Contributions of METU to Defence Industry / Interview with Prof.Dr. Ural Akbulut , President of METU
Contributions of METU to Defence Industry
“The Middle East Technical University is one of the leading research universities in Europe and the Middle East with its international education system and modern campus equipped with the most advanced scientific and technical facilities. METU has established the first Technopolis of Turkey in order to provide a cooperation platform to meet the research capabilities of METU with the industry. Many projects involved high technology for Defence Industry carried out at Technopark. Prof. Dr. Ural AKBULUT ,the president of METU; the university which contributes to the Defence Industry the perspective of research and development studies, products, capabilities and technologies developed at its TEKNOPARK and educating engineers that will be working in the defence industry, has responded to our questions and evaluated the contributions of METU to the defence industry”
METU , one of the leading research university in Turkey has established the first Technopolis of Turkey in order to provide a cooperation platform to meet the research capabilities of METU with the industry. What are contributions of Technopolis activities to economical growth? In terms of Research and Development, what are the development and exportation level?
The number of projects carried out at Technopark, all of which are product oriented, has already added up around 450. As many of these involve high technology, they have a great potential for large-scale production and export. A case in point is ETA company, which have successfully developed a highly advanced product employing electronics and software technology, and are now exporting it to the US, Israel and several other countries. Another example is Gate Elektronik, which have been exporting their electronic products to Europe, Japan, Israel and some other Middle Eastern countries. There are many other successful companies like these such as CyberSoft, Tetra, not only operating in the domestic market but also keen to export their products. The resulting export of electronic devices, advanced materials and software from Technopark exceeded $50,000,000 in 2006. In terms of research and development, Technopark had a turnover of $220,000,000 last year. I expect the annual turnover to rise to $700,000,000 soon, and reach $1 billion in five years. Similarly, the amount of Technopark’s export is expected to be measured in hundreds of millions of dollars, perhaps reaching $200,000,000 or $250,000,000 in five or ten years. If we can set up more technoparks as active as METU Technopark, I believe that our country will be producing knowledge and technology on a large scale, and exporting them in the near future. Turkey currently ranks among the top twenty economies in the world. Provided that the government support for research and development, and the determination for establishing new technoparks are present, the Turkish economy will realize its potential for development very rapidly and eventually rank in the top ten.
The engineering departments of METU have developed products and capabilities to the defence industry (Guventurk Unmanned Air Vehicle etc.) Is there any marketing mechanism of these products and capabilities for local procurement and exportation?
The production at METU and Technopark involves a great deal of cooperation. Güventürk UAV, one of our early products with a potential for both domestic and international markets, serves as a good example in this respect. We have also developed a new UAV with a wingspan of 4 meters and the capability of bearing a 20 kg load. This UAV can carry several cameras and can be used for various purposes such as observing earthquakes, securing borders, and more importantly, natural gas and petroleum pipelines. It has a long range – I can’t remember how long; moreover, it can carry a pilot and it is suitable for surveying. We are very hopeful for this product since it has the potential to succeed in Turkey and be exported. Of course, there are many more products such as sensors we have produced using nanotechnology and microelectromechanical systems. Employing the two nanotechnology laboratories at METU, we have managed to come up with sensors capable of detecting changes in temperature from a long distance. We also produce another sensor for temperature changes by the use of bolometers and MEMS, microelectromechanical systems, technology. MEMS and nanotechnology enable us to create products for household use, as well as automobiles, trains, airplanes, helicopters, even for satellites. MEMS technology can be very useful both in wireless communication and for wireless sensor networks. Our wireless sensor network group are busy designing sensors in terms of electronics and sofware. We are very optimistic about this project. We are involved in medical engineering too: Using BIO-MEMS, biological applications of microelectromechanical systems, we produce the sort of sensors which can be used for detection of cancer other diseases, given a small amount of blood. These various sensors with MEMS and nanotechnology pose a great potential for domestic use and export.
Recently Turkish Defence Industry has achieved considerable development. The objectives and programs of SSM regarding development of nationally designed products have brought a new vision to research and development activities. Taking into account the developments in export activities and participation in the multinational projects like JSF, the demand for employment of design engineers and technicians will increase in the near future. Within this respect, do you have any new plans and programs regarding the education of design engineers and technical specialists for the defence industry? Will there be any additional funds generated with the cooperation of Defence Industry in order to establish new educational opportunities?
We have a very large spectrum especially in our engineering faculty. Engineering departments such as Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Computer Engineering are regarded very highly and our graduates from these departments can easily find jobs in Turkey and abroad. We are proud of the achievements of our graduates. Everywhere in the world we come across our graduates doing very successful work. In a new report published by NSF, National Science Foundation of the United States, they have listed the universities outside the United States according to the number of PhDs, doctorate degrees, awarded by American universities. The Middle East Technical University ranks 12 on that list, among, maybe 20-30 thousand higher education institutions all over the world, which indicates how brilliantly the METU graduates perform in doctorate programs of the top American universities. Comparing ourselves with 22 thousand students with the universities in China and India with very large populations and with big universities elsewhere – perhaps some have 50 thousand, others have 80 thousand students -, we take pride to be in the top 12 of this listing.
We are also trying to improve our programs, courses and laboratories. We are cooperating with ABET, Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, and European Union University Association. European Union University Association self-evaluation procedure has been successfully completed. All the 13 undergraduate programs in engineering departments have now been accredited by ABET. We are doing our best to raise the quality of education as much as we can so that our graduates will manage to compete with best graduates of the top universities in the world. On the other hand, we are developing many new graduate programs. We are very proud to have 2200 PhD and more than 4000 master’s degree students in our university. Out of 22 thousand METU students, 6300 are in graduate school. % 10 of our students are in PhD programs, which shows how much research oriented METU has become. We are also developing a very new master’s degree program called Work Based Learning. It is a double degree program we conduct in collaboration with the Middlesex University in England, to provide an educational opportunity for the researchers in industry with more than 5 years of work experience.
They document their work and experience in high technology in a file to be evaluated by jury members. Applicants may be given credits equivalent of 4 or 5 courses for their work. This master’s degree program requires 10 courses and is without thesis. Half of the courses can be credited based on the students’ industrial experience. This is the first such model in Turkey. Furthermore, we are developing several new master’s degree and PhD programs for the people in industry. They can attend their classes after 5:30 pm and they can follow some of the courses on the web. Therefore, we are trying to further our collaboration with industry and to increase the number of master’s degrees holders in R&D departments in industry. Because most of the R&D personnel in industry do not have a chance to follow a regular master’s degree program, this new program will enable them to receive master’s degrees.
Even the courses to be taken will be designed by the applicant and his institution. As far as ASELSAN is considered, for example, the directors, the applicant and our professors will decide on the number and nature of the courses. Even the content of the courses will be designed together. Both the master’s degree candidates and their companies such as ASELSAN or HAVELSAN will benefit from this program which is designed to provide the candidates with abilities which will be most useful after receiving the degree.
I am very optimistic about this program, I think it will be very beneficial specially for those in the defence sector. Moreover, we have signed protocols with eight French universities for double degree in PhD programs. And recently we have signed similar protocols for double diplomas in master’s degree and PhD with two top universities in the Netherlands: Delft University and Eindhoven University.
Another novelty will be the launch of a new master’s degree program in Industrial Design Engineering, which does not yet exist in Turkey. So far we have conducted industrial design studies in our Faculty of Architecture and now we are adding an engineering component. We hope to start the master’s degree program in Industrial Design Engineering soon.
When I visited the related department in the Netherlands, I was very impressed because they work very closely with industry. I think this program, if it is realized, will combine engineering and design knowledge in the Faculty of Architecture, which will be very beneficial for Turkish defence industry.
