TürkTraktör and GİRVAK Looking for Young People to Transform Agriculture and Cities
TürkTraktör, the first manufacturer of the Turkish automotive sector, organizes an awareness series and an Ideathon in collaboration with the Turkish Entrepreneurship Foundation (GIRVAK). The aim is to unveil creative ideas in the field of tractors and construction equipment under the “Miracles of the Sprouts Technology and Innovation” project. Students of STEM-A (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Art) departments of universities or graduates of these departments who completed their education two years ago at the most can apply to the program. The participants will receive special training and mentoring support to develop their business models. The program aims to find young people with ideas that will transform agriculture and cities. The call for application is open until December 2, 2022, and the results will be announced on December 9. The program will be held between December 13-24.TürkTraktör organizes an Awareness Series and Ideathon in cooperation with the Turkish Entrepreneurship Foundation (GİRVAK) in order to discover and support innovative ideas that will boost Turkey’s technological transformation. Prior to the Ideathon to be organized under the "Miracles of the Sprouts Technology and Innovation" project, the participants will be informed of the importance of the agricultural and construction equipment sectors to raise their awareness on sustainability in these sectors and their impact. Moreover, introductory and prototype trainings on Interface Design and User Experience (UI/UX) will be given.
In the Ideathon, participants will be asked to develop innovative applications or game ideas that will transform agriculture and cities for the future. Ideas will be evaluated by a jury and will be rewarded. After the Ideathon, all teams will have the opportunity to increase their personal awareness by participating in the TürkTraktör Discover Yourself online workshop organized together with TürkTraktör leaders, experienced mentors and trainers.
Expressing his excitement to come together with young people in the online program, Aykut Özüner, TürkTraktör CEO, said: “In all our activities, we focus on our aim of ‘Prepares for the Future’. In line with this approach, we try to contribute to building the expert workforce that will support Turkey in her technological transformation. I believe that Ideathon will be an important platform to realize this. The projects to be developed after the trainings will make various sectors, especially agriculture, more sustainable, thus creating value for Turkey and the sectors. Young people who want to create the technology of the future will have the chance to transform their ideas into projects.”
Mehru Aygül, General Manager of the Turkish Entrepreneurship Foundation, said, “This year, the Turkish Entrepreneurship Foundation focuses on sustainability among many other topics,” and added: “It’s a great pleasure to launch the Seed Drive program under the Miracles of the Sprouts Project initiated by TürkTraktör to increase the female workforce and support entrepreneurship in Turkey. Young people participating in the program will receive awareness and information trainings on sustainability in the agriculture and construction equipment sectors. I’m excited to be with such bright people on their first step into the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We will continue to support young entrepreneurs for a sustainable world and future.”
Applications for the program can be made at turktraktorseed.com.tr.
About the Miracles of the Sprouts Project
In 2016 TürkTraktör launched the “Miracles of the Sprouts” project to raise awareness on the role of women in the sustainable development of Turkey. Supported by the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, NGOs, and universities, the project focuses on three components: education, employment and agricultural production. Under the educational leg of the project, 100 female high-school students studying in the departments of machinery, motor vehicles, electrical / electronics and agricultural technology benefited from education grants. Moreover, 400 students had the opportunity to participate in internship programs and more than 6,200 female students in six provinces received awareness training as a support on their career journeys.
About the Turkish Entrepreneurship Foundation (GİRVAK)
The Turkish Entrepreneurship Foundation was established in 2014 by 25 founders under the thought leadership of Sina Afra to expand the entrepreneurial culture, to enable university students to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and inspire them with a long-term mindset. Supporting the youth with its Youth Programs, the Foundation popularizes the entrepreneurship culture in different segments of the society through impact programs on different fields. With a board of trustees of 53 people, the Turkish Entrepreneurship Foundation adopts the giveback culture and believes that what is taken from the society should be given back. GIRVAK has reached 27 million people since its foundation, expanding its sphere of influence day by day through projects and collaborations. GIRVAK aims to remove the obstacles in front of entrepreneurship in Turkey and to support Turkey's economic and social development through entrepreneurship. www.girisimcilikvakfi.org
