‘R&D CENTERS SHOULD WORK TOGETHER WITH START-UPS’
UTİB held the first training for finalist companies within the scope of TechXtile Innovation League 2021. The message was given to companies that the money spent on R&D and innovation is an investment.
Training organized by Uludag Textile Exporters Association (UTİB) within the framework of the Innovation League, organized to raise awareness of innovation in organizations and to support innovation-based export growth, has started. TechXtile Program Coordinator Ufuk Batum, who gave training on R&D Centers Capacity Building Support in the first of the 8-week training, said, “The entrepreneurship ecosystem in Turkey is developing rapidly. While Start-Ups are increasing day by day, R&D centers need to work together with Start-Ups.”
‘MONEY SPENT ON R&D AND INNOVATION IS INVESTMENT’
Noting that companies that want to survive should give importance to R&D and innovation, Ufuk Batum said, “Especially in the competitive environment of developed markets; It has been realized that R&D and innovation are critical for companies to survive and be successful. In our country, both our large companies and SMEs need to allocate a significant budget to R&D and innovation based on their revenues. I recommend seeing this budget not as an expense but as a real investment because any money spent in this area will return much larger gains in the future. In our country, the corporate world and the Start-Up world are not in much communication with each other. When I examined the R&D centers, I saw that one of the basic needs is knowing how to benefit from Start-Ups. R&D centers,
“IF RESOURCES ARE LOW, WE MUST USE THEM EFFICIENTLY”
Stating that the budget allocated to R&D centers in our country is limited, Ufuk Batum underlined the need to use resources efficiently. Noting that R&D centers can undertake joint works even if they are competitors, Batum said, “Even though as engineers, we give much more importance to the technical aspects of the work; It is very important for us to improve ourselves in financial literacy, budget management, understanding customer needs, and communication. One of the problems of the industry is not being able to become a brand. Although the studies on R&D started late in Turkey, they have advantages in closing the distance. When we went to the field with our friends and made visits, I saw that the contact with the customer exceeded my expectations. Communication of our friends in the R&D department with the outside is of great importance. One of the shortcomings we see in the field while the R&D culture is developing and budgeting is the limited human resources and budget. R&D centers in Turkey do not work together because they say they are competitors at the same time. But there are R&D examples in the world where competitors are working together. If the resource is scarce, we should think about how to use that resource efficiently.”
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