievement Award was given to Prof. Dr. Müge Hendek, a faculty member of the Department of Food Engineering, who stood out with the projects she developed within the scope of university-industry collaboration. Prof. Dr. Hendek could not attend the ceremony because she was out of town, so her daughter Esma Duru received the award on her behalf. The award was presented by the Deputy General Manager of Technopolis, Assist.Prof.Dr. Mehmet Karamanoğlu.
The Consultancy Category Achievement Award was given to Prof. Dr. Mahmut Bilgehan, a faculty member of the Department of Civil Engineering, who has provided technical consultancy services to 23 different businesses to date. The award was presented by Deputy Governor Hakan Kubalı.
In the program, certificates of appreciation were also presented to industrialists, academics, and representatives of stakeholder institutions who contributed to the development of the university-industry collaboration ecosystem.
The ceremony ended with a group photo. Then, a training program titled "Transforming Intellectual Property into Economic Value and Increasing Patent Capacity" was conducted by Cihat Çetin from Cetlis Consulting.
