WINNERS OF THE 6TH WOMEN IN INNOVATION PROJECT ANNOUNCED
The exciting wait for the 6th Women in Innovation Project is over. Implemented under the cooperation of KADEM, TUBITAK (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) Marmara Teknokent, IT Valley, and KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization), the Women in Innovation Project aims to boost women’s entrepreneurial spirit and support them to turn their projects into enterprises with high employment potential. The names of 5 women entrepreneurs who made it to the finals at the end of the 5-day camp were announced at the award ceremony held at the IT Valley with the participation of Turkey’s Minister of Family and Social Services Derya Yanık, Turkey’s Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, President of KADEM Dr. Saliha Okur Gümrükçüoğlu, and Vice President of KADEM Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar.
From among 30 entrepreneurs attending the 5-day camp last Monday and giving their presentations yesterday as part of the 6th Women in Innovation Project, the following were selected as the finalists:
* Nisa Yeşilgül Mehmetcik with her “Elpis Research” project on the development of active ingredients for hypoxic tumors,
* Burcu Sarıtaş with her “SeeBrighter” project,
* Özlem Ertekin with her “High Sensitivity and Animal-Free Affinity Molecules in Diagnostic Technologies” project,
* Nerve Cansu İşeri with her “New Generation CBD Oil Production” project, and
* Yağmur Gömürlü with her “Save” project.
Hosted by the seasoned commentator Seda Öğretir, the award ceremony of the 6th Women in Innovation Project was attended by Turkey’s Minister of Family and Social Services Derya Yanık, Turkey’s Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, President of KADEM Dr. Saliha Okur Gümrükçüoğlu, Vice President of KADEM Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar, Manager of TUBITAK Marmara Teknokent Mehmet Ali Okur, President of IT Valley and President of Turkish Patent and Trademark Office Habip Asan, Manager of IT Valley Ahmet Serdar İbrahimcioğlu, and President of KOSGEB Hasan Basri Kurt. Among the attendees were also Kocaeli MPs, Mayor of Kocaeli, as well as representatives from NTV, Kanal 7 Group, and Sabah Newspaper, which were media sponsors of the project.
The program kicked off with a film screening narrating the Women in Innovation Project and the camp period. President of KADEM Saliha Okur Gümrükçüoğlu made the opening speech. In her speech, Gümrükçüoğlu stated that equal opportunities should be provided to women and men in the field of technology like in every other field. She explained that this will allow strengthening the economy and creating social benefit. She said, “The Women in Innovation Project is also a concrete example of the endeavor to ensure balance in women’s participation in social life.”
Following the opening speech, Vice President of KADEM Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar took the floor. Bayraktar mentioned the importance of women in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. She said that women now have a place in business life not only as employees but also asa
