In the organization that started on September 9 at Artuklu Fairground within the scope of TEKNOFEST Southeast, under the auspices of ASELSAN and the Governorship, 30 finalist teams consisting of 410 students from different parts of the country competed to achieve the highest score on the challenging track with the unmanned land vehicles they developed.
In the competition, the Teknomer Black Guard team, formed by Gazi University students, was awarded the "best team spirit" award, and the Konya Technical University Capsule Raclab Rover team was awarded the "best design" award.
The winning teams in the competition will be announced at TEKNOFEST Southeast to be held in Şanlıurfa.
Speaking at the closing ceremony held within the scope of the competition, Mardin Governor Tuncay Akkoyun said that they were pleased to witness the excitement, determination and success of the young people who will build the future of the country in Mardin, where different civilizations, cultures and beliefs have lived in brotherhood, peace and tolerance for centuries.
Stating that the historical city, which has pioneered science, wisdom and thought for centuries, continues to contribute to Türkiye's technology journey with high-tech products, autonomous systems, software and unmanned vehicles developed by young people, Akkoyun said:
"The legacy of the great scientist Al-Jazari, who developed mechanical systems, automation mechanisms and robotic mechanisms in these lands centuries ago, is today turning into artificial intelligence, sensor technologies, autonomous systems and advanced engineering applications in the hands of our young people. This is exactly the spirit of TEKNOFEST. Bringing together the science and wisdom heritage of our past with the technology of the future. Developing our own technology, software, designing our artificial intelligence and most importantly, telling our young people 'You can do it, you can achieve it, Türkiye. 'He succeeds.' It's about gaining self-confidence."
Stating that 410 young people competed with determination and determination in the competition held in Mardin, Akkoyun stated that the unmanned ground vehicles developed by the young people were the work of great effort and team spirit.
Akkoyun underlined that young people will move Türkiye forward in many fields, from defense to health, from agriculture to space technologies, by developing their own software, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and said:
"The real winner of this competition is all our young people who produce, research, develop, fight and believe in Türkiye's future. I believe that the winner today is the great and powerful Turkey. Nations that produce their own technology build their own future with their own hands. Turkey, with God's permission, has the power, will, knowledge and most importantly such a youth to build its own future under the leadership of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In recent years, our country has developed everything from the defense industry to aviation, from artificial intelligence to space technologies. The successes achieved in many fields clearly demonstrate how correct and important a direction our National Technology Move is. The strong will put forward under the leadership of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has paved the way for our young people and enabled the formation of a great ecosystem where they can turn their dreams into projects, their projects into products and their products into success. Our young people competing under the umbrella of TEKNOFEST today will be the technology leaders, engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
ASELSAN General Manager Ahmet Akyol said that TEKNOFEST has become a global event this year, hosting more than 50 competitions, 1.6 million competitors and participants from 97 countries.
Stating that the nation embraces TEKNOFEST, that there are winners in the competitions but there are no losers, Akyol stated that TEKNOFEST contributes to raising generations that develop technology, work in teams, produce solutions to problems and have high self-confidence.
Explaining that they will continue to expand and develop the competitions every year to prepare young people for the future, Akyol said, "Today, talking about the dreams of our young people, not about the threat, not about technology, not about fear, but about how we will build the Turkey of the future with the TEKNOFEST generation, is also the guarantee of the Turkey of the future." he said.
Akyol stated that this geography has trained important scientists in the past and that it will leave its mark on Türkiye's future with the robot, satellite and artificial intelligence technologies developed by the TEKNOFEST generation.
Stating that the young people competing in TEKNOFEST can work in important organizations such as ASELSAN in the future or achieve world-wide success by establishing their own companies, Akyol said:
"It is possible to crown it with an example without going too far. ASELSAN, which was founded 50 years ago, in 1975, by 4 engineers who acted with the feeling of serving their country, nation and humanity, has now become a worldwide company with 15 thousand employees and has become the 5th most valuable company in Europe. It has reached a position that leaves its mark on the world with what it does, just as it serves our nation. This is the success of our nation. This TEKNOFEST generation is taking it even higher. "This is the generation that will carry it forward and carry out many projects that will realize world-class business. Today, we will continue to build Türkiye's Steel Dome, develop the most critical transportation and health technologies, develop all the war weapon systems that our country needs, produce all civilian technologies that will serve humanity, and turn them into world-class products. I am honored to declare that this is a beginning and that Türkiye is taking firm steps towards the future with these generations. Our goal is a fully independent, strong and technology-producing Turkey."
Akyol thanked President Erdoğan, T3 Foundation, Selçuk Bayraktar, institutions, organizations and volunteers who led the implementation of TEKNOFEST, and added that they will continue to build Türkiye's future with young people.
After the speeches, Governor Akkoyun and Akyol gave awards to the 2 teams and took photos with the young contestants.
Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Brigadier General Ercan Atasoy, Provincial Police Chief Recep Tecimer, AK Party Provincial Chairman Mehmet Uncu, Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Kemalettin Sakin, ASELSAN Deputy General Manager Zekeriyya Şahin, T3 Foundation Mardin Manager Emine Eryağma, deputy governors, district governors, representatives of institutions, political parties and non-governmental organizations attended the ceremony.
