Publication Date: October 22, 2025

The opening meeting of the “HEI2MARKET: Transforming Education into Innovation” project, supported by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe EIT HEI Program with a total budget of €1.34 million, was held on October 16–17 at Marmara University’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Campus.

Prof. Dr. Ahu Altınkut Uncuoğlu from Marmara University's Faculty of Engineering serves as the Turkish lead partner, while Asst. Prof. Dr. Sema Gündüz is participating in the project team as a researcher. The opening meeting began with a welcome speech from Prof. Dr. Uncuoğlu and a presentation introducing Marmara University. Dr Gündüz then shared Marmara University’s experiences from previous projects with the participants.

The project, in which Marmara University participates as the Turkey lead partner and is implemented in partnership with five universities from six different countries and two private sector organizations, aims to transform higher education institutions into centers of innovation and entrepreneurship. Within this framework, entrepreneurship-focused curricula will be developed, technology transfer processes strengthened, and the emergence of innovative ventures encouraged.