Johanna Wanka

Johanna Wanka has been Federal Minister of Education and Research and a member of the Government of Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel since February 2013. Previously, she was Minister of Science, Research and Culture of the state of Brandenburg for nine years from 2000 to 2009 and then Minister with the same portfolio in Lower Saxony from 2010 to 2013.

Johanna Wanka worked in research and higher education for many years. After being appointed Professor for Engineering Mathematics at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences in 1993, she was elected Rector in 1994, an office she held until 2000. She received her doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) in 1980. She served as Vice-President of the Rectors' Conference in the state of Saxony-Anhalt from 1994 to 1998 and then as a member of the Standing Committee on Planning and Organization of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) from 1998 to 2000. Johanna Wanka began her professional career as an academic associate at the Technical University of Merseburg in 1974 after studying mathematics at the University of Leipzig from 1970 to 1974. 

Johanna Wanka was born on April 1, 1951 in Rosenfeld (in what is now the state of Saxony). She is married with two children.

Biography adapted from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research website.

Fikri Işık

Fikri Işık has been Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Republic of Turkey and a member of the Government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since December 2013. Between 2007 and 2013 he served as the Regional Coordinator and Deputy Chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Central Organization.

Fikri Işık received his bachelor's degree in education from the Department of Mathematics Education at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. For several years, he served as a mathematics and English teacher at various national educational institutes and also worked as a manager in the food industry. In 2001, he joined the executive board of the AKP's Provincial Organization in Kocaeli in 2001 and became the organization's deputy chairman responsible for R&D issues. Since then, he has played an active role in politics. Fikri Işık became the head of the Provincial Organization in Kocaeli in 2003, a position he held until 2007.

Fikri Işık was born on September 13, 1965 in Gümüşhane. He is married with four children.   

Prof. Dr. Yücel Altunbaşak

Born in Kayseri in 1971, Professor Altunbaşak graduated from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Bilkent University, Ankara, in 1992. After that, he studied at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Rochester, New York, where he received his MS and PhD degrees.

In 1996, while employed at Hewlett-Packard's Palo Alto Laboratories in Silicon Valley, California, as a research engineer, he was appointed as a consultant assistant professor at Stanford University. After three years in Silicon Valley, he returned to academic life as assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he received his full-professorship in 2009. Between 2009 and 2011, he served as the Rector of TOBB University of Economics and Technology in Turkey. Since August 2011, he is serving as the 9th and current President of The Scientific and Technological Council of Turkey (TUBITAK).

Professor Altunbaşak has supervised 19 PhD students and is author of more than 190 papers and 50 patents/patent applications. In addition to his academic work, Professor Altunbaşak has continuously worked in collaboration with industry. He licensed and successfully prototyped a MPEG and processing device for a satellite and cable TV company. He initiated and was the driving force behind an image processing technology called ‘Pixellence', which received the Special Jury Award of the Turkish Industry and Business Association, while working as a senior advisor to the company Vestel.

Professor Altunbaşak has received numerous awards and memberships, and also he has served as editor of several leading research journals and chaired many industrial associations.

Prof. Dr. Habip Asan

Habip Asan has been President of the Turkish Patent Institute since October 2008. He was Vice-President of the Turkish Patent Institute from December 2007 to October 2008. He was elected Deputy-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the European Patent Academy in November 2009. From November 2011  ̶  October 2012, he served as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the European Patent Academy. In December 2013, he was elected as a Member of Board at the Administrative Council of European Patent Organization.

Prof. Dr. Asan holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University. He was a faculty member at Karadeniz Technical University and Ajman University of Science and Technology from 1996 to 2006. 

Otto Bauer

Otto W. Bauer is currently Chairman of the Board at Festo San. Ve Tic. A.Ş. Turkey. Otto Bauer has been working to develop and prepare direct investment policies in 23 international markets since 1989. Festo TR currently has around 120 qualified employees, including 50 engineers, and is mainly active in industrial automation training and mechatronics. Otto Bauer studied Physics and Economic Engineering in Germany. Since 1993, Bauer has worked as the General Manager for start-up and development in Festo, Turkey, and he is also the founding member of TEGEV (Teknolojik Eğitimi Geliştirme Vakfı, the Foundation for the Improvement of Technical Education). For four years, Otto Bauer was the vice-chairman of YASED (Yabancı Sermaye Derneği, Foreign Investors Association). On December, 12, 2008, Otto Bauer received the honorary medal, Bundesverdienstkreuz, from the General Consulate on behalf of the German president for his contributions to technical education and the German-Turkish dialogue.

Otto Bauer was born on November 16, 1953.

Dr.-Ing. Thomas Becks

Dr. Thomas Becks is the head of the Technology and Innovation department at the VDE, the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies, a position which he has held since 2009. Prior to this position, Dr. Becks was the head of the "EMC Electromagnetic compatibility and environmental aspects" department at IMST GmbH in Kamp-Lintfort until 1997. Dr. Becks was the managing director of the DVMT umbrella organization for medical technology, science, and computer science from 1997-2001, a consortium of nine national associations in the healthcare industry. From 2001-2009, Dr. Becks worked as the managing director of the German Society for Biomedical Engineering at the VDE. Dr. Becks has served as the President of the communications center at KKC since 2010, and has been a member of the presidium there since 2005.

Dr. Becks was born on June 23, 1962 and went on to study electrical engineering and telecommunications at the University of Duisburg-Essen. He earned the degree "Diplom-Ingenieur Communications" before moving on to earn his Dr.-Ing. in 1993.

Dr. Rainer Bueschl

Dr. Rainer Bueschl finished his Ph.D. thesis in polymer chemistry at the University of Mainz, Germany in 1984. After a research stay at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York, he joined BASF in Ludwigshafen in 1985. He has held various leading positions in polymer research, applications development, market development, and b2b-communication for BASF's plastics business. In his current position, he is responsible for knowledge management for Performance Materials.

He is Vice-Chairman of the Exhibitor's Council, the organizer of the leading plastics international trade fair  ̶  K 2016.

Klaus Burger

Klaus Burger was educated as a motor vehicle mechanic (KFZ-Meister), and began his career in 1989 by entering the automotive aftermarket, or secondary market, as a product manager responsible for testing brakes, dynamometer, and wheel alignment equipment at Hofmann GmbH in Pfungstadt, Germany. Mr. Burger took on a new role in 1991 as a sales manager at MAHA Maschinenbau Haldenwang, where he was responsible for developing the markets in Eastern Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2002, Mr. Burger became the world sales director, and was responsible for establishing the MAHA brand internationally - this included extending the dealership's network and creating sales subsidiaries. Mr. Burger is currently the president of sales at MAHA and is responsible for sales, service and development in three different divisions: workshop equipment, equipment for the periodical technical inspection of motor vehicles (PTI), and test equipment for R&D in the automobile industry. Mr. Burger has been the president of the German Association  of Garage Equipment Manufacturers and Importers of Equipment (ASA) and as a member of the board in the European Garage Equipment Association (EGEA) since 2006. Today, MAHA Maschinenbau Haldenweg has 1,200 employees worldwide, is represented in over 150 countries (including 20 subsidiaries and 90 sales and service partners), and boasts a turnover of 140 million Euros on vehicle testing and lifting equipment.

Dr.-Ing. Dagmar Dirzus

Dr. Dagmar Dirzus studied mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University and earned her doctorate in engineering while working under Prof. Dr. Günther Shuh in the university's Laboratory of Machine Tools. During this time, she worked in the field of production planning, simulation, and optimization. Dr. Dirzus then became active in the transfer of knowledge as the executive director of the WZLforum at RWTH, as well as the executive director the RWTH International Academy. In 2012, Dr. Dirzus began working for the VDI Wissensforum (the knowledge forum at the German Engineers Club), where she made developments in the field of automation. Dr. Dirzus became active as a scientific researcher in 2013 for VDI e.V., and was responsible for coordinating technical and policy committees for the Society for Instrumentation and Automation Engineering (GMA).

In June 2014, Dr. Dirzus became the head of the department "Engineering and Science 1" and she is currently responsible for four technical areas, in which roughly 3,000 experts work in an honorary capacity: Production and Logistics, Materials Engineering, Product- and Process-development, and Measurement- and Automation Engineering. Dr. Dirzus also serves as the managing director, which involves coordinating the volunteer experts and encouraging teamwork. The GMA develops around 50 VDI/VDE guidelines per year and provides technical support for a variety of events in the field of instrumentation and automation engineering, as well as optical engineering.

Ali Eren

Ali Eren was born in 1956 in Istanbul and graduated in 1975 from the Deutsche Schule Istanbul. In 1980 he graduated from Bosphorus University with a major in Mechanical Engineering. He then went on to obtain an additional BA as well as a Master's degree in Economics from Florida Atlantic University, and returned to Istanbul in 1984. Ali Eren has worked in different Industries, and he became a member of the Istanbul Stock Exchange after setting up one of the first stock brokerage companies in Turkey. He also set up an industrial laundry operation in Antalya and managed Erensan, a family business, at the same time.

In 1995, he sold all ventures and invested the funds in Erensan, an industrial group that manufactures heating, energy, and process heat  boilers. The group rapidly grew to be the leading boiler manufacturer in Turkey. In 2011, Erensan closed a partnership agreement with the Atlantic Group, the leading heating, ventilating, and boilers manufacturing group in France. Ali Eren was the president of the Boiler Manufacturers' Association of Turkey for 10 years. He  established the regulations for boiler and pressure vessel manufacturing in Turkey, and later worked to harmonize these with EU regulations. Ali Eren, married, has two children, a boy and a girl who are 17 and 15, respectively. He is currently the CEO of the "Erensan -  Atlantic Joint Venture" and a Board member of LARTH Company, which is 100% owned by the Atlantic Group. The active honorary positions he presently holds include:   Member of the Board at the ISO (İstanbul Chamber of Industry ), Member of the Board at MAIB (Machine Exporters' Association of Turkey ), Member of the Board of KBSB (Boiler Manufacturers' Union of Turkey), and Vice President of ALKEV (an education foundation).      

Dr.-Ing. Gert Fregien

Dr.-Ing. Gert Fregien graduated in Electrical Engineering from RWTH Aachen. After being responsible for converter and locomotive development at ABB/ADtranz and 2 years of employment at PA Consulting, he was responsible for the rolling stock of DB Fernverkehr AG for 9 years. Dr. Fregien has been affiliated with Knorr-Bremse SfS since April 2012, and is now responsible for Innovation and Technology.

Dr. Christian Garbe

Dr. Christian Garbe has been the Managing Director of FIZ Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center since 2002.

The FIZ Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center, founded in 2002, is a market-oriented technology center which offers small- and medium-sized companies in the life sciences sector a customized infrastructure for innovations with access to collaborations, interdisciplinary networks, and markets. According to Christian Garbe's philosophy, FIZ promotes the development and implementation of demand-oriented and personalizable health solutions and offers a platform which links companies with an aligned research focus and varying degrees of maturity across industry limits.

Before taking charge as Managing Director of FIZ, Christian Garbe was Senior Manager at DZ Bank in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He successfully managed the Biotech STARS Certificate of DZ Bank, a portfolio of biotechnology and genomics stocks and was responsible for the bank's advisory services for biotechnology and genomics companies. Prior to joining the DZ Bank, he worked as a business analyst and business chain manager at Novartis AG in Basel, Switzerland. Dr. Garbe was awarded his Doctorate in Economic and Social Sciences from the University of Göttingen in 1996.

Okan Gedik

Born in 1973, Okan Gedik received his B.S. degree from the Mechanical Engineering Department at Bogazici University in 1996 and then completed the Executive MBA program at Koç University.

Okan Gedik started his professional career at Kibar Holding with the OKYA program and held various positions, including a Sales Specialist, Sales Manager, Sales and Marketing Manager, and Assistant General Manager of Sales Marketing and Production. He joined Assan Hanil Otomotiv in November 2008 and he has been serving as General Manager of Assan Hanil Otomotiv since March 2010.

Prof. E. h. Dr.-Ing. Johann Grabenweger

Prof. E. h. Dr.-Ing. Johann Grabenweger, born in 1963, grew up in Brazil. He holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering and an MBA degree in finance and marketing (UK and US). In 2010 he was awarded an honorary professor's degree from the Far-Eastern National Technical University (FENTU), Russia.

In January 2006, Prof. Dr. Grabenweger became a board member at KHS GmbH (formerly KHS AG). He has held the position of the Chief Sales Officer in KHS GmbH since September 2011.

Early on in his professional life, Prof. Dr. Grabenweger held top positions in the fields of Production, R&D, Technology, and Finance and Sales, in the automotive industry and its subcontractors, the glass industry, plant engineering, and construction; in Voith AG, Skoda Auto in Czechoslovakia and as a member of the board at the Saint-Gobain Group.

Prof. Dr. Grabenweger is characterized by his cosmopolitan, multicultural life. He speaks German, Portuguese, English, French, Italian, and Spanish and understands the Czech language. He has lived in Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and the USA.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Heuken

Prof. Dr. Michael Heuken was born in Oberhausen, Germany on November 17, 1961. He received his Diplom-Ingenieur degree and his Dr.-Ing. degree in Electrical Engineering from Duisburg University, Germany, in 1985 and 1989, respectively. He joined the Institut für Halbleitertechnik at RWTH Aachen as senior engineer and has been working in the field of metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy for electronic and optoelectronic devices. In 1994 he finished his Habilitation in semiconductor technology and devices with a thesis on MOCVD technology for optoelectronic devices. Since 1994 he has been a lecturer for semiconductor technology and devices as well as circuits for communication systems at RWTH. In 1997 he joined AIXTRON in Aachen-Germany where he is now the Vice President of Corporate Research & Development.

Prof. Dr. Heuken was honored with a professorship at RWTH Aachen in 1999. His main research interests are in the fields of Semiconductor growth by MOVPE, materials characterization, device technology, electronic and optoelectronic devices, and circuits.

Prof. Dr. Heuken is the author and co-author of more than 590 publications in international journals and several invited papers at international conferences. He was the President of the DGKK (German Crystal Growth Association) from 2002 to 2005, board member of EPIC (European Photonics Industry Consortium) from 2007 to 2013, is currently a board member at OptechNet e.V., and a member of VDE/ITG. He acts as referee for international journals. He has been granted several patents in the field of CVD technology. 

Hakan Karataş

Hakan Karataş is the acting Head of the International Cooperation Department at the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK) since May 2014. He received his BSc degree in Industrial Engineering from Marmara University and he is currently pursuing his MSc in International Affairs and Public Policy at Bilkent University. Before being appointed as the Head of the International Cooperation Department, he worked as the Head of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Department – Mr. Karataş acted as the president of Turks Abroad and Related Communities from October 2012 to May 2014. He also coordinated and lead several EU FP 7 projects and took part as the head of various events, such as the National Launch Event for Horizon 2020 and International ERC Conference in Turkey.

Prof. h.c. Dr.-Ing. Joachim U. Knebel

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Knebel is the Head of Division (BL3) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). He is responsible for two faculties Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, with a total of 36 institutes and the three research programs  ̶ "Storage and Cross-linked Infrastructures", "Fusion Research", and "Nuclear Waste Disposal and Safety".

Within the German Helmholtz Association of National Research Centers, he is the spokesperson for the cross-program activity on Electromobility and for the program Nuclear Waste Disposal and Safety. Prof. Dr. Knebel has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and holds a Prof. h.c. from Saint Petersburg State University (SPbSU). He has authored or co-authored more than 160 scientific publications and has given over 110 invited lectures at conferences, public hearings, and specialist meetings world-wide.

In 2011, Prof. Dr. Knebel was awarded the European Science Culture Award from the European Foundation for Culture PRO EUROPA for merits in partitioning & transmutation research.

Rolf A. Königs

Rolf A. Königs is the President of the Turkish-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TD-IHK). He is a German businessman and has been the CEO of the AUNDE Group since 1978. Based in Mönchengladbach, the AUNDE Group comprises the brands AUNDE (textile + leather) and Isringhausen (seats and technical springs), with a total of 87 plants in 26 countries. The company has been active in Turkey for almost 25 years.

In addition to his work as an international businessman, Rolf A. Königs holds various honorary posts. Since April 2004, he has served as the President of the football club Borussia Mönchengladbach, which plays in the top German league. In June 2013, Mr. Königs was elected as the President of the TD-IHK. His honorary offices also include the Presidency of the Executive Board Association of the Rheinish Textile and Apparel Industry and the Association of the Employer's Federation of the Bergisch Area. He also is a on the advisory board of Düsseldorf Airport. 

Prof. Dr. Martin Kornmeier

Prof. Dr. Martin Kornmeier studied Business Administration at the University of Mannheim (Germany) and at the ESSEC (Cergy-Pontoise, France), where he earned his Dipl.-Kfm. (the German equivalent to an MBA). In 2002, Prof. Dr. Kornmeier finished his doctoral dissertation, entitled "Cultural openness towards foreign markets: Impact of psychic distance in Intercultural Marketing", and entered academia. Since 2002, Prof. Dr. Kornmeier has held a professorship in International Business at the Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg (DHBW) in Mannheim, Germany. In addition to his role as a professor, Prof. Dr. Kornmeier is also the head of the dual degree program "International Business & Management", which is a program offered in the English language as a joint venture between the DHBW and Kozminski University (Warsaw, Poland). Prof. Dr. Kornmeier is the acting director of the Institute for Management and Consumer Research, and has authored a number of publications in the field of international and intercultural marketing and management.

Lothar Kuhn

Lothar Kuhn is a journalist and the head of the Technology and Science department at WirtschaftsWoche, the German weekly business news magazine. Before entering the world of journalism, Mr. Kuhn studied biology and biochemistry in Frankfurt am Main and Witten/Herdecke. After finishing his studies, Mr. Kuhn went on to study at the Georg von Holtzbrinck-Schule für Wirtschaftsjournalisten, a professional school for economic journalists run by the Handelsblatt Publishing Group. Prior to his most recent position at WirtschaftWoche, he was the deputy editor of the Harvard Business Manager, a monthly management magazine, an editor at WirtschaftsWoche (from 1997-2001), and the chief editor of the New Scientist, a weekly science magazine.

Karl-Josef Kuhn

Karl-Josef Kuhn is a principal engineer in the Corporate Research Department at Siemens in Munich. He is responsible for research and pre-development projects for new electrical motors, power electronics, charging devices, and the new configuration for electric/electronic architectures of electric vehicles.

Mr. Kuhn is a member of the "eNOVA Strategy Board for Electric Mobility" and a member of the expert group for "Standards low-carbon transport" within the Climate Bonds initiative.

Prior to his Corporate Research-related activities at Siemens, he was responsible at Continental and Siemens VDO for the electrification of power trains.

Before joining the automotive area Mr. Kuhn held several positions within Siemens worldwide. During these assignments, he managed a Siemens affiliate company, established railroad business in China, managed the development and sales of hybrid circuits for automotive applications, and was active in software research for network-, database-, and operating-systems.

He joined Siemens in 1984 after receiving a Diploma in Computer Science and Business Administration from the University of Darmstadt.

Cem Kural

Cem Kural graduated from Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey) Electrical & Electronics Engineering Department and started to work in R&D in the Turkish electronics industry in 1992. He continued his education at the same university and completed his M.Sc. thesis on the antenna theory program in 1995. Mr. Kural started his career as an R&D engineer at Testaş Inc. He started to work as an R&D Engineer at Arcelik A.Ş. in 1995 and worked in different positions. He became the Team Leader of Testing Technology in 1999. Between 2004-2007 he was the Electronics and Control Technology Manager and between 2007-2009 the Design Director at Grundig Elektronik HW. From 2009-2011, Mr. Kural was the R&D director at Arҫelik Electronic Business, and from 2011-2012 he served as the Head of R&D for the Electronic Plant Design Group. Mr. Kural has served as the Director of R&D at Arҫelik A.Ş. since July 2012.

Cem Kural received his B.S. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 1992 from the Middle East Technical University and his Master's degree from the same department and university.

Recep Kurt

Recep Kurt was born in 1971 in the city of Bursa, Turkey. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1991 from the Uludağ University, which is located in Bursa, and his Master's degree about passive noise cancellation systems in automobiles. He just recently completed his doctoral thesis about composite materials and simulation techniques at the same department and university.

He started his career as an FEA engineer at Figes Ltd. in 1992. He started to work as an FEA engineer at COŞKUNÖZ A.Ş. in 1996 and specialized in sheet metal forming simulations. He has worked at Martur A.Ş. since 1998, holding positions such as a Design Department Chief and a Project Department Manager. He has been the Director of the R&D Center at the same company for the past five years.

He is married and has three children.

Dr. Mehmet Alper Kutay

Dr. Mehmet Alper Kutay is the acting vice president of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK), where he is responsible for the Technology and  Innovation Funding Program Directorate and International Cooperation Department. He received his BSc., MSc. and Ph.D. degrees all in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University, in Turkey in 1993, 1995, and 1999, respectively. Between March 1999 and July 2000, Dr. Kutay worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Communications and Signal Processing Laboratory at Drexel University in the USA.

He has been with TÜBITAK since 2000. Before being  appointed as the vice president in August 2013, he previously worked as the director of the Advanced Technologies Research Institute, a project leader, and a systems engineer. He has been the technical leader of numerous research and development projects. He has published 25 refereed journal articles and 3 book chapters, and is the co-author of "The Fractional Fourier Transform" (Wiley 2001). His publications have received more than 1300 citations. His research interests include signal detection, parameter estimation, radar signal processing, and time-frequency analysis.

Dr. Roland Lentz

Dr. Lentz has been the director of the department of Innovation and Environment at the Darmstadt Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CCI) Rhein Main Neckar since 2000. Along with the department staff, he is responsible for counseling the 70,000 member companies of the CCI in new technologies, patents, environmental, and energy matters. He is also responsible for devoloping cooperations and technology transfer between academia and companies organizing the regional innovation networks IT-For-Work.de and Automatisierungsregion.de

Dr. Lentz is a speaker for the Consortium of the ten Hessian Chambers of Industry and Commerce (Arbeitsgemeinschaft hessischer Industrie- und Handelskammern, ARGE CCIs) on matters of school and university education. The CCIs are managing numerous projects for internships, the technical orientation of children, dual career studies, and the improvement of career orientation in schools.

Dr. Lentz completed his Ph.D. in ecotoxicology and biology at the University of Mainz in 1988. He then joined Procter & Gamble as the head professional responsible for paper products in Europe and giving advice on environmental matters. Dr. Lentz has worked on various projects as an environmental counselor and project manager  in international cooperation projects in South America. He held a professorship in environmental management at the University of Applied Sciences, Wedel from 1994-1998.

Savaş M. Özaydemir

Savaş M. Özaydemir is currently the board member of BEBKA Regional Development Agency, Technology Development Foundation of Turkey and KOBİ Venture Capital Investment Trust Inc. Co.  and has worked to establish the first clusters of Eskisehir province in ceramics, aviation and rail systems sectors. Mr. Özaydemir started his own business in 1974 and continues to conduct business as the president of Endel Group, which operates in the clay products industry. The company Kılıçoğlu acts as a sector leader and has been offering services for the last 80 years. Kılıçoğlu also operates in the white goods component industry, one of the largest groups in its sector. There are approximately 1600 employees working in Endel Group's Eskişehir, Ankara, Gebze and Manisa plants.

Savaş M. Özaydemir was born in 1943 in Eskişehir, Turkey and finished Eskişehir College in 1962. He also studied abroad in the US between 1960 and 1961 with the AFS exchange program. Mr. Özaydemir began his higher education at Robert College and graduated from the Istanbul Technical University, in the electrical engineering department. He also worked as an engineer and chief engineer at the Ereğli Iron-Steel Factory and Petkim Aliağa Refinery in Turkey.

Mr. Özaydemir was elected as an assemblyman of the Eskişehir Chamber of Industry in 1980. He won a seat as a member of the Chamber Board in 1984 and currently continues his duty as a board member and president. Mr. Özaydemir is also the Chairman of the Eskişehir Organized Industrial Zone and helps manage the Eskisehir Chamber of Industry's partner companies which are Eskişehir Industrial Energy Auto production and Trade Group, Eskişehir Informatics and Communication Industry and Trade Co., ESART Waste Water Treatment Plant, Anadolu Technology Research Park Inc. and Eskişehir European Union Business Development Center.

Mr. Özaydemir was born in 1943 in Eskişehir, Turkey. He is married and a father of two.

Ümit Özdurmus

Ümit Özdurmus has been the acting Global Head of SAP's Security Practice since 2011. Prior to this position, he studied Economics Engineering and Information Technologies at the Fachhochschule für Technik in Mannheim, Germany. Before the transition to his current position, Mr. Özdurmus gained experience  working in several positions and departments at SAP in Walldorf, Germany. Beginning in the marketing department, Mr. Özdurmus also worked in the internal consulting, documentation, and training support for sales/presales activities departments. Additionally, Mr. Özdurmus founded a company, Securintegration, in 2008 with the help of a partner, and he was posted as an SAP trusted partner in Istanbul to bring compliance and security innovation to the Turkish market. Mr. Özdurmus enjoyed a close working relationship with TÜBITAK and other locally relevant organizations. After re-merging and re-naming his company Secude Tukey Ltd., the company was acquired by SAP and Mr. Özdurmus was offered his current position. Mr. Özdurmus has more than 20 years of experience in the IT industry in various positions and worldwide activities. His passion for IT Security and compliance can be witnessed through his participation in many subject related events and presentations, as well as customer activities.

Prof. Dr. Şener Oktik

Prof. Dr. Şener Oktik  is currently the president of the research and technological development department (Chief Technology Officer, CTO) of  the world's 10th largest glass producers, Şişecam, and the chairman  of  the "Turkish Solar Energy Industry Association, GENSED". He is a senior experimental applied physicist with academic/industrial research in technological development and teaching expertise in the growth and characterization of crystalline and amorphous bulk materials, as well as thin and thick film semiconductor materials and their applications  in the field of  the photovoltaic value chain.  

Prof. Dr. Oktik graduated in 1976 and received M.Eng. in "Applied Physics" in 1977 from the University of Ankara (Turkey). He was awarded a Ph.D. in "Applied Physics" in 1982 from the Department of Applied Physics and Electronics at Durham University (UK) and became an associate professor in 1986 and a full professor in 1995.  Professor Oktik worked as a lecturer, research scientist, and top executive at a number of universities, such as Durham University (UK), Lecce University (Italy), Stuttgart University (Germany), Selcuk and Mugla University (Turkey) and  as a senior research scientist, chief technologist and top executive at companies such as Imperial Chemical Industries PLC ("ICI")  and BP Solar (UK), Industrial Research Labs of Durham University (UK), Anel Group (Turkey), Arıkanlı Holding (Turkey) and Şişecam Group (Turkey).

Prof. Dr. Oktik served as the "Rector"  (2002 – 2010) and  as a "Vice Rector" (1998-2002) at Mugla University (Turkey). He was an advisory board member for the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey  between 2003-2005 and  a  member  of the "Turkish Delegation" in  the accession process of Turkey to European Union representing  the Council of Higher Education  to negotiate Chapter 25 (Research and Technology) and Chapter 26 (Education and Culture).

Prof. Dr. Oktik is an active member of the following professional and non-governmental organizations/committees: International Commission for Glass, European Society for Glass, EU Photovoltaic Technology Platform, EU Physical Society "Energy Working Group", Ex-Co Member of IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme,  Turkish Solar Energy Industry Association, Turkish Clean Energy Foundation, Turkish National Innovation Group, Euro Solar, Institute of Physics, and the Turkish Society of Physics.

Prof. Dr. Oktik has published over 100 scientific and technical publications and is the inventor/co-inventor of two world patents in the photovoltaic field. His work on renewable energy was awarded by Euro Solar in 2009 and by ICCI in 2011. He was also awarded by the Turkish Physical Society for his contribution to physics education in Turkey in 2011.

Prof. Oktik was born on March 23, 1955 in Uçhisar Nevşehir. He is married and has two children.

Olaf Ripken

Olaf Ripken is Scientific Officer in the EU-Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (PT-DLR). As the German National Contact Point for "International Cooperation", "Spreading excellence and widening participation", and "Future and Emerging Technologies", Olaf Ripken provides guidance, practical information, and assistance on participation in Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation from 2014 to 2020. Moreover, he is involved in the "Incontact" EU FP7 project promoting the international dimension of Horizon 2020. Olaf Ripken is a political scientist by training with degrees from the University of Cologne and the College of Europe in Bruges.

Michael Schneider

Michael Schneider, born in 1964, graduated in Economics and Education from University of Mainz. He has many years of professional experience in international businesses and sets his focus on the management of foreign affiliates and on M&A-Projects. In 2009 Mr. Schneider joined the HAHN Automation Group as the CFO and a Member of the Management Board. In this position, he is responsible for the financial support and management of affiliates in Europe, North America, and Asia in a fast growing environment. HAHN Automation offers solutions for process automation and robotics worldwide and with a focus on automotive suppliers and manufacturers.

Prof. Dr. Volker Schulz

Prof. Dr. Volker Schulz is currently a professor at the Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg Mannheim (DHBW) and Vice Dean of the Technology Faculty. Prof. Dr. Schulz began his academic career in 1991 at Heidelberg University, where he studied physics. He completed his graduate studies in 1999, with a degree from the FUL Arlon (Belgium) and the Technical University of Karlsruhe in Environmental Sciences. Prof. Dr. Schulz earned his doctorate in 2003 from the Institute for Environmental Physics at the University of Heidelberg. He then went on to work as a project manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Technology and Industrial Mathematics in Kaiserslautern from 2003-2008, and from 2008-2009 he worked as a project engineer at APL Automobil Prüftechnik Landau GmbH before becoming a professor at DHBW Mannheim.

Frank Stührenberg

Frank Stührenberg, born in 1963, studied economics with a focus on commercial information technology at the University of Paderborn, Germany. Frank Stührenberg has been working at Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG since 1992. The company is a worldwide manufacturer of components, systems and solutions in the area of electrical engineering, electronics and automation with more than 12,300 employees worldwide.

Frank Stührenberg started his career at Nixdorf Computer AG in 1989. Three years later, in 1992, he joined Phoenix Contact as the assistant to the Management for Sales, Marketing and Development. Afterwards he became Director of the International Key Account Management and later Director of National Sales. As Executive Vice President, Frank Stührenberg is in charge of Global Sales. He is responsible for all sales divisions of Phoenix Contact including 50 subsidiaries.

Frank Stührenberg is Member of the Foreign Trade Committees of the Federation of German Industry (BDI) and the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI e. V.) as well as Steering Committee Member of ZVEI. He furthermore is a member of the plenary assembly of the Chamber of Industry & Commerce Lippe - Detmold. 

Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Horst Stöcker

Horst Stöcker , who was born on December 16, 1952 in Frankfurt, Germany is a theoretical physicist. Prof. Dr. Stöcker studied physics at the J.W. Goethe-Universität at Frankfurt am Main, where he got his Dr. phil.nat. in 1979. He went on to GSI and - as a DAAD - postdoctoral fellow - to LBL, UC Berkeley.

Stöcker joined the faculty of physics and astronomy at Michigan State University and the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, NSCL, in 1982. In 1985, Stöcker moved on to a professorship for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics at Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität in Frankfurt am Main, where Stöcker has held the Judah M. Eisenberg- endowed Chair since 2000. From 2000-2003 and from 2006-2007, Stöcker was elected vice president at Goethe Universität, Frankfurt, for science, mathematics, computer science, IT & HPC, and the medical school. Prof. Dr. Stöcker is Senior Fellow and member of the executive board at the international interdisciplinary Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) - a private scientific foundation, Frankfurt am Main.

Horst Stöcker is the scientific chairman and CEO (director general) at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, and was elected Vice-President of Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren for "Struktur der Materie", and reelected in 2010.

Prof. Dr. Ender Suvacı

Ender Suvacı is a Professor of Materials Science and Coordinator of R&D and Innovation Coordination Centre (ARINKOM-TTO) at Anadolu University in Turkey. Dr. Suvaci received his B.S. degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU) in 1993. He completed his M.Sc. and Ph.D. studies in Materials Science at the Pennsylvania State University in 1996 and 1999, respectively. Dr. Suvaci received the XEROX (best Ph.D. thesis in materais science) Award in 1999. Having worked at the Particulate Materials Center as a postdoctoral researcher, he started to work in Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Anadolu University in 2001. Due to his outstanding research activities, he received METU Prof. Dr. Mustafa Parlar Education and Research Foundation Technology Incentive and Anadolu University Science and Technology Incentive Awards in 2002. Dr. Suvacı performed his research activities at Darmstadt University of Technology (TUD) for 18 months as an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow. After he returned from Germany, he became the Technical Coordinator at the Ceramic Research Center, which is a joint venture between Anadolu University and 19 Turkish ceramic companies, located on Anadolu University campus. Dr. Suvacı received the TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council) Incentive and the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) Outstanding Young Investigator Awards in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Dr. Suvaci is a co-founder of a spin-off company, called ENTEKNO Materials, which focuses on the development and production of greener, safer and novel advanced materials for sustainable growth.

His industry oriented research activities attracted attention and hence, he and his research team won the Elginkan Foundation-Technology Award in 2009. He also received the Junior Chamber International (JCI)-Turkey Ten Outstanding Young People Award in the area of Scientific Leadership in 2010 and the Eskişehir Young Entrepreneurs Assembly 2011 High Technology Young Entrepreneur Award. He was the Vice-Rector responsible for Research and International Affairs between 2011 and 2014 at Anadolu University. Under his leadership, Anadolu University received the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) Label in 2011. Dr. Suvacı also played a key role in the establishment of formal bodies such as the Anadolu University R&D and Innovation Coordination Center and ANATEK Technology Transfer, Inc., both of which serve to enhance university-industry collaboration. Dr. Suvacı holds one U.S. and three Turkish national patents. He has been an Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Ceramic Society since 2005. He has over 75 scientific publications including papers and book sections. 

Sultan Tepe

Sultan Tepe was born in 1966 in the city of Niğde, Turkey. She graduated from Çamlıca Girls High School in 1984 and received a degree from the Middle East Technical University's Electrical Engineering School in 1990. Mrs. Tepe entered the business world in 1990, and in 1995 she became president of Tepar Tekstil Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. She continues to hold this position today. Tepar is a textile company that provides innovative, global textile solutions and unique branded yarns for customers at every level of the supply chain. Their yarns can be found in many products, including apparel, hosiery, automotive, industrial applications, and home and contract furnishings.

Additionally, Mrs. Tepe has been a member of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry since 2013. She is also a board member member of the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association, a member of the TOBB Women Entrepreneurs Club, a member of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, and a member of the Fenerbahçe Sports Club Congress.

Sultan Tepe is married and has two children.

Iffet Türken

İffet Türken graduated from Boğaziçi University Faculty in Political Science and International Relations in 1993. She joined TIRSAN Group in 1996, where she is currently acting as an Executive Board Member in the field of Business Development. İffet Türken was appointed to the Executive Board of Kässbohrer Fahrzeugwerk GmbH in 2010, and holds this position to this day.

İffet Türken speaks fluent German and English. She is also the Vice President of TAID (Heavy Commercial Vehicles Association) in Turkey.

Şinasi Beliğ Ünlüer

Belig Ünlüer, born in 1961, studied Metallurgical Engineering at TH Aachen, Germany. Belig Ünlüer has always worked for family-owned companies.

In 1999 Belig Ünlüer and his brother founded Derun Ünlüer Nedex Kimya San.ve Tic.AS. in Turkey. Today Nedex Kimya is the leading company among 14 Group Companies in 6 countries with more than 1,000 employees worldwide.

Nedex produces chemicals exclusively for the IG glass industry. Nedex is the biggest producer of molecular sieves and is the second biggest sealant producer of the world. Nedex is the only one company on the world that produces all IG-Unit-Chemicals in its own facilities.

Dr. Müh. Mustafa Uysal

Mustafa Uysal graduated from Uludağ University in 1992 with a degree in engineering. He established a technology company, Tekno Tasarim, in 1997, which generates new products and solutions in the fields of automotive, defense, and energy, and Mr. Uysal is still the general manager of this firm today. Mr. Uysal presented his Ph.D. dissertation concerning mechanical engineering in 2003, and shortly thereafter became a board member at the Turkish Chamber of Mechanical Engineers Association, a post which he held from 2004-2006. Mr. Uysal was also a member of the board at Bursa Gaz, a city gas operator, and a member of the EU R&D Commission from 2006-2009. Mr. Uysal currently holds a position on the board at ULUTEK Technology Park, where he advises on water, environmental, and energy issues at Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Major, and is the acting president of the Energy Efficiency Organization. Alongside those roles, Mr. Uysal is also the vice president of the R&D commission at TOBB-Investment Conditions Development Coordination and the director of the environment commission at BTSO.

In 1989, Mustafa Uysal founded TOSYÖV, which is an organization that aims to promote Turkish development and society through its support of SMEs and its promotion of the private sector and free market economy in Turkey. Realizing that SMEs are vital to the Turkish economy, TOSYÖV provides its member with training programs and seminars that better prepare them to enter the global market and allow them to compete at the international level. The team at TOSYÖV supports the relationship between universities and SMEs, and organizes events to encourage the participation of potential players in the international arena. TOSYÖV views the Turkish-German partnership in a favorable light, and believes that a sustained relationship between the two countries can be mutually beneficial, especially for Turkish SMEs in need of technological innovation and the German companies that can provide technological answers.

Fatih Yülek

Fatih Yülek, is the Director of TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye) TEYDEB, and works in the department responsible for funding R&D projects for the private sector. During his tenure, radical improvement changes were made at most of the running support programs, in addition to introducing 4 completely new programs to the funding mechanism. The main themes of these changes were supporting technological entrepreneurship, supplying more funding to the Small Businesses, and providing a better environment for university-industry collaboration.

Mr. Yülek has substantial managerial and entrepreneurial experience of 22 years. During these years he established...

• Birnet (1996), one of the first Internet Service Provider companies in Turkey,
• Fides(1994), one of the key players in Automation and Security Systems Integrator,
• Polar Engineering (1999), a software and hardware design company based in a Technopolis (campus dedicated to R&D).

Mr. Yülek has a BSEE degree from the the Electronics Engineering Department of Bilkent University and an MSc degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Middle East Technical University. He has also taken courses in Purdue and Yale Universities in the USA.

Fatih is an active member of various professional and industrial associations and foundations.

Research Centres, he is Spokesperson for the Cross-Program Activity on Electromobility and for the Program Nuclear Waste Disposal and Safety. Joachim Knebel has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, he holds a Prof. h.c. from Saint Petersburg State University (SPbSU). He has authored or co-authored 160+ scientific publications and has given over 110 invited lectures at conferences, public hearings, and specialist meetings world-wide.

In 2011, Joachim Knebel was awarded the European Science Culture Award of the European Foundation for Culture PRO EUROPA for merits in Partitioning & Transmutation Research. 

Emre Yurttagül

Emre Yurttagül graduated from the Middle East Technical University – Environmental Engineering Department in 2007 and gained a MSc. Degree in Industrial Engineering in 2010 from the same university.

He started his career as a project engineer in an engineering consultancy company. After having this experience, he joined the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) as a Scientific Programmes Assistant Expert in 2008. He worked as an assistant national contact point for environment and space thematic areas and the Research for the Benefit of SMEs Programme under the EU 7^th Framework Programme. He became a Scientific Programmes Expert at the beginning of 2011. At the moment, he is responsible for the EUREKA & Eurostars Programme and he works as the EUREKA National Project Coordinator for Turkey. In addition, he works as a National Contact Point for SMEs and Access to Risk Finance in Horizon 2020 Programme. His responsibilities are:

• Facilitating project generation
• Consulting companies for their new project ideas
• Informing companies about the rules and procedures for R&D programmes
• Representing Turkey in EUREKA and European Commission meetings

Mr. Yurttagül also deals with the venture capital system in Turkey. He prepared a report on the implementation of a venture capital model for the solution of financial problems encountered in research & development projects of companies located in science parks.

He can speak English (fluently) and German (elementary). He is married and has one daughter.