Karabük University Rail Systems Club organized a conference titled "OSTİM: The Fortress of National Industry and the Rail Transportation Sector in Turkey." Held at the Faculty of Engineering, the event brought together OSTİM Chairman Orhan Aydın and engineering students. Aydın spoke to the students about the importance of domestic and national production.
“You have no chance of being free without building engines!”
Giving information about the work in OSTİM, Aydın said, “We absolutely believe that there can be no development without production. To develop the country, we need to be engaged in knowledge-based production.”
Orhan Aydın explained that in OSTİM, they are working towards domestic and national production through clusters formed in the sectors of construction and industrial machinery, medical, defense and aerospace, energy, rail systems, rubber, and communication technologies. Highlighting the importance of design, President Aydın shared the following data: “90% of the population consists of workers. 9% are producers, and 1% are designers. But those with design capabilities, those who design, receive 70% of the income. Producers receive 20%, and those working in production receive 10% of the income.”
Underlining the necessity of domestic and national production, Aydın continued: “There is no way out unless you can do it yourself. This is the same for trains, turbines, power plants, and iron and steel. We cannot get rid of the colonial mindset without producing it ourselves. Teachers who educate, students who learn, engineers – we all have a duty. We will do this. As long as we don't do this, there is no freedom.”
"Without building an engine, it's impossible to be free in this region. If you can't build an engine for your tank, you have no chance of being free in this region! How did those who did it manage it? Don't we read the same thermodynamics textbook? Don't we read the same strength of materials textbook? Why can't we do it? We can. Students, professors, industry, the government, administrators, politicians—we will all come together. We will make an effort."
“We Need to Focus”
Stating that Turkish engineers are no different from other engineers in the world and mentioning successful projects in rail systems in our country, Orhan Aydın said, “They don’t have six fingers. They don’t have three eyes. Our engineers are more talented than other engineers in the world. We can do it. The whole point is that we need to believe in it. We need to focus. We did this in rail systems. Kayseri, Bursa, Kocaeli, Samsun were built domestically. The tram-bus in Malatya was built domestically. Istanbul and hopefully all of the future ones will be built domestically.”
Aydın, explaining that OSTİM has developed collaborations with many universities and emphasizing their readiness to cooperate with Karabük University, stated, “We also value our students. If you need us; we will do our best regarding internships and job placement. We are ready to help you as much as our capabilities allow. We are ready to cooperate with you. Having a rail systems department is of particular value to us.”
“ARUS will make its mark on the market”
Dr. İlhami Pektaş, Coordinator of the Anatolian Rail Transportation Systems Cluster (ARUS), gave information about the current state of rail systems in the world and in Turkey, and the establishment stages of the cluster, in his presentation titled "The Rail Transportation Sector in Turkey".
Pektaş, noting that the rail system market is growing every year, said, “The global rail system market volume was 176 billion Euros between 2017-2019 and 185 billion Euros between 2019-2021. The need for rail systems is constantly increasing, and your business opportunities are also constantly increasing.”
İlhami Pektaş, highlighting ARUS's contributions to the increase in domestic and national production in rail systems since its establishment, stated, "We now have national brands in rail systems that we didn't have in the automotive sector. This will increase even further. ARUS and its members will leave their mark on the 100 billion Euro market in the 2023 and 2035 targets."
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