University-Industry Collaboration Centers Platform of Türkiye

University-Industry Cooperation Centres Platform of Türkiye (USIMP) was founded in 2007 as a “civil initiative” motivated by social responsibility, aiming to create awareness of university-industry cooperation/collaboration and technology transfer among all stakeholders.

USIMP has over 140 institutional members (universities, tech-transfer offices, Chambers of Industry, Exporters Unions, NGOs etc.) from different regions of Turkey.

The mission of USIMP is to contribute to the establishment, institutionalization and improvement of quality and performance of university-industry collaboration interface organizations by developing a national culture for cooperation and collaboration, and to contribute to the development of policies and strategies and action plans for effective and efficient implementation of technology transfer practices for proper exploitation of university-based knowledge and technologies for the good of the society.

USIMP organises different activities, develops novel tools with special focus on University-Industry Collaboration / Knowledge Exchange with members & stakeholders and these are usually hosted and/or co-funded by the member organizations.

Particular care is given to create synergies amongst USIMP members and to limit services only to those that cannot be provided individually by any individual member.

USIMP will be hosting the 2026 WIPO–AUTM International Leadership Summit on Knowledge and Technology Transfer”, jointly organized by AUTM and WIPO, in Ankara, Türkiye on October 19-20, 2026. The Summit, previously held in global hubs such as Geneva (2022), Santiago (2023), and Cape Town (2024), plays a strategic role in shaping international collaboration in innovation and technology transfer ecosystems.

The invitation-only global leadership event will bring together more than 60 invited senior leaders in technology transfer policymakers, and presidents of technology transfer associations worldwide from around 25+ countries.

The Summit will be followed by “Türkiye's National Knowledge and Technology Transfer Week” on October 22–23, 2026, gathering approximately 300 participants and bringing together the distinguished international stakeholders with the leaders of the Turkish innovation ecosystem. The extended program will include keynote speeches delivered by high-level national and international representatives. This will provide Türkiye’s knowledge and technology transfer ecosystem with a unique opportunity to connect and collaborate with leading institutions and distinguished experts from across the globe.
The main theme of the event has been defined as “Maximizing Impact for Societal Welfare”, focusing on policies, practices, and applications that enhance the role of knowledge exchange and technology transfer (KE/TT) ecosystems in generating societal added-value. The aim is to strengthen the contribution of KE/TT to societal transformation and sustainable development, while extending their impact beyond economic value creation.

This national event has been joined with the traditional annual “ÜSİMP NATIONAL CONGRESS, SYMPOSIUM & FAIR”, with its parallel activities. In the National Congress international and local speakers will discuss the overarching theme of “Policy and Ecosystem Development for Maximizing Impact", in the following Panels:

1. Redefining Success: The New Paradigm of Value-Driven Technology Transfer -Redefining success not by revenue alone, but by the value generated for society, Concept of Valorisation,
2. Creating Synergies for Maximizing Impact - Transition from IP Management to Intellectual Assets Governance for a paradigm change to knowledge valorisation approach,
3. Start-up Partnerships for a More Agile Commercialization – A new corporate approach of acquiring new technologies,
4. Building Resilient Innovation Clusters - Defining clusters as engines of growth and exploring how technology transfer fuels these engines,
5. Collaborative Partnerships Driving Regional Growth - The balance and synergies amongst scientific, technological and industrial capabilities for building a stronger ecosystem,
6. Scaling Regional Efforts for Global Impact - How local successes can be transformed into global impact.

The Parallel Events will accommodate the “Industrial R&D Centers Symposium” with presentations from Industrial R&D Centers on their UIC projects and Exhibitions:

1. International KE/TT Keyplayers
2. EU Funded Projects related to KE/TT Projects
3. Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Centers from Türkiye
4. Regional Development Agencies of Türkiye
5. University TTO's - Technologies above TRL 6
6. Deep-Tech Start-ups / Technoparks
7. Industrial R&D Centres.

The aim of the Exhibitions is to create a broader awareness of national efforts and EU initiatives, to create a broader awareness of the role of start-ups in commercialization of research outputs, amongst the attendees.