University-Industry Collaboration in Turkey’s Defense Industry

SAYP and Early-Career Programs

The Institutional Framework of SAYP

The Researcher Training Program for the Defense Industry (SAYP) was established through cooperation protocols signed in October 2011 among METU, the then-named Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), ASELSAN, ROKETSAN, and TUSAŞ, with student enrollment beginning in 2012. The program’s core logic is to anchor graduate thesis research in the medium-term R&D needs of a participating defense firm rather than in ad hoc academic interests. This approach ensures that academic output addresses real industry problems and allows firms to employ researchers they have closely monitored during the thesis process.

By 2018 the program had grown to include more than 31 universities and 35 defense firms, and more than 35 projects had been completed under SAYP coordination at METU. The program goes beyond thesis partnerships to encompass scholarship support, orientation training, and periodic project review meetings.

ASELSAN Academy: A Second-Generation Model

The most institutionally developed university-industry framework in Turkey’s defense sector is ASELSAN Academy, established through a protocol signed between ASELSAN and the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) on 1 August 2017. The program allows ASELSAN employees to pursue graduate degrees aligned with the company’s R&D priorities. The original partnership with METU, ITU, Gazi University, and Gebze Technical University expanded in 2024 when Hacettepe University joined the protocol.

In the 2024–2025 academic year, 95 ASELSAN employees graduated — 86 at master’s level and 9 at doctoral level. Cumulative graduates as of May 2025 reached 556: 536 master’s and 20 doctoral. During the same period, 876 master’s and 125 doctoral students remained enrolled.

ASELABS: Company Laboratories on University Campuses

The physical infrastructure component of ASELSAN Academy consists of ASELABS laboratories embedded in university campuses. At METU: the Next-Generation Communications and Sensing Technologies Laboratory, the Optomechanical and Photonic Advanced Materials Technologies Laboratory, and the MEMS Inertial Sensor Technologies Laboratory. At ITU: the RF Microwave Innovative Materials Technologies Laboratory and the Underwater, Surface, and Autonomy Technologies Laboratory. At Hacettepe University: the Artificial Intelligence Technologies Laboratory. The model transfers company-owned technical infrastructure onto campus, enabling students and faculty to conduct research for firm requirements while operating within an open academic environment.

The YÖK-SSB-TUSAŞ Graduate Education Protocol

In December 2025, YÖK, SSB, and TUSAŞ signed a protocol with nine universities — Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt, Ankara, Fırat, Gazi, Gebze Technical, Hacettepe, Istanbul Technical, Marmara, and Yıldız Technical — extending university-industry collaboration to a new institutional level. Under the protocol, TUSAŞ vocational training courses will count toward university credit, and firm-specific master’s and doctoral programs will be launched. A non-thesis MBA program in defense industry management, co-delivered by YÖK, SSB, Hacettepe University, and ITU, was also initiated under the same umbrella.

TEKNOFEST as Early-Career Pipeline

The Aerospace and Technology Festival known as TEKNOFEST has become the most visible arm of the defense sector’s early-career strategy. Starting with 20,000 applicants in 2018, the festival reached more than 1.63 million competitors in 2024. Students compete in categories spanning rocket design, unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, while firms such as ASELSAN, TUSAŞ, and BAYKAR participate as both competition sponsors and technical advisors. A portion of TEKNOFEST-originating projects are carried into company R&D units after graduation, demonstrating that the event functions as more than a career fair — it constitutes an operational talent-development channel. The Air Defense Systems Competition, introduced for the first time at TEKNOFEST 2024 under ASELSAN management, signals that the festival is being positioned as a platform for developing solutions to real technical problems, not merely a showcase.

Technopark and Clustering Ecosystem

Turkey’s Technopark Map

As of 2025, Turkey operates more than 80 Technology Development Zones (TDZs). These zones host more than 10,000 firms across software, artificial intelligence, defense, biotechnology, energy, and financial technology sectors. From a defense industry perspective, three technoparks carry decisive weight: ODTÜ Technopolis, ITU ARI Technopark, and Bilkent Cyberpark.

ODTÜ Technopolis and Defense Clustering

ODTÜ Technopolis, one of Turkey’s oldest and largest technoparks, hosts more than 400 R&D firms and approximately 10,000 personnel. Defense-sector organization crystallized particularly within the Technology Cluster for Defense Industries (TSSK) founded in 2010, which later became the Technopolis Aerospace, Space, and Security Clustering Association and grew to over 380 members representing more than 140 defense companies. The association facilitates project partnerships among member firms, provides guidance on international market entry, and coordinates access to R&D funding. Its annual Project Marketplace event serves as a concrete interface bringing university research groups and defense firms onto the same platform.

ITU ARI Technopark

ARI Technopark, situated within Istanbul Technical University, brings together hundreds of firms in defense, maritime, space, artificial intelligence, and robotics. Firms can run joint projects with ITU research groups, and doctoral students may work part-time within technopark companies. In 2026, SSB and Hyperever — a firm operating at ARI Technopark — signed a protocol for the development of the AKBAŞ four-legged hybrid robot, illustrating that technoparks can function as genuine collaboration hubs rather than mere landlord facilities.

Bilkent Cyberpark

Turkey’s first foundation-university technopark, Bilkent Cyberpark, hosts more than 350 R&D firms, three research centers, and over 5,500 personnel across approximately 135,000 square meters of enclosed space. Bilkent University’s research-intensive profile makes Cyberpark particularly attractive for emerging companies in defense electronics, cybersecurity, and embedded systems. ROKETSAN conducts undergraduate capstone project collaborations with Bilkent University across mechanical, electrical-electronics, and industrial engineering departments, with 29 completed projects and 6 ongoing.

Technopark Timeline

Prime Contractor–University R&D Contracts

TUSAŞ University R&D Cooperation System

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) opened the usi-arge.tusas.com platform to the public in February 2024. The system is designed to co-execute projects at Technology Readiness Levels 1–4 with universities across aerospace and defense R&D topics. Published call topics include wing-profile prediction algorithms using AI methods, aerodynamic computation methods, and thermoplastic automated fiber placement parameter development. Following the first call with a 30 May 2025 deadline, a second call covering 19 topics was published with a 30 June 2026 deadline. The platform stands out as a direct mechanism through which TUSAŞ transmits its actual project needs to university research groups, enabling systematic incorporation of academics and graduate students into aerospace R&D workflows.

ROKETSAN Collaborations

ROKETSAN manages university relations through multiple channels simultaneously. Under SAYP, the company has 23 completed and 7 ongoing projects across 21 universities. Through TÜBİTAK’s 2244 Industrial Doctorate Program, active projects are running with Gazi University, Sabancı University, METU, and Izmir Institute of Technology. The 29 capstone projects conducted via Bilkent University’s undergraduate platform have become a de facto recruitment channel. ROKETSAN also submits joint applications with universities to access TÜBİTAK ARDEB and BIDEB funds as well as European Union funding.

STM’s Academic Faculty Model

Defense Technologies Engineering (STM) has institutionalized its university relationship not only through R&D contracts but also by having company engineers teach university courses. Engineers from STM’s Naval Projects Directorate deliver Surface Projects and Submarine Projects courses at Bursa Technical University’s Faculty of Maritime. This model channels current technical knowledge from the firm directly into the curriculum, narrowing the gap between graduate expectations and industry requirements.

Prime Contractor–University R&D Partnerships: Summary

BAYKAR’s Scholarship and Talent Management

Through the Özdemir Bayraktar National Technology Scholarship Program launched in 2018, BAYKAR has provided scholarships to more than 20,000 students through the 2025–2026 academic year. Offered across six categories — Rising Star, Instructor Mentor, Education Support, You Are the Future, T3 AI Undergraduate Researcher, and Ethical Communication — the scholarships target 5,000 students per year. The model illustrates how a firm can reinforce its academic relationship not only through R&D contracts but through long-horizon talent investment.

TÜBİTAK-SAGE and Public Research Institutes

SAGE’s Positioning

TÜBİTAK Defense Industries Research and Development Institute (SAGE) occupies a critical bridging role in Turkey’s defense R&D ecosystem. Operating across three Ankara campuses — Beşevler, Lalahan, and METU — SAGE was established to develop technologies required by the Turkish Armed Forces and defense industry organizations, to monitor foreign defense technologies, and to conduct training activities in these fields. Its presence on the METU campus enables knowledge exchange between institute researchers and academics both through formal protocols and through day-to-day professional contact.

TÜBİTAK 2244 Industrial Doctorate Program

The TÜBİTAK 2244 Industrial Doctorate Program is one of the most structurally significant public-university collaboration instruments in the defense sector. The program brings together the R&D or design centers of industrial organizations with university research infrastructure to train doctoral researchers simultaneously in both environments. Applications are submitted jointly by the firm and the university. Accepted researchers receive monthly scholarship support, the right to an international research visit of up to six months, and a three-year post-doctoral employment commitment at the firm. ROKETSAN is among the most active users of the program, with four active projects running at Gazi University, Sabancı University, METU, and Izmir Institute of Technology.

TÜBİTAK ARDEB Defense R&D Grants

TÜBİTAK’s Research Support Programs Directorate (ARDEB) publishes numerous calls encouraging joint participation by defense firms and universities. The requirement that a project have both an industrial component and a fundamental research dimension steers defense firms toward applying jointly with universities for original research. SSB’s own project financing mechanisms similarly support models in which universities participate as subcontractors or technical consultants. ARDEB’s 1001 and 1007 programs grant extended budget and duration support to university research groups that apply jointly with defense firms. A subset of projects awarded under this framework are directly shaped by SAGE or SSB guidance, representing a concrete example of hierarchical coordination between public research institutes and universities.

Defense Industries Academy (SSA)

Established in 2017 within SSB at the METU Technopolis campus, the Defense Industries Academy (SSA) functions as a knowledge conversion center between universities and the sector through industry-specific training and certification programs. SSA offers the Defense Technologies Certificate Program and the Defense Industry Management Program (an MBA-level course co-delivered with Hacettepe University and ITU), alongside short-term courses, distance learning modules, and R&D management certificates for sector employees. The academy’s Savunma 101 and Savunma 401 online platforms provide accessible entry-level resources for university students and recent graduates to gain familiarity with the defense industry’s general framework.

Brain Drain, Workforce, and Policy Gaps

Employment Growth and Engineer Profile

Turkey’s defense and aerospace sector employment exceeded 99,000 at the end of 2024 and surpassed 108,900 by early 2025. Approximately half of this workforce is estimated to consist of engineers. Entry-level salaries for new-graduate engineers in the sector settled in the 80,000–85,000 TRY range for 2024–2025, supplemented by bonuses of up to 16 months and social benefits that constitute an attractive overall package. While this compensation policy is a significant factor in attracting engineers from academia, the relatively lower real value of these wages in foreign-currency terms complicates comparisons with overseas offers.

The Scale of Brain Drain

The brain drain issue in the defense industry has attracted increasing attention in both trade union and sector reports. SSB’s 2019–2023 Strategic Plan explicitly acknowledged the need for measures to prevent the emigration of qualified defense-sector workers. As a concrete data point, it has been claimed that 600 Turkish engineers work at the Netherlands-based ASML, with more than 70 percent of this group originating from defense industry backgrounds. The Turkish Harb-Is labor union has also been among the institutions bringing brain drain trends in defense to public attention. An SSB survey, however, found that 80 percent of engineers who had gone abroad stated they were considering returning to Turkey — a figure suggesting genuine reverse-brain-drain potential.

Policy Gaps

Certain structural gaps in existing university-industry collaboration models may constrain the sector’s long-term performance. First, interaction intensity is markedly asymmetric: METU, ITU, and a handful of large universities sit at the center of collaboration programs, while the majority of Turkey’s more than 200 universities have only limited contact with this ecosystem. Second, programs such as SAYP and ASELSAN Academy principally serve the needs of large prime contractors; comparable mechanisms for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the defense supply chain remain underdeveloped.

A third gap concerns output measurement. There is no publicly available systematic reporting structure for outcome indicators such as the contribution of SAYP-completed projects or ASELSAN Academy graduates to in-company R&D productivity. This impedes policy evaluation and slows the iterative improvement of collaboration models. Fourth, disciplines that play a critical role in the user-centered design of defense systems — social sciences and human factors engineering — are insufficiently represented in collaboration networks.

Integrating the TEKNOFEST Generation

Channeling TEKNOFEST alumni into the defense industry is simultaneously an opportunity and a planning challenge. With more than 1.65 million applicants in 2024, the festival generates a broad student pool with interest in defense. Whether firm internship capacities can absorb this demand, to what degree competition categories reflect actual sector needs, and what proportion of winning teams remain in the defense sector after graduation are questions that have not yet been systematically answered. A joint monitoring mechanism developed by SSA and YÖK on this matter would represent a significant step toward improving policy effectiveness.

Compensation Competitiveness and Retention

Researcher retention in the defense industry is not solely a compensation issue. The pace of career progression, the technical difficulty of assigned projects, freedom to publish, and the constraints imposed by classification requirements are all decisive factors in academia-to-industry transition choices. Incentive mechanisms such as project ownership and entrepreneurship support offered by defense firms to doctoral researchers have not yet been systematically implemented. Although sector employment has exceeded 100,000, publicly available data on the qualitative profile of this workforce — particularly the density of doctoral-level researchers — is quite limited. Establishing independent evaluation mechanisms that measure the actual outputs of university-industry collaboration would represent a primary structural need for more effective management of the ecosystem.