The second round of the "Reaching and Accessing Turkey 2053 Interuniversity R&D Idea Competition," organized by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, was held on April 15, 2025, with a grand ceremony. Students from Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University attracted attention with their innovative and environmentally friendly projects.
AYBU Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences student Mehmet Batuhan Güzel won first prize in the competition for his project "From Traffic to Energy." The project aims to develop sustainable energy solutions to combat the risk of depleting fossil fuels and increasing energy demand.
The mobile application "Rotasyon," developed by Computer Engineering students Şevval Çolak, Efe Baştuğ, Abdullah Yusuf Erdem, Teoman Güven, and Asım Bayramıç, received an "Honorable Mention (Most Economical)" award. The project proposes a system that offers congestion pricing and low-emission zone management to reduce traffic congestion and control carbon emissions in metropolitan cities.
The "ThermoWay" project, developed by Metallurgical and Materials Engineering students Nursena Keçiyokuuşu, Sıla Sultan Demirci, and İsmet Berk Özdemir, received the "Honorable Mention (Most Improvement)" award. This environmentally friendly project offers a sustainable solution to prevent icing on highways during the winter months by thermally storing solar energy.
The team, comprised of Faculty of Aviation and Space students Enes Başkavak, Burak Şahan, Muhammet Safa Ceren, and Furkan Başköse, received the Honorable Mention (Most Practical) Project award for their project, "Air Car Systems." The project aims to offer an innovative solution to the problems of traffic congestion, environmental impacts, and time loss brought on by the increasing global population and urbanization. Another success came with the "Hydrotrain" project. The team, consisting of Hüseyin Dinç, Furkan Mert Bulut, Türker Çanakçı, and Abdullah Eren Balcı, won the Honorable Mention (Best Presentation) award for their project. The "HYDROTRAIN" project, unlike traditional electric and diesel trains, includes systems such as hydrogen tanks, fuel cells, inverters, lithium batteries, and electric motors. The project uses hydrogen gas tanks as the train's energy source, offering an environmentally friendly transportation alternative.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, who attended the ceremony, emphasized in his speech that young people's strength in R&D is critical to Turkey's achievement of its 2053 vision. Minister Uraloğlu stated, "Societies that cannot produce knowledge and transform technology into products cannot survive."
Uraloğlu also stated that the ministry will continue to collaborate closely with young people through events such as Teknofest, career fairs, and U-FEST. "Technology should be our servant, not our master," Uraloğlu said, emphasizing that raising young people with this awareness is vital for the country's future.
Selami Yazıcı, President of the Transportation and Digital Infrastructure Services Research Center (UDHAM), also addressed the technical aspects of the competition in his speech at the ceremony, emphasizing the importance of university students' innovative solutions to transportation and communications challenges. Yazıcı said, "Discovering the potential of our young people and supporting them through this competition has been a source of great pride for us."
