Turkey will hand over the term presidency of the EUREKA program, which it has been running since July last year, to Norway as of next month. Making a statement on the subject, Okan Kara, Chairman of the EUREKA Board of Directors, said that the EUREKA program is a critical platform that supports market-oriented and high-tech products that can be commercialized in a short time through international strategic partnerships created by companies, adding that Turkey has been involved in the program since 1985, when the program was established. Until 2006, Turkey was not actively involved in the program, but in recent years, it has made a name for itself with both the increase in the number of projects it has been involved in and the critical technologies developed by Turkish companies within the scope of the projects. Kara emphasized that companies of all sizes from all over the world should think about "how we can benefit more from the global division of labour and cooperation", and stated that the EUREKA program has gained importance in developing global collaborations in the field of high-tech products at this very point. EUREKA Chairman Kara continued as follows: "When Turkey took over the EUREKA Term Presidency, we aimed to enter the top 10 among the member countries of the program in terms of the number of projects we were involved in by conducting studies for the active participation of Turkish companies in the program. With a big leap, we ranked 4th with 48 projects after Germany, France and Spain. In 2007, we ranked 28th and in 2012 we ranked 11th. Turkey is now called the "Shining Star" of the program." Underlining that 120 Turkish companies took part in 42 projects between 2010 and 2012, providing access to a project volume of 50 million Euros, Okan Kara said: "Moreover, more than half of these companies are SMEs, followed by large-scale companies and universities in establishing international technological partnerships. If we look at the fields, the field of information and communication technologies, in which we have made a great breakthrough in recent years, also stands out within the scope of the EUREKA program. This field is followed by manufacturing, environment and biotechnology." Stating that TÜBİTAK is responsible for the coordination of the Turkish side of the program, Okan Kara said that the aim is to increase the number of Turkish companies participating in the program through international project market events, information days and the support provided to Turkish companies in developing project proposals. Expressing the importance of the program with an analysis conducted in 2012, EUREKA Chairman Kara stated that public financial support of EUR 1 million to a EUREKA project provides an average added value of EUR 10 million, and that the program offers important technology transfer and international partnership opportunities for our companies that want to take part in the high technology race. Turkey Determined the Program's R&D Agenda During the Turkish presidency, Kara stated that the R&D agenda of the EUREKA Program was determined under the presidency of Turkey and the strategy of the program was shaped, and emphasized that the presidency was set out with the aim of turning the presidency into an opportunity for our country's industry and SMEs. Okan Kara also said that many international events were organized within the scope of the annual work plan prepared, thus increasing the awareness of both Turkish companies about the program and the awareness of the program member countries about the R&D capabilities and potential of the Turkish industry. What is the EUREKA Program? The EUREKA Program, an international cooperation platform that supports R&D projects for the development of market-oriented products and processes that can be commercialized in a short time, brings together clusters established by technology companies and companies in the relevant sector, and supports long-term strategic collaborations. Within the scope of the program, which has a 27-year history, an R&D volume of nearly 30 billion Euros has been created with more than 4000 projects to date. With 42 countries' major industrial enterprises participating in the program, the participation rate of SMEs has increased significantly, reaching % 50 of the total participation. Many important Turkish companies, including Turkcell Technology, Türk Telekom and Tüpraş, take part in the management of clusters focusing on specific technology areas of the program.