The technology competitions held in Diyarbakır as part of TEKNOFEST 2026 have concluded. The event, led by the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Turkish Technology Team Foundation, took place at two separate venues from September 16 to 20.
At the competitions held from September 16 to 18 at Dicle University’s July 15 Congress and Culture Center, finalist teams competed in the middle school and high school levels of the Technology for Humanity Competition, as well as in the Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare category.
The competitions held from September 18 to 20 at the Mesopotamia International Fair and Congress Center covered the categories of Robotic Applications in Industry, Jet Engine Design, the primary school level of the Technology for Humanity Competition, Artificial Intelligence in Aviation, Biotechnology Innovation, Chip Design, Electronic Warfare and TEKNOFEST Vocational Skills.
A total of 677 finalist teams made up of nearly 3,000 children and young people from Türkiye, the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, Georgia, Greece, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan and Indonesia took part in the two events.
Awards to be presented at Southeast TEKNOFEST
Yahya Akıl, a member of the TEKNOFEST Advisory Board and the T3 Foundation’s Diyarbakır provincial representative, said the contestants had developed high-quality projects in various fields. Akıl added that citizens had also shown strong interest in the event.
Akıl announced that nearly 3,000 contestants had taken part in the five-day competitions held from September 16 to 20, and that the awards for the teams finishing in the top three in each category would be presented at Southeast TEKNOFEST, which will be held in Şanlıurfa. He said the competitions helped students identify the fields in which they could develop themselves in the future, adding that the event met an important need in Diyarbakır.
Students describe their competition experiences
Muhammet Ali Kara, a fourth-year Electrical and Electronics Engineering student at Gazi University’s Faculty of Engineering, said he had taken part in the competition as part of a five-member team together with their faculty advisers. Kara said they had gone through an intensive preparation period in June and had qualified as one of the finalist teams.
Kara said the competition had enabled them to compete against strong teams, adding that they had gained valuable experience throughout the process beyond the result itself and were happy to have taken part in the event.
Yunus Erdem Ergül, a second-year Computer Engineering student at Gazi University’s Faculty of Engineering, said the Electronic Warfare competition had been held for the first time and that his team had prepared for five months. Ergül announced that they had received the prestigious award for the best electronic attack system design at the competition.
Sıla Polat, a student at Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University’s Faculty of Pharmacy, said they had entered the competition as a four-member team. Polat said reaching the final and gaining experience through the process had been valuable for their team, regardless of whether they achieved a ranking.
