REDin ’26 Summit Successfully Concluded in Bursa

The REDin ’26 R&D, Design and Innovation Summit, held under the theme “Where Those Who Shape the Future Meet,” has concluded in Bursa. Hosted at the BEBKA Conference Hall, the summit brought together industrialists, academics, researchers, technology developers, and investors within a shared innovation ecosystem.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, our Association’s Board Chair Dr. M. Cem Aldağ noted that the REDin platform brings academia and industry together on common ground, stating that their goal is to contribute to Turkey’s R&D and innovation objectives. Aldağ also expressed their ambition to bring European-based R&D organizations under the summit’s umbrella in the coming years.

The summit’s first panel focused on sustainability-driven transformation processes. Within the framework of the European Green Deal and the climate crisis, the session examined strategies applicable to industry, with emphasis placed on circular economy approaches and investments that reduce carbon footprints.

The second session of the day addressed the future of R&D centers and digital transformation processes. Key topics included next-generation AI-powered innovation systems, the commercialization of prototypes, and intellectual property management.

In his opening remarks, BAUDER Board Chair Dr. Cem Aldağ said: “BAUDER was founded in Bandırma in 2025 — an independent civil society organization composed entirely of academics working in different cities and universities across Turkey. It has been less than a year, and yet a great deal has happened. Today, before even a full year has passed since our founding, we are hosting our first international conference, REDin I, under the roof of BEBKA, here in Bursa. Our goal from next year onward is clear: to bring at least five European R&D centers together under the REDin umbrella — to carry our innovation and projects to Europe, to increase our exports. Turkey’s Twelfth Development Plan identifies increasing R&D investment, strengthening the innovation ecosystem, and deepening international cooperation as priority objectives. What we are doing here today is exactly that. REDin is not a line in that plan — it is the plan being lived out in the field. REDin — Research, Engineering and Design Innovation — is a platform designed to bring knowledge produced in R&D, engineering, and design into practice. A summit that places academia and industry, researchers and practitioners, on the same deck. Not a publishing platform, but a calibration ground. Here, you test your ideas. You receive feedback. You clarify your direction. And then you set out on your real journey far better prepared. This year we received many paper submissions. Beyond those we accepted, we were compelled to reject nearly one in three. We are convening across three parallel thematic sessions. Today, researchers from across Turkey, from different disciplines, step onto the same deck.”

At the “2025 R&D, Innovation and Design Awards” ceremony held as part of REDin ’26, outstanding projects and institutions were recognized across multiple categories. Numerous works — from university-industry collaborations to social impact projects — were evaluated by the jury and deemed worthy of recognition.

The event, sponsored by Dimes and Novitopia, concluded with the presentation of appreciation plaques to supporting organizations.