Kastamonu University Shines at UDHAM 2026 National R&D Awards

Kastamonu University (KÜ) has once again consolidated its position as one of the leading hubs in the field of Research and Development (R&D) in Turkey. During the 4th university research idea competition titled "Turkey 2053: Access and Communication," organized by the Transportation, Maritime and Communications Research Center (UDHAM) under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey, the university succeeded in ranking second for the highest number of awards at the national level [1][2].

Remarkable Success in Intense Competition The competition, aimed at directing youth toward innovative activities and supporting ideas that shape the future of the transport sector, saw a wide participation of academic elites. According to official statistics, 816 students from 87 different Turkish universities competed with 575 projects across five main categories: Road, Rail, Maritime, Communication, and Aviation-Space [3]. In this context, Kastamonu University, with a total of 7 awards (including one second-place finish and 6 honorable mentions), ranked second among the top universities of this term, following Gazi University [1].

Details of Top Projects and Student Innovations Students from the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at Kastamonu University excelled in various categories. Nuran Pehlivan and Zeynep Börekçi from the Department of Computer Engineering won second place in the Rail category with their project "BLE-Based Tactile Warning System for Individuals with Dual Sensory Disabilities in Rail Systems" [1][2].

Additionally, several other projects from this university received "Honorable Mention" titles, including:
- Road Category: "Living Road 2053: Sustainable Transport Infrastructure with Self-Healing Concrete Technology" by Mehmet Sakallı.
- Aviation and Space Category: "Green Supply Chain in Aviation: SAF" by Selçuk Çelik.
- Maritime Category: "Underwater Automated Storage and Passive Cooling System" by Şükran Naz Pekcan.
- Communication Category: "Autonomous Drone Transport Network for Disaster Areas" by Reyhan Uçar and Sıla Şimşek [1].

Rector's Congratulations and Future Outlook Professor Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Topal, Rector of Kastamonu University, expressed his satisfaction with this great achievement and thanked the students and their faculty advisors. He emphasized that winning awards in all competition categories demonstrates the comprehensiveness and high quality of research education at this university [2]. Dr. Topal noted that Kastamonu University will continue its support for idea generation processes and innovative projects to play an effective role in realizing Turkey's 2053 vision [1][3]. This success comes at a time when the university has also shown significant growth in international rankings such as THE this year.