Newsletters
With support from the Education Technologies Incubation and Innovation Center, known as ETKIM, operating under the Directorate General for Innovation and Educational Technologies of Türkiye’s Ministry of National Education, Ankara aims to produce globally influential brands in the field of education technologies.
Established in 2023 on the METU Technopolis campus through cooperation between the Ministry of National Education, Middle East Technical University and KOSGEB, ETKIM provides support to young entrepreneurs through its Professional Learning Laboratory, an incubation area capable of hosting 45 candidate startups and facilities for 150 research and development personnel.
Through its activities, ETKIM supports the development of innovative, sustainable and impact-oriented solutions in education technologies. By fostering a holistic ecosystem, the center seeks to contribute to the digital transformation of education, increase the visibility of innovative solutions and expand collaboration opportunities.
Mustafa Canli, director general for Innovation and Educational Technologies at the Ministry of National Education, said ETKIM functions as a technology incubation center focused on education technologies.
He said that just as innovation is advancing in finance, defense, health and agriculture worldwide, similar progress is taking place in education.
Canli said ETKIM was established to support entrepreneurs developing education technologies and companies producing products, from the testing phase through export.
“After receiving idea applications here, these ideas are turned into products through the ETKIM Station Program during the pre-incubation and incubation processes,” Canli told Anadolu Agency. “We provide services in many areas, from coordinating companies with products and services in the sector to focusing on exports, from participation in international fairs to testing their products.”
He said Türkiye has a strong infrastructure in education technologies, noting that all schools have internet access, classrooms are equipped with interactive boards and teachers are proficient in using information technologies.
“Our aim is for strong and successful education technology companies to emerge from Türkiye, for these companies to produce the highest-quality education technology products with ETKIM support, and for Türkiye to export the products it develops in this field abroad with strong potential,” Canli said.
He said ETKIM initially receives project or product ideas in written form, evaluates them with experts and identifies those that can contribute to education, find practical application and have export potential.
During the pre-incubation phase, companies receive training and support in project preparation, financial literacy, marketing, sales and business mentorship, he said.
“During this process, we provide both laboratory facilities and office spaces where initial products can be developed,” Canli said. “Companies that reach a certain level of maturity then move on to the incubation stage.”
He said ETKIM continues to provide office facilities, laboratories and workshop support in the second stage to ensure the development of high-quality products. Companies with products suitable for commercialization are supported in techno-entrepreneurship, pre-seed investment and company formation processes.
Canli said, for example, that the effectiveness and learning outcomes of a language-learning application can be tested in pilot schools.
He added that ETKIM provides companies with free cloud services from Amazon Web Services and, through cooperation with Meta, offers training on content production in virtual and augmented reality.
“With the Education Technologies Incubation and Innovation Center, our aim is to discover talented young people in the field of education technologies in Türkiye, support successful startups and, in the coming period, produce strong global brands, as in the defense industry,” Canli said.
He said startups across Türkiye are currently working in coordination with ETKIM.
“We can say that ETKIM will shape education technologies,” Canli said, adding that with the support of National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, efforts are underway to make Türkiye a strong brand in the field.
He said the experience gained from the FATIH Project is expected to be transformed into strength through entrepreneurial agility and state support.
METU Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yozgatligil said METU Technopolis carries out significant activities in education technologies, a field that has gained importance with the digitalization of education.
He said a large global market has emerged in the sector and that METU Technopolis, as in defense and health, is bringing innovation-based products to life in education technologies.
Yozgatligil said METU represents a strong ecosystem in the field, noting that its Faculty of Education was ranked 93rd globally in newly announced international rankings, first in Türkiye and the only faculty of education from Türkiye to enter the top 100.
“This has created a very strong ecosystem here,” he said.
Yozgatligil also announced plans to launch the METU Science and Technology High School in the coming academic year.
He said the aim is to bring entrepreneurship and technology education down to the high school level by combining the experience of METU Development Foundation schools with METU’s academic depth and the entrepreneurial capabilities of METU Technopolis.
He added that METU aims to integrate artificial intelligence and other digital technologies into university education.
Yozgatligil said METU is often the first buyer and user of education technologies developed at incubation centers and within METU Technopolis.
“We open space for the products of entrepreneurs here,” he said, citing an example of an artificial intelligence-based system for evaluating exam papers that was tested and validated in METU’s mathematics and computer engineering departments.
He said this provides a significant advantage for entrepreneurs based at the technopolis.
“Education technologies are an area in which our country has made a very important leap, similar to the defense industry, and one that has seen strong demand from friendly and allied countries,” Yozgatligil said.
He added that incubation centers and technoparks play a key role in entrepreneurship and the digitalization of education, and that extending such technologies from primary school to university represents a major step forward in enriching education.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
