TEKNOFEST 2026 competitions launch with drone and AI contests

TEKNOFEST 2026 competitions are underway, featuring several high-tech contests across Turkey. In Şırnak, the first stage of the TEKNOFEST Drone Championship was held, attracting 32 licensed athletes from 11 provinces. Selçuk Bayraktar, Chairman of the T3 Foundation, attended the event, noting that Şırnak ranked among the top 10 provinces in Turkey for technology competition applications, with approximately 18,000 young people applying and 22 semi-finalist teams emerging from the region.

In Istanbul, the final stage of the ‘5G and AI for Smart Road Safety Competition,’ organized by Turkcell and T3 Foundation, concluded at ITU Ayazağa Campus. The competition involved 745 teams from 11 countries, including Azerbaijan and Northern Cyprus. Finalists tested their solutions using Togg vehicles, utilizing 5G and artificial intelligence to detect driver errors and traffic hazards. Key winners included Polaris and Eureka from Çukurova University, and the Mimik team from Karadeniz Technical University.

Other specialized competitions include the AI-Supported Airline Optimization contest, where 10 teams are competing to improve network connectivity and operational efficiency, and various university-led projects. Notably, Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University (BEUN) successfully advanced three teams to the finals, covering fields such as AI in medicine and autonomous vehicle technology.