With the support of Üsküdar University Health, Culture and Sports Department (SKS), the 'Zirvedekiler’25' event was organized by the IEEE Üsküdar University Student Branch Club. At the program hosted by Üsküdar University in cooperation with ÜNİDES, affiliated with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, different aspects of artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship were discussed. The roles of artificial intelligence in health, technology, and entrepreneurship were also discussed.
The event, held at Üsküdar University Central Campus Nermin Tarhan Conference Hall, was attended by Üsküdar University International Student Relations Manager Lecturer Dr. Gülcan Ayral, Menat Bayer Information Technologies Director Ali Pala, Pharmaceutical Sector Specific Areas Consultant Çiğdem Şahinbaş Yılmaz, Digital Content Creator Yusuf İpek, Turkish Technology Chief Data Scientist Nevcihan Toraman, Softtech Senior Engineering Manager Mehmet Taşan, Doğuş Teknoloji Data Scientist Gamze Nur Öztürk, Genetikçe Founder Ece Aydın, and Buse Berber Örçen, one of the founders of Nanomik Biotechnology.
Lecturer Dr. Gülcan Ayral: “A project starts with a dream…”
Üsküdar University International Student Relations Manager Lecturer Dr. Gülcan Ayral, stating that artificial intelligence has various decision-making mechanisms, said; “Today, artificial intelligence learns, makes decisions, and even makes predictions. It is used as a decision-making mechanism in many sectors. We even hear about it in politics. Besides, artificial intelligence has subsystems such as machine learning and a data-generating learning structure with systems similar to the human brain.”
Ali Pala: “It is predicted that it can detect at least twice as many health problems”
The event first started with the “Rational Vision” session. Information Technologies Director Ali Pala, touching upon the connection between artificial intelligence and wearable technologies, said; “Where does the connection between artificial intelligence and wearable technologies actually come from? There is a large amount of data generated here. In fact, there is diagnostic or monitoring data. You can see how regular your heart rate is, how regular your blood pressure is, or how regular your sugar measurements are. In the very near future, this will turn into incredibly large data. Gardner has a recent study. It predicts that by 2028, advanced wearable technologies will actually be able to detect at least twice as many health problems as doctors can detect without using technology or with their own knowledge.”
Later, the panel titled “Towards Tomorrow with Artificial Intelligence” was held. Turkish Technology Chief Data Scientist Nevcihan Toroman, Softtech Senior Engineering Manager Mehmet Taşan, and Doğuş Teknoloji Data Scientist Gamze Nur Öztürk participated as speakers in the panel.
Nevcihan Toroman: “Artificial intelligence becomes a tool for you”
Turkish Technology Chief Data Scientist Nevcihan Toroman emphasized the importance of imagination in projects. Toraman said; “A project already starts with a dream. You have an idea; you need to contribute to an existing system. When you think about what benefits you can gain from this, you produce things with your imagination. And here, with the technology you have, artificial intelligence becomes a tool for you.”
Mehmet Taşan: “Everything starts with imagination”
Softtech Senior Engineering Manager Mehmet Taşan, speaking about the sustainability of artificial intelligence projects fueled by imagination, said; “I believe everything starts with imagination. It starts with creativity. The better we can imagine and be creative, the more beautiful projects we can achieve that will benefit customers, users, or humanity.”
Gamze Nur Öztürk: “Projects that will benefit humanity can emerge”
Doğuş Teknoloji Data Scientist Gamze Nur Öztürk, emphasizing that society can be contributed to if daily problems are focused on, said; “If broader minds also focus on daily problems, projects that will benefit humanity, especially sustainable development goals, can emerge.”
Çiğdem Şahinbaş Yılmaz: “We need to fill the gaps”
Following the panel, Pharmaceutical Sector Specific Areas Consultant Çiğdem Şahinbaş Yılmaz took part in the “Strategy in Health” session. Yılmaz made important evaluations regarding biotechnology applications in the pharmaceutical industry; “As we learned about humans, the digestive system, genetics, and what was missing in diseases, we began to treat them with certain genetic methods aimed at replacing the deficiencies in the system we call immunotherapy. We have come to see that the chemical or scientific drug treatment methods available for thousands of diseases are no longer sufficient. In other words, medicine now truly demands very important solutions through its syntheses from plants and chemicals. We need to fill the gaps here. We have excellent microscopes, excellent analytical devices.”
After the questions were answered, a panel titled “From Science to Development” was held. Buse Berber Örçen, one of the founders of Nanomik Biotechnology, and Ece Aydın, the founder of Genetikçe, participated in the panel.
Buse Berber Örçen: “The most important thing was the lack of experience…”
Buse Berber Örçen, one of the founders of Nanomik Biotechnology, drew attention to the difficulties arising from inexperience during the establishment process. Örçen, touching upon the positive and negative outcomes of struggling with problems, said; “Lack of experience... I think that's the most important. Entrepreneurship 10 years ago was not this popular. There was no opportunity to access so many resources. This naturally allows us to learn some things by experience and to go through this process. There are advantages, but there are also disadvantages. You constantly struggle with difficulties; when you encounter something, you constantly try to find the answer yourself without asking anyone.”
Ece Aydın: “I actually did this alone”
Genetikçe founder Ece Aydın talked about her own establishment process. She also gave advice to young people currently continuing their education. Aydın said; “I was in my preparatory year. When this idea emerged, it was something I thought of directly. I had come with an extreme desire for genetics since high school. In the preparatory year, teachers were constantly having conversations like 'read, learn, don't waste your preparatory year.' But in my preparatory year, neither my English nor my biology knowledge was enough to understand that book. But I wanted to learn, and then I thought, how can I make this more understandable? Of course, there was no artificial intelligence. Nothing. You couldn't just copy and paste it there to find out what it was saying. Then such an idea came to me. I wanted something that would give me this information very clearly, very simply, very plainly, and understandably after reading it. This was my idea. I actually did this alone.”
Yusuf İpek: “Every action we take in the digital world leaves a trace”
Finally, Digital Content Creator Yusuf İpek took part in the “Digital Stage” session. İpek, drawing attention to the importance of data privacy and how every action on the internet creates a profile, said; “Whenever I talk about data privacy in any live broadcast, I see comments like 'My e-Government data has been stolen, what should I do? Or what happens if my data is leaked, or not leaked?' It is important not to speak as if this is unique to Turkey. However, in Turkey, since specific large datasets, not just e-Government data, are leaked, it appears as a larger argument. Things you talk about with your friends on your phone, your unencrypted messages, or SMS messages are used to log into your account. Or you wouldn't want everything you talk about with your friends or partner to be directly spread. So, when we say data privacy, it's not just identity numbers, addresses, etc. Everything you do on the internet corresponds to a point, a grain of sand for you. When these grains of sand are collected, they create a profile about you. Every action we take in the digital world leaves a trace.”
The program, where artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship were discussed together, concluded with plaque presentations and a group photo session.