Successful women supported by TÜBİTAK participated in the "Women and Girls in Science" event and told their success stories to TÜBİTAK microphones:
TUĞBA HAKLI - 1512 Techno-Entrepreneurship Capital Support Program (BiGG) Grant Holder
Tuğba Haklı, a biomedical engineer, is one of the names who started her entrepreneurial adventure with the support of TÜBİTAK. Haklı, who set out to prevent blindness caused by diabetes, has been successfully managing her company operating in Ankara University Technopolis for 4 years:
"I am a biomedical engineer. About 4 years ago, I started my entrepreneurship adventure with the support of TÜBİTAK and we have been continuing our activities in Ankara University Technopolis for 4 years. 2 women entrepreneurs founded our company. We set out to prevent blindness caused by diabetes. Inspired by the individuals with diabetes around us, we are a team that strives to minimize the vision loss caused by this."
HASIBE ÖZER - "Consultant Teacher of the First Primary/Secondary School Level Team in the 2023 Educational Technologies Competition"
IT teacher Hasibe Özer is the advisor of the primary/middle school team that won first place in the Educational Technology Competition organized by TÜBİTAK. Özer, who works at the art center, plays an active role in guiding the young generation towards technology:
"I work as an informatics teacher at an art center in Bursa. I have been a consultant for various projects both at TÜBİTAK and TEKNOFEST. We are doing our part as teachers. I believe the new generation will also do their part."
PROF.DR. ÖZGE ÇEVİK - "2022 TÜBİTAK Incentive Award Winner / 2023 TÜBA Outstanding Young Scientist Award Winner"
Prof. Dr. Özge Çevik is making a name for herself in the world of science with her work on cancer therapies. Awarded by TÜBİTAK and TÜBA, Çevik draws attention with her achievements despite the difficulties of being a woman in science.
"I am a faculty member at Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medicine. Being a woman in science is a challenge in itself, but we see that there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome if we do not give up the struggle. The earlier we start science, the earlier we start our struggle. I mostly work on cancer therapeutics. We ask about new drug development in cancer, the targeting of drugs to cells, their effects, biomarkers, we question them, we question them, we conduct research on them, we test them in cells. In the scientific studies we carry out, we achieve success in many ways, including the articles we publish, the projects we realize, the patents we obtain, and even to the point of developing domestic and national products that turn into products. I was deemed worthy of TUBITAK's and TUBA's outstanding young scientist award. It is an example that academics in Türkiye, especially women scientists, can do something by using the opportunities. It makes not only me happy, but all of us. I would like to thank TÜBİTAK and everyone who organized this event."
ZEYNEP NAZ TERZİ / ELA KARABEKİROĞLU 2023 TEKNOFEST High School Students Polar Research Project Competition Winner
High school students Zeynep Naz Terzi and Ela Karabekiroğlu won first place in Türkiye with their polar research project in Antarctica. The young entrepreneurs, who aim to turn their project into a usable product for scientists working in the poles, attract attention with their success:
"We returned from Antarctica on Monday. We realized our project there. We can say that it was a beautiful journey that lasted more than a year for us. In this project, which started a year ago, we ranked first in Türkiye in the field of polar research and living sciences. And then we were among the 3 high school students selected to realize their projects in the Antarctic continent. And we had the opportunity to realize our project in the Antarctic continent last week."
"We wanted to work on technology and we wanted to create a product that can be used in the poles and can be used by unit people who continue their work in the poles. We produced a coat."
PROF. DR. BURCU ÖZSOY - President of TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center (MAM)
In her speech at the event, Prof. Dr. Burcu Özsoy, President of TÜBİTAK MAM, emphasized the importance of Women and Girls in Science Day and stated that this year stands out in terms of equality between women and men. Stating that they had returned from Antarctica, Özsoy expressed her pleasure to be in a period when the number of women scientists is increasing:
"Today is really very important for us. Women and girls in science is a day that describes us perfectly. We came from Antarctica with the ice on our feet. Normally, the number of women scientists in our science team is small, but this year, when we included our high school students, we can say that there was equality between women and men. This year, 2024 is very important for us in this sense, and I am not hesitant to say that this is indeed one of my wishes. Maybe I will not discuss the place of women researchers and scientists in receiving Nobel right now, but I would like to pray that "I hope it will be a Turkish woman scientist in the future"."
ZÜLAL TANNUR "Take Off'23 Best Female Entrepreneur / From Your Eyes Company Founder"
Zülal Tannur, who offers vision experience solutions, was named the Best Female Entrepreneur at Take Off'23. Tannur, the founder of the world's first vision technologies company, emphasizes the importance of meeting technology at an early age and aims to increase girls' interest in technology:
"We are actually realizing vision experience solutions for a wide spectrum ranging from humans to machines. In other words, we are a vision technologies company, we are actually producing the world's first, and when we started this process, one of our most important goals was to grow in our country and actually touch a lot of people here. I feel that we have come to a place beyond our dreams and when I look back, I feel that we have made a lot of effort and that we have seen partnerships, collaborations and opportunities with the right people. Of course, in this sense, we have the support of both our state and entrepreneurship centers. It makes me feel that I am not alone on this path. I am one of the girls who was introduced to technology at a very early age. I am lucky because at the age of 4 and a half, my family put me in front of the computer. I met big data at a very early age. Therefore, after I saw the impact of technology in my life, it continued with the aim of having an impact on the lives of more people, so today we are here. I find our goal very important. I see it as an opportunity to reach more female scientists and more girls, so it is very inspiring."
DOÇ. DR. ZERRİN SEZGİN BAYINDIR - 2023 TÜBA-TÜBİTAK Science Awards Health Sciences Incentive Award Winner
Working at Ankara University Faculty of Pharmacy, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zerrin Sezgin Bayındır stands out in health sciences with her work on drug formulations and nanocarrier systems. Bayındır, who received the Health Sciences Incentive Award at the TÜBA-TÜBİTAK Science Awards, gave important messages to instill self-confidence in girls:
"I work on the development of drug formulations at Ankara University Faculty of Pharmacy. The use of nanocarrier systems in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases is of particular interest to me. We develop drug formulations that reduce side effects to increase patient efficacy. I am also working on the development of dermocosmetic products based on nanotechnology. First of all, of course, my message to our girls is to trust themselves and not to make any negative stereotypes about themselves. I can do this. Why shouldn't that person be me, and to have a little confidence in themselves, I'm not saying that what they do is perfect, but I recommend them to do it in the best way they can do it in the best way they can do it. From the moment I started my academic life, I have received great support from TUBITAK. I have worked in more than 10 projects as an executive researcher, primarily as a scholarship holder. Without it, our work would fail. That's why I thank TUBITAK".
SELİN SAĞDIÇ - "TEKNOFEST Entrepreneur / Best Entrepreneur in the Pre-Incubation Program in the Environment, Energy and Climate Technologies Category"
Chemistry teacher Selin Sağdıç stands out as a TEKNOFEST Entrepreneur. Sağdıç, who works at TÜBİTAK Science High School, has achieved success by turning the project she developed with her students into an initiative. Sağdıç, who was invited to the entrepreneurship summit, stands out as an inspiring figure for girls to discover their potential.
"The reason why I was actually thrown this microphone in this program is that we have embarked on an entrepreneurial journey with our graduate students. The starting point of this was actually the first place in Türkiye that we achieved in the TÜBİTAK research project competition among high school students. Then we were informed about the startup competition organized by TEKNOFEST for the first time in Istanbul and Ankara, and we decided that we wanted to turn our project into a startup. After being selected as the best startup here, we were invited to the tak startup summit, where we actually had the opportunity to meet with investors, turn our project into a product and get an investment. At this point, we always want our girls to see what participating in a competition can lead to."
On this special day, TÜBİTAK once again emphasized its support for women researchers and entrepreneurs. These successful women continue to be a source of inspiration for future generations.
05.04.2024