News from Press Reflections
As part of the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) Programme, Özgül Dalkılıç, founder of WearTechClub operating within the ITU ARI Teknokent ecosystem, and Yerikzhan Akhmetov, an entrepreneur from the Czech Republic, have established a strategic and visionary collaboration focused on smart textiles and health technologies.
During the exchange period in Istanbul, they conducted advanced R&D studies on antistatic and antibacterial solutions in order to develop smart textiles for sports and health applications that are more reliable, comfortable and sustainable. Technical analyses of sensor-integrated textile architectures, production scalability and process optimisation have enabled product development processes to be re-evaluated in line with international standards.
However, this change is not merely a technical endeavour.
It is also a leadership experience in which the vision of cross-border entrepreneurship is tested in practice.
Within the scope of the programme:
- the integration of academic knowledge and applied R&D has been strengthened;
- Direct contact with the European startup ecosystem has been established;
- new market opportunities and international cooperation potential have been evaluated;
- The entrepreneur's perspective on investment, scaling and technology commercialisation has been broadened.
For WearTechClub, this collaboration has been a critical step in reanalysing production processes on a global scale, developing strategic foresight for the Central European and Central Asian markets, and establishing international technology partnerships.
This model, which brings together academic research, industrial application and entrepreneurial leadership, shows that the EYE Programme is more than just an exchange programme; it is also a vehicle for cross-ecosystem innovation and technology diplomacy.
Extending from Turkey to Europe, this collaboration is a powerful representation of cross-border innovation in the field of smart textiles.
