ISTANBUL PROTEIN RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION CENTER (PROMER)
PROMER’s objective is to establish an R&D and innovation infrastructure focused on the research, development, and production of domestically sourced microbial enzymes and proteins, particularly for industrial use.
According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute, the budget allocated for enzyme imports is increasing every year. At this point, to contribute to the national economy, there is a need to produce enzymes used in industry at a center to be established in our country and to build the necessary enzyme production infrastructure. It is also planned that the establishment of this center will help prevent many of the challenges currently faced in this field in Turkey.
If a center for the production of microbial-derived enzymes is established in Istanbul, the goal is to keep the budget allocated for enzyme imports within the country. In this context, the Istanbul Protein Research, Development, and Innovation Center (PROMER)—established with the support of the Istanbul Development Agency and approved by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK)—is expected to serve as a pioneering center in the Istanbul region and throughout the country, supporting university-industry collaboration in the field of protein and enzyme research, providing research infrastructure, and contributing to the development of innovative products.
In this context:
- Building the institutional and technical capacity to increase R&D and innovation activities in businesses,
- In the primary food sector, where we are almost entirely dependent on imports for enzymes, promoting domestic enzyme production, exploring new sources for production, and utilizing enzymes and additives as Establishing the infrastructure necessary to analyze proteins used as additives, develop new technologies, and train qualified personnel in this field,
- Supporting research into new microbial sources and studies aimed at identifying enzymes of industrial value,
- Establishing shared-use facilities and/or university-industry collaboration mechanisms to support the transfer of knowledge and technology,
- Creating a shared platform where students, academics, industry professionals, and entrepreneurs can come together through an incubator center,
- Enabling student groups and faculty members with projects to develop their initiatives, utilize the infrastructure of the center’s laboratories, and facilitating connections between suitable projects and investors and industrial organizations,
- Ensuring that innovative applications in urban services are developed and implemented to improve the quality of life in our country,
- Raising awareness in the industry through scientific activities and facilitating connections between students and the industry,
- Contributing to the transfer of developed knowledge, technology, and products to the industry and their commercialization.
- Areas of Activity:
- Organizing orientation and training seminars for headquarters staff,
- Conducting training programs at the PROMER laboratory,
- Identifying industry challenges through meetings with industry representatives and developing strategies for solutions,
- Greating a platform through meetings with academics that will contribute to the sector and serve as a gathering point for students interested in the subject,
- Bringing together academics and industry representatives through meetings,
- Training qualified personnel for the industry through educational programs and workshops,
- Bringing together industry representatives and academics to track innovations in industrial enzymes and protein molecules,
- Monitoring scientific and technological advancements in the field of industrial enzymes and proteins and sharing these developments with academic and industry stakeholders,
- Publishing the results of research conducted in the center’s laboratory as articles; evaluating suitable research results from an intellectual property perspective; and managing the utility model and patent application processes.
