The Thought and Project Production Academy (DUPA) operating as part of Istanbul Commerce University drew attention with its scientific contributions to the G-20 Leaders Summit held in Antalya in November 2015, and the T-20 Think-Tanks Summit. DUPA was also one of the National Advisory Counsel for T-20 preparations led by TEPAV. GROWTH-SPECIFIC APPROACH The "Growth-Friendly Tax System" report DUPA prepared to support the growth and taxation system analyses of G-20 under the rotating presidency of Turkey, received significant praise. The report drew international feedback. COOPERATION WITH THE BUSINESS WORLD DUPA was founded to achieve cooperation between the university and the business world. For this purpose, DUPA shares the accumulated expertise of Istanbul Commerce University with the business world, with a view to enhancing the competitive power of Turkish firms. ICOC's Industry Reports are now prepared within the framework of DUPA. AN INTERNATIONAL ENTITY DUPA engages in joint work with India's Institute of Research and Information System for Developing Countries, Renmin University of China, Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies from China, Chinese National Broadcaster CCTV, British National Academy of Sciences (BRITAC) and Germany's respected global center of economics, Kiel Institute for World Economy. RESEARCH ON SYRIAN REFUGEES A special project workgroup was established within the framework of DUPA, focusing on Syrian refugees, one of the items on the top of the global agenda.A research project on the participation of Syrians in Turkey, to social life and workforce, is now on track. DUPA is also a partner in a project to be carried out at the British Academy of Sciences, on the same issue. Once the project submission is accepted, DUPA will be a partner to one of the most respected scientific academies of the world.

09 Mart 2016 Çarşamba

Istanbul Chamber of Commerce will be showcasing the wide range of real estate projects of Istanbul in the Istanbul Real Estate Promotion Pavilion at MIPIM Exhibition for the attention of 23,000 industry professionals and investors. The 96 square meter "Living Istanbul Model" originally launched in last year’s event will also be back with many enhanced and new features. A giant "Living İstanbul Model" will be highlighting the opportunities offered by this great city for the attention of the 21,000 real estate professionals expected at MIPIM. The 96 m2 Living Istanbul Model will have enhanced and 3D features this year to showcase the signature historical sights as well as the real estate and infrastructure projects of Istanbul. ISTANBUL: STAR OF HOUSING Prepared by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Istanbul Real Estate Promotion Pavilion has a "Istanbul: Star of Housing" theme this year and will be on stage with its location, agenda and all day activities. Among 89 countries at MIPIM, Istanbul again is in the top 10 with the highest number of participants. ISTANBUL IS THE HEART OF TURKISH HOUSING MARKET There were 1.3 million house sales in Turkey last year, 240 thousand of which took place in Istanbul. 23 thousand of these units were sold to foreign nationals. Turkish housing market is expected to further expand in sales as a result of higher demand both domestically and internationally, with sales to foreign nationals forecast to surpass 30 thousand in 2016. Istanbul is set to receive the lion’s share in total sales as well as sales to foreign nationals. THE FOCUS OF THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY: ISTANBUL With these competencies and unique features, Istanbul is set to position itself as the real estate capital of the world. Turkey has the second most number of companies on the global top 500 contractors list. It also has a great geographical location allowing access to 56 countries with a 3-hour flight. Istanbul stands out and apart of its competitors with its 8500-year old history and cultural heritage. STOP BY FOR ACUP OF TURKISH COFFEE President Çağlar said; “We up our game at the MIPIM Event to a new and higher level every year promoting Turkey and İstanbul. Urban transformation projects undertaken by Turkish construction companies and the mega infrastructure projects of the Turkish government planned for the city of İstanbul will be presented directly and in detail to investors from 89 different countries. The Prime Ministry Housing Development Administration (TOKİ), the pioneer of planned urbanization in Turkey, will be our main supporter at the Event through its subsidiary Emlak Konut REIC. Our target is to ensure that all of the 21 thousand participants of the Event pay a visit to our Pavilion, which is even more appealing with its new and prime location this year. We look forward to seeing all our visitors at the İstanbul Pavilion to enjoy a nice cup of Turkish coffee served with the world famous Turkish hospitality.”

09 Mart 2016 Çarşamba

The third term of the OneIstanbul photo contest about the city has now came to an end. The second term of the OneIstanbul photo contest on Instagram, initiated through a cooperation by the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul, Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, and Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau, has now come to an end. The event was organized to increase the visibility of Istanbul, already a center of the world's attention due to its historical, cultural and natural assets, will only continue in subsequent terms, with new themes. JURY IS OUT The winners of the contest are named once the overwhelming submissions are completed by the deadline. The jury to assess the submissions include academic staff from universities and photography artists. The participants chosen by the jury, are then announced on the contest's official websites www.oneistanbul.city and www.howtoistanbul.com as well as on certain social media accounts, and are awarded with certain presents to commemorate the event. ISTANBUL'S FACES TO COMPETE The next theme of the OneIstanbul contest, which had hitherto underlined awareness of Istanbul will be the "Colors of Istanbul". The next term of the contest will take place in the period 1 January - 2 April, 2016, and will see Instagram users take photos depicting various faces of Istanbul. #oneistanbul, #istanbul The contest is organized around 4 distinct terms, each of which is set to take 3 months, and requires Instagram users to share photos reflecting their love for Istanbul with the hashtags #oneistanbul and #istanbul. The owners of the photos chosen in the contest will, on the other hand, get special awards.

09 Mart 2016 Çarşamba

In 2014, the excavations at the Yarımburgaz Cave revealed that the first settlements in Istanbul date a whopping 400 thousand years back, while the civilization has a history of 8,500 years at Istanbul. For thousands of years Istanbul was a scene of busy commerce, and is now a unique open-air museum with a rich history and culture. THE CAPITAL OF THREE EMPIRES Istanbul served as the capital of three of the longest-lasting and largest empires of the world, the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, and Ottoman Empire, for more than 1600 years, and is now considered the only center where more than 120 emperors and sultans ruled in due course. That is why in the centuries it served as the capital of Empires, it was also the focus of religions. ZERO-MILE MARKER FOR THE WHOLE WORLD The Milion at Sultanahmet is proof that Istanbul was the beginning of all routes worldwide, for thousands of years. A thousand years ago, the current function of Greenwich in the UK was assumed by Istanbul, with the Milion serving as the zero-mile marker. The monument was the ground zero for travelers, and specified distance to various locations worldwide. WORLD HERITAGE LIST In 1985, Istanbul was included in UNESCO World Heritage List, in 4 major sections containing various historical monuments. The first such section is the Archaeological Park which covers the Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia, Hagia Irene, Little Hagia Sophia Mosque, and Topkapı Palace. The second is the Suleymaniye Conservation Site covering the Suleymaniye Mosque and its surroundings. The third is the Zeyrek Conservation Site with Zeyrek Mosque, while the fourth is the Historical Walls Conservation Site. THE GREATEST CONVENTION CITY Istanbul is also the 8th most important convention city of the world.It ranks top of the global list in terms of conventions with a participant count of 500 or more. These certainly contributed to Istanbul being named 2010 European Capital of Culture and 2012 World Capital of Sports. THE CAPITAL OF TURKISH ECONOMY Thanks to the dynamism of its economy, its vigorous financial sector, ever-growing weight in tourism, and the rising-star real estate sector, is shooting for the stars. Istanbul; Is the heart of higher education in Turkey, with 15 universities, The capital of economy and commerce in Turkey, And is also the site of the largest and oldest indoors bazaar of the world. 2 CONTINENTS - 1 CITY A narrow straight –the Bosphorus– separates the continents of Asia and Europe, marking the site of the only city which is positioned on two continents. Istanbul is the bridge that connects Asia and Europe. It is also a center of direct flights to almost anywhere on the globe, thanks to two large airports, one on each continent.

09 Mart 2016 Çarşamba

Technopark Istanbul is built on an area of approximately 2,5 million square meters, and is on track in terms of the completion of the second stage. With the second stage expected to be completed in 2017, a further space of 81 thousand square meters will be provided to brainstorming for technology development. FOCUS ON HUMAN Technopark Istanbul is a technology development center which entered into service in 2013. The campus located right next to Sabiha Gökçen Airport currently provides an area of 62 thousand square meters to technology development activities. The center is home to nearly 100 firms engaged in R&D in fields such as Aviation and Space, Medical Sciences, Defense Industry, Energy, Maritime Technologies and High-Tech, and has active incubation centers to foster development of new ideas. The young innovators with workable ideas engage in brainstorming at the campus. Technopark Istanbul is expected to complete the second stage by the end of 2017, to more than double its current area. The second stage will reinforce its character as a giant base of technology focusing on human. Indoors and outdoors spaces will be designed accordingly. THIRD IN EUROPE Technopark Istanbul is currently home to 100 R&D firms. The center provides employment to 1500 R&D staff engaged in efforts to innovate. Furthermore, 30 entrepreneurs strive to develop new ideas in an incubation environment. Working hard to become one of the three largest technoparks of Istanbul, Technopark Istanbul plans for an investment figure of USD 2 billion. The buildings of the second stage will be completed by 2017, and will include Multi-storey Administration Building, Shared-Tenancy R&D Buildings, Incubation Center, and a Social Facility A THOUSAND FIRMS IN 15 YEARS Technopark Istanbul was built as a partnership of the Undersecretariat of Defense and Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, and serves as a base to help foreign and local entrepreneurs contribute to the technological capacity-building in Turkey. The campus is characterized as a respectable center of science and technology for local and foreign investors. Furthermore, Technopark Istanbul provides investors the fascinating reach to 56 countries at a flight distance of just 4 hours. This helps Technopark Istanbul stand out among others, and provides investors with access to an audience of 1.5 billion, representing a market of 15 trillion. The center is expected to host nearly a thousand R&D firms in 15 years. Furthermore, it aims to help provide employment to more than 30 thousand R&D staff, and contribute to a the creation of a business volume to provide 5-7 billion dollars in added value. THEY ARE BUILDING THEIR OWN CENTERS As a center where creativity is translated into products, Technopark Istanbul will also see 7 firms to build their own R&D centers in the second stage. Furthermore, 6 universities will be building their own centers of excellence at the campus. The second stage is also characterized with a design philosophy focusing excessively on living spaces. In this vein, the buildings are designed to have a nice view of the lake, and will be positioned in a permeable manner, without severing the connections between various ground levels. The site hosting hotels and convention centers, is also to be expanded with the addition of gyms and swimming pools as parts of the plans for the second stage. HOST OF THE TECHNOPARKS CONVENTION OF THE WORLD Technopark Istanbul will host, in a consortium with METU Technopark and ITU-Arı Technopark, the World Convention of International Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP) to be held in 2017. The consortium made substantial efforts in 2015 at Beijing, China, to secure the host status for the 34th event of this network in 2017. The consortium competed against a bid from Pakistan, and was named as the official host by receiving 117 votes out of a total of 172. The last iteration of the event hosting guests from nearly 70 countries of the world took place in China. 2016 will see the convention take place in Russia, to be followed by Istanbul in 2017.

09 Mart 2016 Çarşamba