Ericsson Turkey Research Laboratory Event was held online due to pandemic conditions.
The program was attended by Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, President of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, Ericsson executives, and sector representatives.
Deputy Minister Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, who evaluated Turkey's activities in the Ericsson Research Laboratory field, spoke about the contributions the program would provide. Pointing out that the Ericsson Research Laboratory, supported by TÜBİTAK and operational since 2018, has achieved great successes, Sayan said, “We have achieved very important successes in this process. The frequent patent applications we receive in our second year make us very pleased.”
Additionally, Sayan stated that having 15 Turkish researchers in the 6th Generation Networks and Security codes working team is a source of pride for them, saying, “Our goal, under the leadership of our President, is to become one of the world's top 10 economies. We are implementing policies to achieve the necessary structural transformation with technology through the ‘National Technology Initiative’ vision.”
Expressing that one of the important components of the “National Technology Initiative” is to make Turkey an attractive center for scientists and researchers, Sayan shared the following information: “Undoubtedly, the policies of our Governments in the last 15 years, especially the support of our President, have played an important role in the development of R&D activities. Total research and development expenditures rose from 1.8 billion TL in 2002 to approximately 46 billion TL in 2019. The number of full-time R&D personnel increased from 29,000 in 2002 to 183,000 in 2019. The increase in the number of full-time R&D personnel is 6.2% compared to the previous year. While the private sector's R&D expenditures were 28% in 2002, they reached 62.9% in 2019. We expect the world's leading companies to bring their R&D capabilities to our country, implement their innovative ideas, and put their technical knowledge into practice. Therefore, the Ericsson Research Laboratory is a good example in this context.”
Sayan also emphasized that they are working intensively to be among the first countries to adopt 5G mobile communication technology.
President Karagözoğlu: Efficiency Will Increase with 5G
Information Technologies and Communication Authority President Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu also reminded that Ericsson is a strong company operating in eleven countries, developing technologies and contributing to the future development of the world.
Stating that when 5G is used in the production field, smarter and faster devices will be used and efficiency will increase, Karagözoğlu spoke about his goals regarding big data as follows: “As Turkey, we have two important goals in big data applications; to ensure that data produced in our country is processed in our country and to create attractive conditions to make our country a regional data center.”
Karagözoğlu added that there are many areas where they can support Ericsson's initiatives and that they will continue to support Ericsson in many areas.