UNIVERSITY STUDENTS COMPETED IN INNOVATION
The award ceremony of the “Protect Your Idea Patent Hackathon Competition,” organized for the third time this year under the sponsorship of Gürok Group and in collaboration with Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Kütahya Health Sciences University, and Destek Patent Inc., was held at Kütahya Dumlupınar University.
A total of 43 university students participated in the competition, where five standout teams were awarded a total prize pool of 400,000 TL for their original ideas.
The competition, designed to develop young people’s innovative thinking skills, strengthen awareness of patents and intellectual property rights, and support entrepreneurial capabilities, brought university students together for the third time this year. Following the training program on April 27 and the competition stage on April 28, the winning projects were announced at the award ceremony held at Kütahya Dumlupınar University.
As a result of the jury evaluation, the MYCO-TECH project team won first place. SRG BIOTECH received second place, while NEW INNOLIFE came in third. GAB-GEN, which ranked fourth, received the Rıza Güral Special Award, and the fifth-place team, 1111, was awarded the Kemal Yamankaradeniz Special Award.
The prizes were distributed as follows: 120,000 TL for first place, 100,000 TL for second place, 80,000 TL for third place, and 50,000 TL each for fourth and fifth places bringing the total award pool to 400,000 TL.
Investing in the Future of Kütahya Through Young Ideas
Speaking at the award ceremony, Gürok Group Vice President of the Board Esin Güral Argat said:
“When we first envisioned this competition, our goal was to ensure that ideas emerging from Kütahya would contribute to our country’s innovation capacity and to foster a culture of innovation among young people. Today, it is truly inspiring to see the tangible outcomes of this vision. For Gürok Group, Kütahya is a highly valuable hub both where our roots are and where our future is shaped.
Our global brands, born in Kütahya, are not only distinguished by their production capacity but also by their strong position in R&D, technology, and innovation within their industries. At Gürok, we are guided by three core principles: ‘Think limitlessly, act boldly, do well.’ This hackathon serves as a meaningful platform where we share these principles with the young minds who represent the bright future of Kütahya and our country.
Today, not only the winning teams but all participants who developed ideas, formed teams, and worked on their projects are winners. I sincerely congratulate all students who took part in the competition, as well as the academics who supported them.”