Entrepreneurship, innovation and R&D capabilities of companies are thoroughly examined as a condition of admission to ITU ARI Teknokent.

Therefore, it is known that entrepreneurial companies that can operate in this region have already been tested in terms of technical and administrative competence. Within this framework, companies operating in ITU ARI Teknokent are approached with a positive bias, which creates a competitive advantage for the companies and makes them the centre of national and international attention.

 

General information

Within the framework of the ITU ARI Teknokent Technology Development Zone, all companies wishing to operate within the zone and take advantage of the zone's benefits and the relevant legislation must complete the application procedure described.

Regardless of the status, financial resources and size of the companies, the procedures to be applied in these processes and the forms to be used in these processes have been established so that companies of all sizes and types can complete the processes equally and objectively.

 

Application Process

The application process to ITU ARI Teknokent starts with the pre-application of the entrepreneurial company online via https://www.ariteknokent.com.tr. The forms filled in during the application phase are expected to explain basic information about the entrepreneurial company and the R&D and/or design projects, as well as the reasons for applying to ITU ARI Technopolis.

The form filled in during the application phase is also one of the most basic sources of information in case the company starts its activities within ITU ARI Technopolis.

For this reason, the process of reviewing the application forms is a consulting process that the ITU ARI Technopolis management provides to the companies in order to obtain the correct information and data from the companies.

During the application phase, general information about the entrepreneurial company (current employees of the company, address information, financial information, etc.), information about R&D and/or design projects that the company has carried out in the past, is currently carrying out and plans to carry out within ITU ARI Technopolis are transferred to the necessary forms. The entrepreneurial company can specify a maximum of 1 project to be carried out at ITU ARI Teknokent in the application file.

Since the forms in the application phase do not have to be completed in a single session and can be updated by entrepreneurs, companies that have completed the application phase should send an e-mail to ariteknokent@ariteknokent.com.tr that they have completed their applications. Upon receipt of the e-mail by the ITU ARI Teknokent Management Office, the company's pre-application review process will begin. The review process will verify that the information is complete and in the form and content requested, and will request corrections if necessary. The process is completed within 10 days.

 

Fees and charges

Entrepreneur companies are charged an application fee of TL 13,950.00 + VAT at the main application stage. If the Entrepreneur Company meets the definition of an Incubation Company*, the application fee will be 5,550.00 TL + VAT. However, if the project you have submitted to ITU ARI Teknokent during the application process is supported by TÜBİTAK or KOSGEB, your application will be processed by the management of ITU ARI Teknokent within the scope of the relevant legislation without being subjected to the referee review process and will proceed to the evaluation committee meeting stage. Accordingly, an application fee of TL 3,750.00 + VAT will be collected from the company at the main application stage.

In the case of companies founded by ITU academics and students, the application fee is waived if the proportion of academics and students is 51% or more. 

*Incubator company refers to the companies deemed appropriate by the TGB legislation and the ITU ARI Teknokent Board of Directors.

 

Evaluation Process

 

Referee/Expert Evaluation

Upon receipt of the complete application file, ITU ARI Teknokent Management sends each entrepreneurial application to a project evaluation committee consisting of at least three members, two of whom are academics and one of whom is an industry expert, to review and evaluate each entrepreneurial application in terms of both technical and project plan. This number includes at least 1 expert referee for companies eligible for incubation. The referees will be selected by the management company, preferably by means of a search among academics from public universities, and there will be no right of appeal against the referees selected, except for reasons of force majeure.

The company will be informed of the referees selected for the evaluation and the files will be sent to the referees after the written approval of the company.

At this stage, the referees will evaluate the content of the R&D and/or design projects, the work schedule specified for the project, the adequacy of the company's resources (previous project experience, know-how, human resources, financial resources, market activities, etc.) required for the company to carry out these projects, the company's structuring and similar criteria by examining the projects described by the company in detail, taking into account both the relevant legislation and the ITU ARI Teknokent Entrepreneur Company Evaluation Criteria.

 

 

 

 

The experts complete the referee evaluation in the light of the information provided during the interviews with the entrepreneurial company and their own examinations, and submit a detailed report on the company and its application to the management of ITU ARI Teknokent. This report includes the opinions and suggestions of the referees on the application of the entrepreneurial company and the final evaluation of the activities of the entrepreneurial company within ITU ARI Teknokent with a score of 100. The objections of the entrepreneur company to the evaluation result are evaluated by the Board of Directors. The decision of the Board of Directors shall be binding on the parties.

 

Evaluation Board

After ITU ARI Teknokent Management has received the evaluation reports from the judges, an Evaluation Board meeting will be held on a date and time to be determined by ITU ARI Teknokent Management, to which Entrepreneur Company representatives will be invited.

In this meeting, the managers of the entrepreneurial companies give a short presentation about their companies and the projects that have been carried out or are planned to be carried out, etc., and answer the questions of the members of the Evaluation Board.

The Evaluation Committee, acting on the basis of both the definitions and objectives set out in the relevant legislation and the ITU ARI Teknokent evaluation criteria for entrepreneurial companies;

• The Entrepreneurial Company by examining the main application file,
• By analysing the evaluation reports of the referees,
• As a result of the information obtained during the evaluation committee meeting,

They give an evaluation score out of 100 for the activity of the entrepreneurial company within the ITU ARI Teknokent Technology Development Zone.

 

Evaluation Criteria

ITU ARI Teknokent Management is responsible for examining, evaluating and supervising the activities of the entrepreneurial companies that apply to operate in ITU ARI Teknokent TDZ in accordance with the legislation.

After the new entrepreneurial company has completed the application procedures to be carried out in the ITU ARI Teknokent Technology Development Zone, the application documents of the entrepreneurial company are examined and evaluated by the referees and the ITU ARI Teknokent Evaluation Board.

In this evaluation process, in addition to reviewing the eligibility of the projects presented by the entrepreneurial company as "R&D project involving R&D activities" and/or "design project involving design activities aimed at enhancing, developing and differentiating the functionality of products or products that have the potential to create added value and competitive advantage" within the scope of the relevant legislation and the above-mentioned Guidelines, the Referees and the ITU ARI Teknokent Evaluation Board will also review the projects presented by the entrepreneurial company as follows In addition to, but not limited to, the structure of the company, criteria such as the economic and technological feasibility of the company's R&D and/or design projects, the collaborations that the company plans to enter into during its activities at ITU ARI Teknokent TDZ, and the assessment of the R&D and/or design awareness of the entrepreneurial company will be taken into consideration.

The main headings of the criteria taken into account by the judges and the evaluation committee are as follows

• Technological aspect of the projects to be implemented
• Economic aspects of the projects to be carried out
• Applicability of the projects to be carried out
• Suitability of the projects to be carried out to current needs
• Integrability of the projects to be carried out with ITU faculty members and students
• Ability to collaborate with ITU academic units

 

In addition, the general structure, financial resources, and human resources of the applicant company are examined to see if they are compatible with the structure and objectives of ITU ARI Teknokent, and if the projects to be carried out can be carried out within the existing facilities.

 

Evaluation Result

 

Throughout the entire evaluation process, the Referees and the Evaluation Board will evaluate the structure of the applicant entrepreneurial companies, the duration of the project, the duration to be spent inside and outside the region and the suitability of VAT exemption, the commercialisation potential, the ability to develop high/advanced technological products with import substitution or export potential, and the ability to develop innovation in products and production methods, The evaluation of whether there is an R&D and/or Design project that can improve product quality or standard, increase productivity, reduce production costs, produce technological knowledge, realise an effective university-industry cooperation, and the evaluation of the R&D and/or Design awareness of the entrepreneur company.

As a result of the examination of the main application files, the average of the scores received from the referees and the scores received from the Evaluation Board are calculated and the entrepreneurial company is given a score out of 100. Entrepreneurial companies that successfully complete the application process are approved by the Board of Directors and take their place in the application ranking. Entrepreneur companies are notified of their score and their place in the ranking. In addition to this notification, if any deficiencies, weaknesses or aspects that need to be improved about the entrepreneur company are found during the evaluation process, feedback is also given to the company on these issues.

As leasable R&D and/or design spaces are created in ITU ARI Technopolis, these spaces will be recommended to companies by ITU ARI Technopolis Management based on the scores of the entrepreneurial companies. In this way, ITU ARI Technopolis Management aims to evaluate entrepreneurial companies of all sizes and types equally and objectively, regardless of the status, financial resources and size of the entrepreneurial companies, and to ensure that the companies that can make the best use of the opportunities offered by ITU ARI Technopolis and ITU are admitted to the region.