Wthin the scope of TÜBİTAK 1512 Entrepreneurship Support Program (BIGG), 52 project applications of 163 organizations were submitted to the BIGG 2022 call, which is a part of the transformation in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. As a result of the evaluations, it was decided to support 37 project applications.
Sectoral and regional collaborations were prioritized in the new Implementing Organization model updated with TÜBİTAK's "Co-Development and Co-Achievement Approach". TÜBİTAK MAM also opened its doors to BİGG entrepreneurs with 2 projects as part of this model. With the BIGG-Bio and BIGG-LABSOUT platforms, it is aimed to provide integration in many areas and to develop the entrepreneurship ecosystem in line with Türkiye's priority science and technology targets.
The BIGG-Bio project aims to develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the food-health field by integrating competencies with our stakeholders Marmara Technopolis, METU Technopolis and ReDis Innovation. TÜBİTAK MAM will put its strong infrastructure and technical expertise in the field of life sciences into the service of entrepreneurs.
In this context, it will be possible to benefit from the possibilities of the Food Themed Incubation Center, which is a first in Turkey implemented under the leadership of TÜBİTAK MAM, and the Turkish Food Innovation Platform.
EU-IPA INNOFOOD project will help SMEs operating in the food and beverage sectors to increase their competitiveness in the foreign and domestic markets by increasing the quality and safety of their products and by developing new value-added food products/processes. As part of INNOFOOD, the Turkish Food Innovation Platform (TÜGİP – tugip.org.tr) was established to encourage R&D and innovation collaborations between SMEs and start-ups. The project aims to transfer scientific and technological knowledge, develop corporate networks and clusters, connect clusters to international networks and develop R&D and innovation skills of enterprises in Türkiye.
With the BIGG-LABSOUT program, Türkiye's first academic entrepreneurship-oriented BIGG process started. Academics will be guided by METU Technopolis, Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM), ODTÜ Solar Power Research and Application Center (GÜNAM), METU MEMs Center and strong infrastructure of TÜBİTAK MAM, through entrepreneurship training programs and technical mentorship programs, specific to academics, on the way to corporatization.
The main goal of the BIGG-LABSOUT program is to equip academic entrepreneurs of Turkish universities who want to commercialize their ideas/inventions by establishing spin-outs with the experience gained so far, and to allow them to enter the market with the right business plan.
The LABSOUT Consortium aims to mobilize all its experiences and possibilities for academic entrepreneur candidates and to allow establishing qualified and high-profile enterprises. Thus, the number of academic enterprises with high added value will increase and capacity increase, employment increase and economic growth will be achieved. The project will encourage academic entrepreneurs, contribute to the national innovation ecosystem, constitute an example of a sustainable and scalable academic entrepreneurship program in universities,
and allow the equal distribution of resources, possibilities and expertise to establish ventures throughout Türkiye.