The “Neurotechnology, Data Science and Clinical Applications Bilateral Cooperation Workshop,” organized to strengthen academic and scientific collaboration between Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and Atlas University, was held at the Süleyman Demirel Cultural Center.
The workshop, which brought together academics, researchers, and technology development experts from the two universities, explored collaboration opportunities in areas that will shape the future of healthcare technologies, such as neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, data science, medical imaging, drug development, and clinical applications.
The workshop was organized to concretize the joint work objectives that were previously discussed during a visit by the ITU Rectorate to Atlas University.
Prof. Dr. Ali Sınağ emphasized the importance of collaboration.
Speaking at the opening of the program, Atlas University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Ali Sınağ and ITU Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Lütfiye Durak drew attention to the importance of academic collaborations between the two institutions and emphasized that joint projects to be developed in the field of health technologies would create high added value.
Esin Ateş Güvel from the ITU Projects Office informed the participants about joint research projects and funding mechanisms that can be carried out between universities.
Joint Research and International Projects are Targeted
The workshop aimed to bring together Atlas University's capacity for clinical research, neuroscience, brain research, and data production and application in the field of health with ITU's expertise in engineering, hardware development, artificial intelligence, computational modeling, and medical technology in collaborative projects.
The following topics were covered in the workshop:
- Identifying common research topics,
- Establishment of inter-university working groups,
- Agreement was reached on the establishment of joint consortia for national and international funding programs.
Neurotechnology, Neuromodulation, and Clinical Applications were discussed.
Scientific sessions were held as part of the workshop. In the first scientific session, titled “Neurotechnology, Neuromodulation and Clinical Applications,” Prof. Dr. Yasin Temel, Rector's Advisor at Atlas University, Member of the International Board, and Head of the Department of Neurosurgery at Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+), presented on “The Future of Neuromodulation and Neurotechnology”; and Prof. Dr. Neslihan Serap Şengör, a faculty member at Istanbul Technical University, presented on “Computational Neuroscience.”
Following the presentations, a focus group introductory session was held with the participation of academics from both universities to evaluate areas of collaboration.
Organoid Applications and Drug Design Studies Session
In the second session, Atlas Research Center (ARC) Director Prof. Dr. Süleyman Ergün shared current research with his presentation titled “Organoid Applications,” and the Deputy Director of the Informatics Institute, Prof. Dr. Fethiye Aylin Sungur, presented on “Drug Design Studies.”
In group discussions held after the main session, opportunities for collaboration in organoid technologies, drug development processes, and clinical research were discussed.
Data Science and Visualization Studies Were Evaluated
Data science and imaging technologies were also discussed in the afternoon session of the workshop.
Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Kılıçaslan from Atlas University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences gave a presentation titled “Artificial Intelligence and Visual Data,” and Prof. Dr. Özgür Özdemir, Deputy Dean of Research at Istanbul Technical University, gave a presentation titled “Medical Imaging Techniques.”
In the focus group meetings held after the presentations, potential collaborative projects in the fields of AI-powered healthcare applications, big data analytics, and medical imaging were evaluated.
A roadmap was created through round table meetings.
The workshop concluded with round table discussions held at the end of the day. The sessions assessed a roadmap for establishing sustainable collaboration mechanisms among universities in line with the identified priority research areas, strengthening the interdisciplinary research culture, and accelerating national and international project development processes.
Participants agreed that the workshop was an important starting point for developing long-term scientific partnerships between the two universities.
