In the OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone, all aspects of Industry 4.0, the new direction of industry, and its current state in Turkey were discussed with experts in the field. Hosted by OSTİM and organized in collaboration with the University-Business Cooperation Platform, Ankara University, Samsung, and the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Foundation, the program titled "Where Does Turkey Stand in Industry 4.0?" was attended by Ankara University Rector Prof. Dr. Erkan İbiş, Ankara Chamber of Industry President Nurettin Özdebir, and numerous academics, industrialists, and NGO representatives.
The event, which attracted considerable interest, also included a panel moderated by Can Kuterdem, Samsung Turkey Strategy Director, titled ‘What are the Opportunities and Collaborations Between OSTİM, SAMSUNG, and Universities in the Context of Global Technological Developments?’
Here are the highlights from the speeches given at the meeting:
VELİ SARITOPRAK - PRESIDENT OF TÜSİAV:
Technology is constantly changing the cornerstones of the economy. Institutions and organizations that cannot comprehend and adapt to this rapid change will not be able to survive in the world of tomorrow.
Turkey is going through difficult times. We will overcome these difficult times together. We absolutely must not miss out on Industry 4.0, which the world is experiencing. If we do not make the necessary preparations and take precautions, we will be left out of the new economy.
We all have great responsibilities to fulfill in order to live our own vision.
R. ERDEM ERKUL - SAMSUNG TURKEY PUBLIC SECTOR AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS COUNTRY DIRECTOR:
Technology is advancing incredibly. It has become one of our necessities, like air and water. New brands and technologies are entering our lives very quickly. Facebook didn't exist before 2006. The concept we call Industry 4.0 today might reappear as a different concept in three years.
Let's derive new concepts from this in the coming periods. Producers and idea developers are coming together. As a country, we can reach a very different point in the world in the field of technology.
It's very easy to introduce any product to another part of the world now.
Only 3.1 billion people use the internet. 5 billion people cannot use social media.
ORHAN AYDIN - CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF OSTIM:
The area we are in was established in 1967 as a small industrial site. At that time, the concept and idea of industrialization didn't even exist in Ankara.
The person who founded the industrial site was an entrepreneur and a visionary: Cevat Dündar. He's from Kırşehir, and he built this place with the Ahi culture (a traditional Turkish guild system), believing in cooperation.
This is an innovative area. There's even a company that produces parts for CERN. Parts from OSTİM are found in vehicles going to satellites, in trains, in airplanes. We have spare parts for cars and even for people.
OSTİM is a small, dynamic, change-oriented, and flexible production center that can quickly adapt to innovations.
Our companies have to be able to compete with both Industry 4.0 and Industry 3.0. If they can't, they have to close their shops. If they are alive and standing, it means they are able to compete.
We are very aware of the value of our small companies. Their ability to adapt quickly to changes and developments is valuable for our country and our industry. This isn't a new trend. Change is constant.
Those who moved their production to China also started losing their knowledge there.
We have capabilities, but we also have shortcomings: 1. We produce what others have designed. One of the magic ways to develop and create added value is through design. 2. Because we can't make the machine that makes the machine. As a result, we need to design and make the machine that makes the machine ourselves.
Universities need to be both inside and alongside industry. R&D comes from universities. It would be unfair to expect it from companies.
We need to collaborate and join forces with industry partners to create complementary and synergistic work.
If the public sector doesn't sit down and support us, increasing our pace, we can't get anywhere.
5G is at least as important as 4.0. We need to constantly strive, research, develop, and expend energy.
NURETTIN OZDEBIR - CHAIRMAN OF THE ASO BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
We have all experienced the increase in quality with the integration of digital technologies into the production process.
Information is being produced so rapidly that we are producing all the information produced since the beginning of time in just 1.5 years.
We all need to adapt to this rapid change.
We are using some technologies very well.
When we reach the Industry 4.0 stage, things become a little more complex. Machines communicate with each other and do tasks on their own.
If we cannot adapt to the Industry 4.0 transformation, we will not be able to compete with companies that produce very cutting-edge products, except for those requiring very high skills.
PROF. DR. ERKAN İBİŞ - RECTOR OF ANKARA UNIVERSITY:
There's a tremendous change happening. Technology is flowing before our eyes.
We're talking about the industrial internet and the digital factory. It's an incredible scale and vision. It's like we're being swept away in a flood. The goal is humanity, society, and the world. To achieve faster, more efficient, effective, and lower-cost products. The aim of all this is the well-being of humanity and society.
We need to have confidence in ourselves. As a society, we are impatient. This is a culture and an accumulation of experience. Let's be impatient, but we need to be able to digest the values, products, and knowledge before taking action.
We need to clearly define the roadmap and create a platform. Industry 4.0 should be addressed in all its aspects on platforms involving everyone, from NGOs to the public sector, universities to local governments.
Opportunities should be well-evaluated and steps taken with the roadmap.
A cultural change must occur along with education; we need to create a culture of solidarity. Individualism must be abandoned; teamwork is what's needed. We also need to change our education systems.
Humanity is at the beginning and at the end of Industry 0. You need innovative, transformative, entrepreneurial, inquisitive, and questioning people.
