Kocaeli University and Pharmaceutical Industry Turkey Meeting was held on March 12, 2020 at the Senate Hall of Kocaeli University Umuttepe Campus in cooperation with the Provincial Directorate of Industry and Technology, TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center (MAM), Kocaeli University, Kocaeli Chamber of Industry and KOÜ Technology Transfer Office.
The meeting was attended by Prof. Dr. Sadettin Hülagü, Rector of Kocaeli University, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kılıçaslan, President of TÜBİTAK MAM, İlhan Aydın, Provincial Director of Industry and Technology, Prof. Dr. Ercüment Çiftçi and Prof. Dr. Nilgün Fığlalı, Vice Rectors of Kocaeli University, academicians and pharmaceutical industry representatives.
"KOU is ready and willing to be the pioneer of R&D in our city, which is intertwined with industry."
Delivering the opening speech of the meeting, Prof. Dr. Sadettin Hülagü, Rector of Kocaeli University, stated that he believes that the meeting will make great contributions in the field of research and development and that he is sure that it will serve new stakeholders and said, "I have stated many times in different venues and meetings that the ultimate goal of Kocaeli University is to become a research university and contribute to the R&D of our country. I would like to underline this point again in such a meeting, which is competent and experienced in scientific research in Turkey. Since we took office, we have made significant progress in organizing the physical conditions of our university, especially the physical conditions, working environments and areas that will provide opportunities for our researchers. Now, as of the day we have arrived, our infrastructure requirements have been largely taken care of and it is time to achieve a qualified vertical growth. Human resources, which were already very good, especially in the fields of Medicine and Engineering, have been improved and technical facilities and capacities have been increased. In this framework, our university is ready and willing to play a pioneering role in R&D in our city, which is intertwined with industry. It is undoubtedly a very important process to have research centers, to prepare them and to put them into operation, but it is essential for research centers to meet with the right stakeholders in order to achieve their real goals. It is a great pleasure to see the most important stakeholders in this field gathered in our meeting today, and it is also an indication that we are on the right path towards R&D. Because the new understanding of university is not only providing education, but also actively participating in research and development activities, and maintaining uninterrupted and strengthening relations with its stakeholders in the industry. I believe that our meeting today will contribute to the industry of our country, the research potential of our university and the economic power of our state by bringing together the vision of our university to be a pioneer in the field of research and development with the leading stakeholders of our industry."
TÜBİTAK MAM President Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kılıçaslan, referring to the working area of TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center (MAM), said, "We have over a thousand researchers, nearly fifty percent of whom have the title of "doctor". MAM is the research center of our state, that is, your research center. We have almost complete infrastructure. At MAM, we are working on herbal products, biological chemical agents and biomaterials. Our infrastructure is solid, but we need colleagues who work and generate ideas. We are open to using our infrastructure for new ideas."
İlhan Aydın, Provincial Director of Industry and Technology, emphasized the importance of public-university cooperation and said, "We signed an agreement with 106 sectors in line with the support of Prof. Dr. Sadettin Hülagü, Rector of Kocaeli University, on public-university cooperation. This agreement is a first in Turkey. Pharmaceutical Sector Turkey Meeting is a first in Turkey. In line with the meeting, our aim is to add value to Turkey with high value-added products."
Prof. Dr. Sema Keçeli, Prof. Dr. Tijen Utkan, Prof. Dr. Murat Kasap, Prof. Dr. Yusufhan Yazır, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Naci Çine and Prof. Dr. İpek Komsuoğlu Çelikyurt made informative presentations on "Drug Research in Microbiology", "DETAP", "Protein Research and Proteomics", "KÖGEM", "Holistic Approach to the Genome" and "Phase 1 Establishment Studies" at the meeting attended by leading companies in the pharmaceutical industry.
After the presentations, the event ended with a visit to the laboratories with the participants, followed by lunch.
