Teknofest Istanbul opens doors for enthusiasts

Turkey's largest aerospace and technology event Teknofest kicked off in Istanbul on Tuesday.

The six-day festival, jointly organised by the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3) and Industry and Technology Ministry, is being held at Istanbul Ataturk Airport. 

"This event widens Turkish youth's horizon and sets new goals for them," Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said, addressing the opening ceremony.

Young people would design cutting edge planes, smart cities and spacecraft in the future, he said.

Selcuk Bayraktar, the chairman of T3, said Turkey saw several developments in many areas and Teknofest Istanbul is the place to show them.

This year, 50,000 competitors from 122 countries will join contests in 19 fields during the event, he said.

Teknofest Istanbul

The festival will host aviation exhibitions, seminars, workshops, drone championship, contests and concerts.

The contests will include for competitions for robotics, engine design as well as electric cars.

Turkey's defence company Aselsan, Turkish Aerospace Industries, unmanned aerial vehicle producer Baykar, diesel engine producer Erinmotor, defence firm STM and others are participating in the event. Rockets, aerial vehicles, inventions, and UAVs are being showcased at the event.

The first edition of the festival, hosted by Istanbul Airport, was visited by around 550,000 people in 2018.

This year, it is expected to attract one million people.

Anadolu Agency is the global communications partner for the festival which will run through September 22.