Istanbul:Trkiye's innovation ecosystem has seen substantial growth, supported by state initiatives, as the number of active research and development (R&D) centers reaches 1,365 and design centers total 348 by the end of September.

According to Anadolu Agency – English, the Turkish Industry and Technology Ministry data indicates that R&D hubs employ nearly 94,000 workers across the nation. This workforce is highly educated, including approximately 57,700 employees with bachelor's degrees, over 18,500 with master's degrees, and more than 2,100 with doctorates or higher.

Trkiye's R&D workforce has completed over 80,400 projects, with nearly 16,000 projects still in progress. The innovation hubs have produced almost 49,000 patents, of which over 17,500 have been registered, while around 31,300 are awaiting examination results.

The R&D network covers various sectors, including energy, agriculture, healthcare, transportation, logistics, and aviation. The machinery and equipment manufacturing sector leads with 160 centers, followed by the auto supply industry with 136 and the software sector with 128. Other significant contributors include computer and communications technologies with 86 centers, chemicals with 82 hubs, textiles and electrical sectors with 77 facilities each, food and the defense industry (excluding weapons and ammunition) with 65 each, and the general manufacturing industry with 43 centers.

Istanbul has the highest concentration of R&D hubs with 428 centers, followed by Ankara with 168, Kocaeli with 137, Bursa with 134, Izmir with 105, Tekirdag with 54, Manisa with 34, Konya with 26, Sakarya with 25, and Antalya with 21.

In addition, Trkiye's 348 design centers employ 8,481 workers, including 5,540 with bachelor's degrees, 820 with master's degrees, and 50 with doctorates or higher. These design centers, focused on industrial and structural sectors, are led by the textile industry with 54 centers, followed by engineering and architecture with 51, general manufacturing with 45, and machinery and equipment manufacturing with 43.

The design ecosystem also features 23 centers for the auto supply industry, 17 for media and communications, 15 for the furniture sector, 12 each for construction and auto manufacturing, and eight for the defense sector. Istanbul hosts the majority of design centers with 154, followed by Ankara with 39, Bursa with 31, Izmir with 28, and Kocaeli and Tekirdag with 15 each.