German-Turkish Year of Research, Education and Innovation 2014 – Science Bridging Nations

2014 was the German-Turkish Year of Research, Education and Innovation, a joint initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey. The two countries are expanding their successful cooperation under the theme “Science Bridging Nations”.

Logo German-Turkish Year

The German-Turkish Year of Science focused primarily on topics relating to the future, which play a major role in the research agencies of both countries. They ranged from application-oriented research in key technologies to global transformation all the way to social change. Special priority is given to so-called cross-sectional topics: the collaboration between research and industry, training and further education in business, science and research and the interface between science and society.

A large number of German and Turkish partner institutions took part with considerable commitment in the German-Turkish Year of Science, including research institutions, funding organisations and agencies, universities as well as other educational institutions and public and private interest groups. They all contributed to the objective of strengthening exchange between Germany and Turkey at all levels.

The BMBF and the Turkish Ministry of Science each held an ideas competition during the Year of Science. Public campaigns to strengthen German-Turkish cooperation in the subject areas of the Year of Science and to promote young talents were funded. The projects were dedicated to, for example, professional networking for women involved in IT, dealing with climate change, cooperations in architecture and culture and collaboration in automotive production and other key technologies.

In the 2014/15 winter semester, “Turkey Weeks” were held at 15 selected German universities in order to draw attention to the great potential of the German-Turkish cooperation - starting with study and research options via university-specific cooperations to cultural aspects. They were coordinated by the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in the context of the Year of Science. The Turkey Weeks opened with the first German-Turkish Science Slam at the University of Cologne.

Another highlight of the Year of Science was the official opening of the Turkish-German University (TDU) in Istanbul by Federal President Joachim Gauck and the Turkish President Abdullah Gül.

In the context of a competition, creative minds from around the world were asked to design a poster illustrating German-Turkish cooperation. Entries could be submitted via the online platform jovoto. There was the chance to win cash prizes, while the overall winner could look forward to a trip to the closing event of the Year of Science in Turkey.