Information Technologies and Communication Authority hosted the PMI Turkey Chapter’s Ankara Summit. The program discussed the importance of project management.
The PMI Project Management Summit, held in Ankara since 2010, was organized this year under the theme of “Learning Organizations.” The event, hosted by the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, attracted great interest. BTK President Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, who delivered the opening speech as the host of the program, began by stating, “High-performance institutions are organizations that produce the right projects and manage these projects correctly.”
Emphasizing that, as a national and international institution with high goals, the role of project management in achieving these goals cannot be overlooked, Sayan touched upon BTK’s efforts in this regard.
BTK: Turkey’s First Sectoral Regulatory Authority
Reminding that BTK was established in 2000 to regulate and supervise the electronic communications sector and is Turkey’s first sectoral regulatory authority, Sayan stated, “Our institution has many duties and responsibilities regarding the electronic communications and postal sectors. BTK is Turkey’s first sectoral regulatory authority. Our main headquarters is here. With 1,300 employees, we regulate Turkey’s electronic communications sector. The organizations affiliated with us have a turnover of 117 billion. In this regard, we host a team that intervenes in 970 cyber incidents. There are nearly a thousand companies to which we have issued licenses, and with nearly a thousand licenses from 450 companies, all regulatory operations related to electronics, communications, internet, and postal services are handled by our institution. We actually established our project management office last year. After establishing the project management office, nothing remained the same as before. Thus, in terms of weekly reporting, project management office reporting, and tracking, we achieved significant successes in project performance,” he said.
Transforming into an Information Society is Possible with Successful Strategies
Sayan also mentioned the studies related to 5G in his speech. Reiterating that all regulations regarding the internet are also made at BTK, Sayan shared, “The main area is what we call Telco regulation, primarily involving our three major mobile and fixed operators—Turk Telekom, Vodafone, and Turkcell—along with over 450 companies as I mentioned earlier, whose licensing is done by us. There are a few pillars here. From protecting consumers to ensuring fair competition, and managing all this with our 1,300-person organization through its internal dynamics, including providing human resources—another task assigned to our institution is coordination in cybersecurity, which we handle. The telecommunications sector is one that facilitates the operations of all sectors. While in the past we talked about proximity to transportation networks, I think we now pay attention to whether we have a fiber connection at home, what the fiber speeds are, and such matters when choosing a location or office workspace.”
Sayan listed BTK’s other duties as follows: “We conduct international studies on 5G and cybersecurity. And regarding coordination in the country, as I mentioned earlier, full coordination on cybersecurity for 970 institutions, organizations, and the public sector is handled by us. In this regard, in the information and communications sector, by making regulations and supervisions in line with international norms and standards, establishing effective and sustainable competition, continuously improving our service quality, and promoting technological developments to transform into an information society, this is only possible with successful strategies and project teams that can successfully implement these strategies.”
President Sayan also touched upon the qualities of a good project manager. Strongly emphasizing the importance of project managers possessing leadership skills, Sayan said, “Innovative project managers who can mediate, have a sense of responsibility, are more suitable for these tasks. Additionally, we want to work with project managers who achieve success through teamwork rather than individual ambition, who are energetic, and who have sufficient technical experience. A good and successful project manager should first set realistic goals for their own career and conduct their work within a plan to achieve these goals,” he explained.
Sayan concluded his speech with, “Today’s successful project managers will be those who, in addition to technical knowledge and leadership skills, have a desire for continuous learning and prioritize making the institutions they work for learning organizations—which is actually very much in line with current information technologies. Artificial intelligence, learning programs, learning organizations, and applying artificial intelligence to human life and institutional organizations.”
Following the opening speech, PMI members Süleyman Çavuşoğlu and Buğ Bayazıt Yıldırım made their presentations. The summit, which will also host various competitions and panels, will welcome its guests at BTK for two days.