Türkiye’s innovation ecosystem grows with state support as active R&D centers top 1,300

Türkiye’s innovation ecosystem grew significantly over the years, driven by state support, with the number of active research and development (R&D) centers reaching 1,365 and design centers totaling 348 by the end of September.

Turkish Industry and Technology Ministry data showed that R&D hubs provide employment to nearly 94,000 workers nationwide, made up of a highly educated workforce that includes nearly 57,700 employees with bachelor’s degrees, over 18,500 with master’s, and over 2,100 with a doctorate or higher.

Türkiye’s academically well-equipped R&D workforce has completed more than 80,400 projects to date, with nearly 16,000 still underway.

The robust innovation hubs have generated almost 49,000 patents so far, over 17,500 of which have been registered, while some 31,300 await examination results.

Türkiye’s R&D network spans the country and many sectors, from energy, agriculture, and healthcare to transportation, logistics, and aviation.

The machinery and equipment manufacturing sector led with 160 centers, followed by the auto supply industry with 136 and the software sector with 128, the data showed.

The drivers of the R&D innovation also included the computer and communications technologies sector with 86 centers, chemicals with 82 hubs, textiles, and electrical sectors with 77 facilities each, food and the defense industry (excluding weapons and ammunition) with 65 each, and the general manufacturing industry with 43 centers.

The facilities are spread nationwide, but Istanbul has the highest concentration of R&D hubs with 428 centers, Ankara with 168, Kocaeli with 137, Bursa with 134, Izmir with 105, Tekirdag with 54, Manisa with 34, Konya with 26, Sakarya with 25, and Antalya with 21.

Meanwhile, Türkiye’s 348 design centers employ 8,481 workers, 5,540 of them with bachelor’s degrees, 820 with master’s, and 50 with doctorates or higher degrees.

While the design centers operate across a myriad of sectors, they are heavily focused on industrial and structural sectors, with the textile industry ranking first, boasting 54 centers, followed by engineering and architecture with 51, general manufacturing with 45, and machinery and equipment manufacturing with 43.

The design ecosystem also included 23 design centers for the auto supply industry, 17 for media and communications, 15 for the furniture sector, 12 each for construction and auto manufacturing, and eight for the defense sector.

Istanbul is home to most of the design centers, with 154, followed by the capital Ankara with 39, Bursa with 31, Izmir with 28, and Kocaeli and Tekirdag with 15 each, according to ministry data.