Minister Kacır: We increased the number of model factories to 10

Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, at the opening program of the European Digital Innovation Centers (ADİM) held at the Bilişim Vadisi Kocaeli Campus, wished that the centers, which will contribute to Turkey's technology-based development and accelerate its digital transformation journey, will be beneficial to the country and the nation.

Kacır stated that they have taken another important step that will further advance the strong cooperation with the European Union in the fields of science, technology and innovation, and said that he believes that they will reinforce their coordinated work by redefining their common goals with the European Union through the program.

Kacır pointed out that the world was being reshaped by a greater wind of transformation and change than ever before, and noted that rapidly developing technologies were redefining global balances of power and competitive factors.

Kacır, who pointed out that dynamics continue to change radically in every field, from social life to business processes, from production models to consumer behavior, said:

"We are now living in a period where machines communicate with each other thanks to the internet of things and automatically optimize production processes with artificial intelligence and big data analytics. It is possible to say that dark factories that perform unmanned production have ceased to be a utopian dream and have become one of the new normals of industrial production. These developments, described as the digital revolution, offer high-quality products and services with more efficient business processes, while also removing low-cost labor from being the main element of competition."

"WE APPROACH DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL WAY"

Minister Kacır emphasized that countries that correctly interpret the current situation and trends will increase their competitive power, while those that cannot keep up with the change will lose their production capabilities.

Kacır, who stated that they see this great wave of change and transformation as an important opportunity to carry Turkey to the position it deserves in the world in value-added production and technology development in line with the goals of the National Technology Move, said that as a Ministry, they handle digital transformation in a multi-dimensional way by establishing a strong mechanism in matters such as qualified human resources and infrastructure with the financial supports and incentives they offer.

Kacır stated that they act with the mission of being an institution that accelerates the digitalization process of the industry and guides businesses, and continued as follows:

"The digital transformation journey for our companies can be complicated by financial difficulties, lack of competence, and uncertainties about where and how to start digital transformation. In order to eliminate these difficulties our companies face, we launched the Digital Transformation Support Program in recent months. In the first phase of the program, we expect companies to create a comprehensive roadmap suitable for their needs and scales based on their current digital maturity levels and to identify investment needs accordingly. We support investments that we evaluate in terms of scope, target and quality with our priority incentive application. We offer the 300 million Euro resource we provided from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to the digital transformation projects of our SMEs with KOSGEB financing support. In addition to the programs that meet the financing needs of our businesses within the scope of digital transformation, we have taken important steps to create modern infrastructures that will increase their efficiency and competitiveness. We have commissioned our supercomputer ARF, which has the power equivalent to 35 thousand laptops, to support big data and artificial intelligence research. In addition, thanks to our membership in the EuroHPC Joint Venture, we also have direct access to the world's eighth most powerful supercomputer, MareNostrum 5."

"WE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF MODEL FACTORIES TO 10"

Kacır, who stated that they increased the number of model factories that bring together industry with lean production and equip the existing workforce with competencies suitable for the fourth industrial revolution to 10, said, "In the upcoming period, we will establish 6 new model factories in Kocaeli, Denizli, Trabzon, Malatya, Sakarya and Tekirdağ."

Kacır said, "In addition to successfully completing the digital transformation of our businesses, another issue we emphasize is to implement new investments with original and national technology solutions. In this context, within the scope of TÜBİTAK's support programs for the industry, we have provided 33 billion liras of support to more than 7,300 projects in the field of digital transformation. We have mobilized 22.8 billion liras of investment with the digital transformation call of our Technology-Focused Industry Move Program, which offers an end-to-end holistic support mechanism from R&D to mass production for high-tech investments."

Kacır stated that they will continue to encourage strategic investments that will strengthen the domestic technology ecosystem with new calls to be made under the titles of hyper-scale data centers and industrial robotic systems within the scope of HIT-30, the largest-scale incentive program in Turkey's history, and said that the scale, complexity, infrastructure needs and opportunities offered by digitalization require a collaborative and border-crossing vision.

Kacır stated that they see the EU Framework Programs as a valuable tool for increasing the competitiveness of Turkish industry and SMEs, which are currently one of the main actors of the European value chain, and noted that they have joined the Digital Europe Program, which provides financing for the establishment of strategic infrastructures in areas such as high-performance computing and artificial intelligence and the training of human resources needed in these areas.

Kacır stated that as a result of Turkey's participation in this program in 2023, industrialists, entrepreneurs and universities will have the opportunity to benefit from the critical infrastructures established within the scope of the program and that they will be entitled to apply for the calls opened by the European Commission.

Kacır, who reported that 68 institutions and organizations from Turkey have accessed 14 million euros of funding to date, said, "Of course, one of the most important components of the Digital Europe Program is the European Digital Innovation Centers. Equipped with competent human resources and testing and research infrastructure, these centers will not only provide digital transformation support to industry, SMEs and public institutions across Europe, but will also build effective integration between centers and digital infrastructures in different countries with the cooperation network they will create. Within the scope of the program, 5 consortia that will play an important role in the digital transformation of our country's industry, SMEs and public institutions have joined the European Digital Innovation Centers network. In addition, 4 consortia have also earned the seal of excellence."

"WE WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN AND FEED THE PRODUCTION INFRASTRUCTURE OF OUR INDUSTRY WITH ADDED VALUE AND HIGH TECHNOLOGY"

Kacır stated that ADİMs will play a guiding role in integrating advanced digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, high-performance computing into the business processes of businesses operating in priority sectors for Turkey such as ready-made clothing, textiles, aluminum, white goods, automotive, machinery and agriculture, and that they will also provide support for pre-investment testing, prototyping and access to financing.

Minister Kacır noted that the centers will conduct a digital maturity assessment of 1,500 businesses, prepare digital transformation roadmaps for these companies, and provide mentoring and consultancy support.

Kacır stated that the centers will also guide SMEs and researchers in accessing digital infrastructures such as supercomputers, artificial intelligence factories, artificial intelligence test and experiment facilities and data centers established in Europe, and expressed his belief that ADİMs, which will provide services in areas such as technical expertise, pre-investment testing, skill development, access to financing and networking, will be important interfaces that will further Turkey's success in the Digital Europe Program and other international initiatives.

Underlining that they will continue to feed and strengthen the production infrastructure of the industry with high value-added technology, Kacır said:

"We will continue to implement with determination the initiatives that will enable our country to take its place among the world's leading technology production centers. The projects we have implemented within the scope of the Digital Europe Program and the European Digital Innovation Centers are an indication of this vision. As Turkey, we are strategically evaluating pre-accession tools and IPA funds in order to create a strong infrastructure that will support different sectors, including digital transformation initiatives. The 2014-2020 IPA programming period facilitated the establishment of sector-specific digital transformation centers in our country to increase the competitiveness of our SMEs. Digitalization infrastructures in many sectors such as ready-made clothing, white goods, machinery, automotive, aviation, aluminum, agricultural machinery and digital content production were rapidly put into operation during that period. The infrastructures developed during this process also pioneered our consortiums that joined the European Digital Innovation Centers Network. In Turkey's digital transformation journey, it is of great importance that the projects developed within the scope of the Digital Europe Program and the IPA program are designed to complement each other in line with the common goal. This integration will not only make cooperation more effective but will also enable the IPA and Digital Europe programmes to draw a common roadmap."

"IT IS TIME TO NAME THE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP AND COOPERATION WE HAVE MAINTAINED"

Kacır said, "Any infrastructure that will increase our country's industrial and technological gains is also an investment in Europe's future," reminding that former European Central Bank (ECB) President and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi prepared a comprehensive and striking report on the competitiveness of the European Union.

Kacır, who stated that the report emphasized that the innovation gap in the European Union has significantly slowed down productivity growth in the last 20 years, noted the following:

"It expresses that the EU economy has not been able to make the necessary breakthrough in terms of competitive power and technological independence of the Union in many critical technology areas and technology entrepreneurship. Our country has the ability to bring the European Union to the forefront in global competition with its young and dynamic population, potential, and strong production and technology development infrastructure. Turkey's full membership in the European Union will go down in history as a strategic move based on the principle of win-win. It is time to give a name to the close relationship and cooperation we currently maintain. I hope that this opportunity, which is of critical importance for the European Union, will be evaluated correctly and the doors of a new era will be opened together with our country."