The Importance of National Technology Initiative and the Role of Bilişim Vadisi in Global Competition

To prevent monopolization in scientific and technological developments due to globalization, countries are developing their own technology strategies. For these strategies to succeed, current developments should be followed and the initiatives put forth should not be disconnected from the social and cultural consciousness. Within this context, the total independence in the economic and technological fields vision of Türkiye is named the National Technology Initiative. Bilişim Vadisi plays a significant role in transferring the success of Turkish Airlines in the defense industry to civilian technologies to actualize the vision of the National Technology Initiative. The National Technology Initiative bases its strategy on three concepts. These concepts are “indigenous”, which means belonging to a certain area in geographical terms; “national”, which means belonging to a certain nation; and “authenticity,” which means that a product with an intellectual value does not directly include other intellectual outputs but has its own specific intellectual value. Bilişim Vadisi is acting in accordance with these values in terms of the development of the brands within itself and shaping its ecosystem according to a model that supports the companies developing key technologies from end to end. In Bilişim Vadisi, which mainly focuses on conducting studies on technologies such as mobility, network technologies, cybersecurity, design technologies, smart cities and gaming technologies to strengthen the ecosystem, there are specific clustering specific to every area. To get rid of external dependency and provide the proper basis for import substitution and National Technology Initiative, human capital should be provided. 42 Software Schools, organized by Bilişim Vadisi, is an ecosystem where important steps are taken to improve human capital through Robotics Coding and Artificial Intelligence Workshop, education camps, workshops and entrepreneurship events. As mentioned in detail throughout the article, it is making a great contribution to the import substitution process within the scope of civilian technologies through brands such as Togg, AirCar, Business Incubator, Design Clustering Center and DIGIAGE. As a result, Bilişim Vadisi plays the role of being the greatest technology development area in Türkiye to actualize the human capital and import substitution strategies of the National Technology Initiative.