Our International Research Capacity Is Growing: ARDEK Project Teams Held Their First Meeting

The “International Project Teams,” established by our university’s Office of the Dean of Research (ARDEK) with the aim of enhancing international research capacity, encouraging high-quality international project proposals, and ensuring that our faculty members play a more active role in international funding programs, held their first meeting on Thursday, November 5.

The meeting, held at our university’s Prof. Dr. Uğur Oral Cultural Center, was attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Dr. Murat Ünal; our Dean of Research, Prof. Dr. Caner Özdemir; and the Assistant Deans of Research, Prof. Dr. Yasemin Yuyucu Karabulut (ARDEK Coordinator of International Projects) and Prof. Dr. Seyhan Şahan Fırat, ARDEK National Projects Coordinator Prof. Dr. Aylin Altan Mete, our university’s Technology Transfer Office (TTO) Academic Unit Director Prof. Dr. Rükan Genç Altürk, TTO Coordinator Abdi Kurt, and faculty members from various departments, including the Faculties of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy, Education, Communication, Science, and Letters.

“Expand Your Professional Network Through Projects”

Our university’s Dean of Research, Prof. Dr. Caner Özdemir, stated that their goal is to raise awareness of European Union and Horizon projects across the university. Reminding attendees that publications, projects, citations, and patents are all considered in academic career evaluations, Prof. Dr. Özdemir said, “Projects are the most important of these. “When you undertake a project, the other criteria are already met. I recommend that you expand your professional network,” he said.

Highlighting the abundance of opportunities in European Union projects, Prof. Dr. Özdemir noted that a large portion of these projects are in the health sector, and that calls for proposals have also been issued for projects in the fields of climate change, water, the environment, and artificial intelligence. Addressing researchers, Prof. Dr. Özdemir said, “You have a project idea. With this idea, you can participate in international projects, or your idea can evolve into a TÜBİTAK project. Implementing a specific strategy in projects is of great importance. Let’s focus our energy on the projects we can secure.”

Processes and Concepts in European Projects

Prof. Dr. Yasemin Yuyucu Karabulut, Assistant Dean of Research and Coordinator of International Projects, noted that their goal is to raise awareness about EU projects at our university. She delivered a presentation under the headings “What Is an EU Project? Why Is It Important?”, “Funding Programs,” “Research and Working Groups,” and “Support and Next Steps.” Prof. Dr. Yuyucu Karabulut highlighted the importance of competition, grants, and partnerships in EU projects, emphasizing that partnerships must include at least three different countries.

Prof. Dr. Karabulut also provided information on frequently used terms in the process; defined a “call for proposals” as “a time-limited announcement seeking projects on a specific topic,” a “work program” as “a two-year plan outlining upcoming calls,” a “coordinator” as “the organization managing the consortium,” a “PIC” as “the registration number of the institution in the application portal,” and a “grant agreement” as “the contract signed for an accepted proposal.”

Noting that European projects provide not only funding but also networking opportunities, visibility, and capacity-building, Prof. Dr. Yuyucu Karabulut emphasized that institutions aiming to become research universities must be visible. Prof. Dr. Yasemin Yuyucu Karabulut stated, “There are three evaluation criteria in Horizon Europe. Excellence encompasses the clarity of objectives, innovation, and the robustness of the methodology. Impact is based on expected outputs, dissemination, and social and economic contributions. Implementation covers the business plan, team structure, and risk management. Our goal is to raise awareness at our university regarding international projects. You can obtain information from ARDEK and the TTO on topics such as call announcements, finding partners, project proposal writing, and budget support. “You can access a significant portion of the calls on the ARDEK page and increase your visibility by registering through the ‘EU Funding & Tenders Portal,’” he said.

Full Support for International Projects from the TTO

Prof. Dr. Rükan Genç Altürk, Head of the Academic Unit at our University’s Technology Transfer Office (TTO), stated that one of its core modules is the development of international projects. Noting that they provide support for project proposals submitted by faculty members and for the partner-finding process, Prof. Dr. Genç Altürk said, “We feature successful projects in our e-newsletter, which is published every three months. Our doors are open to anyone seeking information or support regarding projects.”

TTO Coordinator Abdi Kurt, who gave a presentation as part of ARDEK’s “Internationalization” program, outlined our university’s efforts in international research and innovation projects and the role of the Technology Transfer Office in this process.

Successful Projects and Future Calls

Kurt explained that applications for programs such as TÜBİTAK, Horizon Europe, EUREKA, and COST are systematically prepared by established working groups (WGs); he noted that ideas are first transformed into draft concept notes, which are then shared with partners before proceeding to the full application stage.

In the final segment of the meeting, it was announced that working groups would be formed from among the International Project Teams based on their areas of expertise, and that Horizon call matches would be made for these groups.

Press and Public Relations Department