Türkiye Innovation Week to contribute to country’s innovation leadership goal

ISTANBUL

Türkiye Innovation Week (TIW25) is expected to contribute to Türkiye's goal of "becoming a leading country in innovation."

The event is being organized for the 12th time at the Halic Congress Center in Istanbul with the support of Türkiye's Trade Ministry and hosted by the Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TIM).

The main theme of the event to be held on Oct. 9-11 will be "Tomorrow: Now," addressing the AI transformation in a multi-layered manner.

TIM Chairman Mustafa Gultepe said that Türkiye Innovation Week is one of the most important steps they have taken to promote a culture of innovation in Türkiye, encourage innovative ideas, and pave the way for exports through high-value-added production.

Gultepe emphasized that they have been organizing Innovation Week uninterrupted for 12 years and announced that they have designed the event with a brand new vision this year.

He said this year’s theme “gives us the feeling that the future has never been so close, has never generated such comprehensive change, and has never been so eagerly anticipated. It's no longer a distant possibility; it's happening right now. The future no longer exists in calendars, but in artificial intelligence and code."

"Building on this powerful message, we are moving to implement the requirements of the future with the will of today. In this context, we've restructured Innovation Week around artificial intelligence," he said.

Gultepe said that the event will support entrepreneurs and young people, and that they will give awards to innovative entrepreneurs in different categories, as they do every year.

Topics, speakers

Strategic topics such as AI's impact on global competition, government visions and success models, Türkiye's AI breakthrough, the transformation of design in creative industries, the evolution of business and career models, and the creation of billion-dollar AI startups will be highlighted. These topics will be addressed by powerful figures who complement each other on stage.

Legendary referee Pierluigi Collina will share with the audience on the main stage his ability to make quick and fair decisions, remain calm under pressure, and get back on track, translating his skills into the world of leadership.

Gerard Grech, general manager of the Founders Program, a new strategic initiative at the University of Cambridge that aims to grow deep technology-based companies, will share his experiences on unicorn strategies. As the person responsible for the exponential growth of the UK's unicorn population and positioning the UK as Europe's digital leader after the US and China, Grech will inspire Türkiye's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Other than Collina and Grech, more than 120 speakers will also participate in the event.

Anadolu will serve as the global communications partner of the event.