Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKÜ) brought entrepreneurs together through the “Ideathon: idea workshop” organized by the Google Developer Student Clubs (DSC) student community in preparation for the Google Solution Challenge 2021 competition.
The opening ceremony of the ideathon — held within the scope of the “Sustainable Development Goals,” a set of 17 objectives that the United Nations aims to achieve by 2030 and to which Turkey is among the committed countries — was carried out online via Zoom video conferencing. The event began with the participation of the Dean of the HKÜ Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Dr. Hanifi Çanakçı, and Res. Asst. Hatice Meltem Nergiz Şirin of the HKÜ Faculty of Engineering, Department of Software Engineering, who serves as the academic advisor of DSC. The opening speeches were delivered by DSC student community president Derya Bel and Google Developer Relations Coordinator Merve İşler. Sharing information about the Google Solution Challenge 2021, Merve İşler launched the ideathon by announcing as themes the three topics most frequently selected by participants on the application form, which featured the 17 items of the Sustainable Development Goals.
FROM IDEA TO PRODUCT: THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS
At the ideathon, where the teams generated ideas with great energy, the entrepreneurs were also provided with mentor support. During the event, which featured mini presentations, Marketing Communications Engineer Alper Güleryüz shared insights with entrepreneurs seeking to turn their ideas into products through a workshop titled “From Idea to Product: The Transformation Process,” held via DSC’s YouTube channel. At the end of the first day, the teams’ motivation was boosted with the “Kahoot game” — a game-based learning platform used as an educational technology — organized to reinforce the training sessions and workshops.
SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS WERE AWARDED
At the ideathon, which continued over Discord — a voice and text communication program developed for video game players — 24 teams comprising 81 people generated ideas around the themes of “Quality Education; Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; and Sustainable Cities and Communities.”
At the ideathon, which was judged by HKÜ faculty members Dr. Bülent Haznedar, Prof. Dr. Atilla Elçi, Dr. Damlasu Temizel, Dr. Eda Dineri, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nildem Tayşi of Gaziantep University, and Dr. Ali Şenol of Gaziantep University of Islamic Sciences and Technology, the entrepreneurs, working in groups, presented their new ideas and projects to the jury. The winning teams — evaluated according to the criteria of problem solving, market acceptance and size, financial model, presentations and modeling, and originality — were announced by Prof. Dr. Atilla Elçi, faculty member of the HKÜ Faculty of Engineering, Department of Software Engineering.
At the ideathon, which brought together entrepreneurs from different cities and universities, the FoFuture team won first place, the Synth team second place, and the Forever team third place. In the event, which lasted two days with its rich content, the Delos, Serathon, and Pandemic teams received honorable mentions.
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