• At our university, application and research centers operate under the Rectorate, and their number is 31. The country’s first joint Application and Research Center, the Gazi University, Ankara University, and Middle East Technical University Neuroscience and Neurotechnology Excellence Joint Application and Research Center, established in cooperation with Ankara University and Middle East Technical University, is not included in this number because the coordinating institution is Gazi University. You can access the list of our centers and their websites [here].

• To establish Application and Research Centers at universities, the Higher Education Council (YÖK) requires certain documents and forms, which can be accessed [here in Turkish]. In addition to completing the headings and attached documents, a draft regulation must be prepared. Once the documents are complete, our university’s proposal is first submitted to the Senate, and if the Senate approves the establishment of the center, it is forwarded to YÖK. After YÖK approves, the Center Regulation is sent to the Presidency for publication in the Official Gazette.

• For detailed information on movable asset registration procedures to be carried out throughout the year at Application and Research Centers, click [here in Turkish].

• You can also access the booklet we prepared to introduce our Application and Research Centers in 2016, when we celebrated the 60th anniversary of our university, [here in Turkish]

The Investment Program is announced and enacted each year no later than 15 days after the enactment of the central government budget law. Information such as the location, characteristics, start and end dates, project funding, and project type of the projects approved to implement the policies and priorities in the Development Plan, Medium-Term Program, and Presidential Annual Program is publicly announced in the Investment Program.

Preparations for our university’s investment project proposals are coordinated by the Strategy Department, and budget proposals are prepared according to sub-sectors. The Research Coordination Office is responsible for the “Technological Research” part of our university’s budget proposal. After the publication of the Investment Program, expenditures are carried out through the BAP Coordination Office.

New Project Proposals

New Technological Research Projects are submitted through the Research Coordination Office in response to calls issued at the topics and times specified by the Strategy and Budget Presidency (SBB). However, in rare cases where the project is considered a priority, new project proposals may also be submitted directly to SBB.

Ongoing Project Budget Proposals

For each ongoing project in the technological research sector, the “Ongoing Technological Research Sector Projects Information Form” in Appendix 8 of the “Investment Program Preparation Guide for the ……… Period” is completed. This form is shared every year with the project coordinators of the projects included in the Investment Program and the Research Coordination Office according to the calendar set by the Strategy and Budget Presidency—usually at the beginning of June—and its completion is requested. The form, filled according to actual needs, is submitted to SBB and serves as the basis for budget meetings held at SBB.

You can access the technological research projects supported at our university for 2025 [here in Turkish]. 

The Researcher Training Program for the Defense Industry (SAYP) is an SSB-supported researcher training program initiated by METU. Its aim is to structure ongoing or planned graduate thesis studies conducted by students (“Researchers”) enrolled in graduate programs at METU—whether they are employed at companies operating in the defense industry or not—as guided projects aligned with the medium- and long-term research and development strategies of the companies and in priority areas determined by the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB).

To this end, METU and the SSB have signed memoranda of understanding with ASELSAN, TUSAŞ (TAI), ROKETSAN, HAVELSAN, FNSS, MilSOFT, and NUROL. To date, within the program, which has been expanded by SSB to multiple defense industry companies and universities, a total of 35 projects have been carried out at our university.

The Laboratory and Research Infrastructure Information System (LABS) is an inventory system established by the Ministry of Industry and Technology. It records general information, as well as details about tests, equipment, samples, and personnel, for laboratories, centers, and research infrastructures that provide testing, calibration, and research services needed by industry. Within higher education and public institutions, advanced research laboratories, thematic research laboratories, central research laboratories, and other institutional laboratories—equipped with trained personnel and modern machinery, equipment, hardware, and software for R&D activities—are included in the system. Currently, 52 laboratories from our university are registered in the system. LABS can be accessed at (in Turkish) https://labs.sanayi.gov.tr/.

Laboratories at our university that are solely for educational purposes, do not have research infrastructure characteristics, lack the capacity to conduct R&D activities, or cannot collaborate with industry are not included in the system.

Keeping the LABS portal up to date and entering data by the end of April each year is the responsibility of the laboratory managers. For adding or removing a laboratory, or in cases of changes in the laboratory or data entry responsible person, please contact the relevant authorities.