Turkey's First Livestock Technologies Festival (HAYTEKFEST) was held at MAKÜ

Yapılış Tarihi | 13 March 2023, Monday

For the first time in Turkey, the Livestock Technologies R&D and Innovation Festival (HAYTEKFEST), which will guide the livestock sector, hosted by Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ), has started.

With HAYTEKFEST, it is aimed to bring out technology-based projects with local and national qualities in the livestock sector, which is becoming increasingly strategic within the scope of Turkey's National Technology Initiative, and to implement these projects quickly and effectively.

Within the scope of HAYTEKFEST, 101 projects from all over Turkey participated. Among the 101 projects, 37 projects made it to the finals through a three-stage evaluation. These finalist projects will be presented for three days and evaluated by expert jury members in their field, and the top three projects will be awarded. The festival, which will award 100 thousand TL to the first place, 75 thousand TL to the second place, and 50 thousand TL to the third place, received intense participation.

The opening program of HAYTEKFEST, held at Lavanta Tepesi Hotel, was attended by Deputy Governor Ahmet Mailoğlu, Rector Prof. Dr. Adem Korkmaz, Hacettepe University Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Cahit Güran, SDÜ Rector Prof. Dr. İlker Çarıkçı, Kırklareli University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Nurettin Aka, Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Assoc. Dr. Sait Muharrem Say, BAKA Secretary General Volkan Güler, Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Durmuş Acar, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Karaca, Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar, Rector Advisor Prof. Dr. Ömer Tekşen, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations, representatives of Political Parties, Public Institution Managers, Sector Representatives, academicians, and students.

TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal: “Livestock Technologies Are Very Important for Our Future”

The program, which started with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem, was joined live by TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal. In his opening speech, Mandal touched on the following: “The gathering of academicians, our young human resources, livestock technologies sector representatives, public and NGOs within the scope of HAYTEKFEST with a focus on sustainable livestock is very valuable. Regional development-focused projects are being carried out by Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University in the field of livestock, increasing scientific and technological approaches for sustainable livestock. Among the 37 projects that will compete in the finals within the scope of HAYTEKFEST, there are project examples covering animal health technologies, poultry technologies, nanotechnology, and sensor technologies. Cooperation based on joint development in the focus of livestock technologies is of key importance for our common future. There is a great effort in this work carried out today. I would like to thank everyone who supported, contributed, and participated.”

Chairman of the Organizing Committee Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar: “We Focused on Nationalizing Livestock Technologies”

In the program, which continued with opening speeches, HAYTEKFEST Organizing Committee Chairman Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar gave a speech. Starting his speech by expressing condolences regarding the earthquakes referred to as the disaster of the century, Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar provided information about the HAYTEKFEST process. Dalgar said, “While working in the field of livestock technologies, we saw that when we talk about livestock technology in Turkey, it is a sector dependent on foreign sources. Then we said, let's focus on nationalizing livestock technologies, and as a result, the idea of HAYTEKFEST emerged. We started our work by taking the strength of the Faculty of Engineering of our Hacettepe University and Kırklareli University with us. Can we make Burdur the center of livestock technologies? Can we make our Technopark a thematic Technopark? With such thoughts and with the support of our Development Agency, we embarked on this journey, and at the point we have reached, 101 projects came to us at the level of startups, new entrepreneurs, researchers, students, and firms that have reached a certain size from all over Turkey. These 101 projects will find their owners through a three-stage evaluation. A three-stage scoring was done for the awards, and the evaluation process was objective. With the support of our sponsors, we will provide 100 thousand TL to the first project, 75 thousand TL to the second, and 50 thousand TL to the third. Within the scope of HAYTEKFEST, we have seminars with the participation of leading representatives of the sector. I thank everyone who contributed.”

Rector Prof. Dr. Adem Korkmaz “MAKÜ’s Work in the Field of Livestock Has Entered the Investment Program of Our Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry”

In his speech, Rector Prof. Dr. Adem Korkmaz said, “This great disaster we have experienced as a nation is a great shock. We have not yet overcome the shock as a society because the trauma is very big, so we are still in this process. When we saw the magnitude of the disaster, we consulted with our friends and were concerned whether it could be confused with classical summer festivals because of its name being a festival, but since it is HAYTEKFEST, which is the Livestock Technologies R&D and Innovation Festival carried out by the university, we decided to continue the process, realizing that we have no time to wait in scientific fields such as technology and R&D.

HAYTEKFEST, held at Lavanta Tepesi Hotel on March 9-11, 2023, saw the participation of 101 projects from all over Turkey. Among the 101 projects, 37 projects made it to the finals through a three-stage evaluation. These finalist projects made their final presentations for three days and were evaluated by expert jury members in their field, and the top three projects were awarded.

The closing and award ceremony of HAYTEKFEST was attended by Burdur Deputy Bayram Özçelik, Rector Prof. Dr. Adem Korkmaz, Head of the Breeding Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Adem Bölükbaşı, President of the Central Union of Cattle Breeders Kamil Özcan, Secretary General of the Western Mediterranean Development Agency Volkan Güler, Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Durmuş Acar, Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar, Rector Advisor Prof. Dr. Ömer Tekşen, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations, representatives of Political Parties, Public Institution Managers, Sector Representatives, academicians, and students.

Speaking at the program, Deputy Bayram Özçelik stated that Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University has made significant progress in the field of livestock, has once again made a first in Turkey by organizing such a festival, and wished that the projects that emerged and ranked within the scope of the festival would be beneficial for Burdur, our region, and Turkey.

Assoc. Dr. Arda Aydın, Assoc. Dr. Anıl Çay, Prof. Dr. Habib Kocabıyık, Specialist Arif Agvan’s project titled “Design and Development of a Poultry Scanning Sick/Dead Chick Detection, Early Warning, and Removal Robot” was deemed worthy of the first prize.