Every year, Teknofest manages to capture something rare in today’s world: unfiltered optimism. Walk into its exhibition halls or out onto its airfield and you are immediately struck by the energy of thousands of young people who live and breathe science, engineering and discovery. For them, technology is not an abstraction but a calling – whether in civilian applications like renewable energy, AI and space systems, or in the military domain, where Türkiye has proven itself a rising global power in unmanned aerial platforms.
For my generation, this kind of opportunity did not exist. The infrastructure, the competitions, the mentors, the sense of mission, all of this was missing when we were their age. Teknofest is more than an annual event; it is a structured pathway that channels youthful enthusiasm into concrete projects, startups and eventually export-ready technologies. It is a gateway into a future where talent meets opportunity.
This matters because the Republic of Türkiye has always relied on its most abundant resource: its people. Across a century of state-building, industrialization and reform, the recurring theme has been how to harness the vitality of a young and dynamic population. The lesson is clear: if we want to move forward, we must empower young people with tools that translate raw creativity into real innovation.
Economically, this is not optional. Türkiye has long struggled with the twin traps of the current account deficit and the so-called middle-income barrier. No amount of short-term fixes can overcome these structural challenges. Only science, technology and high-value exports can. Teknofest, by mobilizing tens of thousands of engineers, coders, designers and dreamers, is planting the seeds of precisely this transformation. Every drone, every microchip, and every advanced software system that emerges from these competitions is another step toward resilience and another step away from dependency.
This year’s theme, "Blue Homeland," adds another layer of significance. It is no secret that Türkiye’s relationship with the sea has historically been limited. Despite being surrounded on three sides by water, our national imagination has long been dominated by land armies and terrestrial concerns. Naval and maritime culture never occupied the same pride of place as it did for other great powers.
That is now changing. Just as the past two decades witnessed a surge in aerospace ambition – culminating in indigenous UAVs that now shape conflicts from Ukraine to North Africa – there is a growing recognition that the seas are the next frontier. Maritime security, naval technologies, underwater systems, renewable offshore energy and deep-sea exploration are not luxuries but necessities for a country that sits at the hinge of three continents.
Teknofest’s decision to spotlight the Blue Homeland is therefore both symbolic and strategic. It signals to young people that the seas are not just a backdrop to our geography but an integral part of our destiny. Suppose even a fraction of the enthusiasm we now see for aviation is replicated in maritime science and technology. In that case, Türkiye will take a quantum leap in fields ranging from shipbuilding to oceanography, from naval AI to sustainable fisheries.
In this sense, Teknofest is not only inspiring; it is corrective. It reminds us that the same spirit which fueled our ancestors to cross seas and continents must once again be cultivated in laboratories, shipyards and innovation hubs. Our future lies not in looking inward, but in opening ourselves to the horizons that surround us.
The challenge for Türkiye is to sustain this momentum beyond the excitement of the festival itself. It is one thing to inspire a teenager with a drone demonstration; quite another to provide them with a research grant, a startup incubator, or a first export contract. The ecosystem must extend from classrooms to capital markets, from university labs to government procurement. Teknofest lights the flame, but it is up to all of us, policymakers and business leaders alike, to keep it burning.
I left Teknofest this year convinced that the future is brighter than the skeptics allow it to be. When you see an entire generation dedicating itself to the hard but noble path of science and technology, you realize the Republic’s second century will be defined not by limitations, but by possibilities. And if we succeed in extending that energy into the Blue Homeland, we will not only master the skies and the seas, we will master our own destiny.
