Government Policy Regarding IT in Turkey

Government plans in R&D and focus on IT
Set up by act of parliament, the Supreme Board of Science and Technology is Turkey's leading establishment in the area of science and technology. On February 3rd 1993, the Board convened at the Prime Ministry to determine Turkey's priority areas and 10-year targets in the field of technology. These were defined as follows:
  • Information
  • Advanced technology marerials
  • Biotechnology
  • Space technology
  • Nuclear technology

The 10-year targets are:
  • To raise the level of spending on research and development as a proportion of national income from 0.33% in 1993 to at least 1.00% in 2003.
  • To increase the number of research workers per 10,000 of the working population from 7 in 1993 to 15 in 2003.
  • To improve Turkey's worldwide R&D position in published international rankings from 40th to 30th over the same period.
  • To increase the level of private sector spending on R&D as a proportion of total R&D expenditure from 8% in 1993 to 30% in 2003.
The economic problems that arose at the beginning of 1994 and the April 5, stabilization measures that followed have helped reinforce the view within the community that R&D initiatives need special attention if Turkish industry is to improve its export performance and increase its competitive strength on foreign markets. In addition, the fact that all export incentives except those involving R&D are to be scrapped in a year's time under the terms of the latest GATT agreement has further increased the importance of R&D. Reflecting this, provisions supporting R&D were included in the draft of the seventh five-year plan of the State Planning Organization (DPT).

Major government R&D initiatives and programs
Tübitak, the Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Institution, is responsible for the coordination and support of technological R&D activities in Turkey. In addition to backing R&D projects at universities and in the industry through gr oups established within its own ranks, Tübitak also carries several projects at affiliated centers and institutes.

Within Tübitak, individual research groups have been set up covering the following areas:

  • Elementary sciences
  • Electronics and information technology
  • Machinery and chemical technology, materials and manufacturing systems
  • Health sciences
  • Construction technology
  • Agriculture, forestry and food technology
  • Land, sea and space sciences, environmental sciences
  • Stock breeding and veterinary medicine

Tübitak's affiliated research organizations include the Ankara Electronic Research Institute, which operates from within Middle East Technical University, the Defense Industry R&D Institute, and the Marmara Research Institute based in Gebze, near Istanbul.

The Marmara Research Institute conducts R&D in the areas of electronics, advanced technology materials, chemicals, food, the environment, energy systems, computer engineering, artificial intelligence, robotics, space technology, genetic engineering a nd biotechnology, meteorology, and elementary sciences.

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Author: Ramez A. Ghazzaoui
 Last Update: July 4, 1996
This page's URL is: http://www.armory.com/~turkiye/it/govepage.html