Ankara University
Ankara University TEKMER — From idea to the future.
The building TEKMER works in, the six-step journey, the TRL scale and the people in the ecosystem — all on this page.
A scene of a valley: the idea and research bank on the left, the revenue and growth bank on the right. Four blocks build a bridge across it, and a point of light crosses to the other side.
About us
Who runs F Block?
F Block is the building where Ankara University TEKMER works. What the centre is, why it was founded and how it differs from a Teknokent are set out on its own page.
Under one roof
- KnowledgeAcademic expertise and research
- MentoringExperienced guides
- InfrastructureLaboratories, offices, workshops
- CollaborationAcademia, industry, the public sector
Why we exist
Ideas don't die for lack of merit — they die because they are left alone
In the literature, the gap between research and the market is called the “valley of death”.
What the valley is
The critical period from the birth of an idea until the company starts to generate revenue. Costs rise, and there is no regular income yet.
Why is it so hard to cross?
Investors expect a proven business model that is ready to scale. Early-stage technology cannot meet that condition yet.
F Block works right in this valley.
SourceTÜBİTAK, presentation on commercialising R&D results; literature on the venture financing cycle.
Why F Block
Four things that set us apart
The university's strength
We are inside a university. Research infrastructure, faculty expertise and technology transfer are on the same campus, one door away.
A multi-sector approach
We are not limited to a single vertical. Every team building technology, from artificial intelligence to health, from energy to agri-food, goes through the same journey; the sectors feed one another.
Ecosystem access
The person a venture needs is usually inside another institution. From here, reaching them is a matter of an introduction, not an appointment.
Measurable progress
Thanks to the four blocks and the TRL bands, where a venture stands is not up for debate. Industry, the public sector and investors speak the same language.
Journey
Ideas become real, block by block
Each block is the ground for the next; moving on happens against defined exit criteria.
Click a block
Idea & Pre-incubation
Name the need, dig into the problem, shape your solution.
Training, mentorship, advisory support and business-model work bring the idea to maturity.
- Problem and user definition
- Literature and market scan
- Training, mentorship and a first team
A venture receives support according to the block it is in. Progress rests on defined criteria, not on gut feeling. The way out of the fourth block is not a door but a turn: a venture that scales comes back to the ecosystem to pass its experience on to the founders who come next.
Measurement
A shared language for progress: TRL
Technology Readiness Level is the international standard for measuring how mature a technology is, from idea to usable product.
- TRL 1–3·AcademiaTRL 1: Basic principles observed
- TRL 2: Technology concept formulated
- TRL 3: Proof of concept established
- TRL 4–6·Support and SMEsTRL 4: Validated in the laboratory
- TRL 5: Validated in a relevant environment
- TRL 6: Tested in a near-real environment
- TRL 7–9·Private sectorTRL 7: Prototype in a real environment
- TRL 8: Production readiness complete
- TRL 9: Operational use in the market
At the early levels academia is the dominant actor; at the middle levels, support mechanisms and SMEs; at the high levels, the private sector. F Block brings all three together under one roof.
Idea Kitchen
An idea's journey in seven links
An idea does not mature on its own; it matures as it comes into contact with the right people.
An idea is born
A question, a need. Still raw, but it points to a real problem.
It is discovered
The idea becomes visible and goes through a first assessment.
It is developed
Assumptions are tested and the scope narrows. The idea becomes a proposed solution.
It grows through collaboration
Collaboration is built with stakeholders in academia, industry and the public sector; the solution takes shape around the field.
It becomes a venture
The team, the company and the business model take shape. The idea is now a venture.
It reaches the market
The product reaches its first customer; pricing, sales and growth channels are set up.
It creates value
The venture creates jobs and technology. The value it creates flows back into the kitchen.
Who it is for
Who is at F Block?
Entrepreneurs
Anyone with a technology-based idea who has built a team or is about to.
Academics
Faculty members and researchers who want to turn their research into a product.
Students
Those who want to start their entrepreneurial journey while still at university.
Technology start-ups
Established companies in their growth stage looking for support and a network.
R&D-driven businesses
Organisations that want to increase their R&D capacity through university collaboration.
Spaces
Work, learn and meet under one roof.
Co-working spaces
Meeting rooms
Training spaces
Conference and event spaces
Computer laboratories
Workshop spaces
Protocol and reception areas
Photographs of the spaces are on their way; navy blocks hold their place for now.
From Research to Innovation
A Strong Bond with ANKARAİM
The Ankara University Research and Innovation Centre (ANKARAİM) is one of the structures that keeps TEKMER firmly tied to the research, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Through it, research processes, project development, intellectual property, entrepreneurship and commercialisation are handled as one whole, each step completing the next.
Affiliated structures
- Technology Transfer Office (TTO)
- Project Support Office
- Research Deanship
- Artificial Intelligence Institute
- Scientific Research Projects (BAP)
Research creates.
TEKMER transforms.
The founder grows it.
The ecosystem scales it.
Ecosystem
An idea creates value when it meets the right people.
Select a stakeholder to see their role in the ecosystem.
The university
Ankara University's academic knowledge is the ground the centre stands on. The university's laboratory network and research infrastructure are open directly to ventures.
Ventures
F Block ventures.
Teams working at different steps of the journey at F Block.
Our ventures will be here soon.
The showcase is built from the records of the ventures at TEKMER. Once the first record is published, every venture will appear in this band with its founding year, sector, short introduction and contact details. We put up no stand-in company name and no filler card.
Success stories are published with the ventures' consent and verified data.See how we tell them
Academia
Take your research out of the laboratory.
Five ways in for academics, researchers and students.
Academic founder
Turn your invention into a company. Incorporation, equity structure and teaching-load planning run together with the Technology Transfer Office, and you join the full programme cohort.
Research partnership
Open your laboratory to a joint project. Ventures access the university's research infrastructure directly; the aim is for results to feed into joint publications and patents.
Student teams
Undergraduate and postgraduate teams test their ideas in pre-incubation. Thesis topics are tied to real-world needs, and you can provide technical guidance to the teams.
Intellectual property and technology transfer
Invention disclosure, patent filing, national and international protection and licensing agreements run on one line with the Technology Transfer Office. Protectability is assessed from day one.
Matching with industry problems
Match with the problem briefs opened by companies that fit your field. The research question and the R&D question get defined at the same table.
Industry
Bring your R&D need together with agile teams.
Five forms of collaboration for companies. Each starts small and grows from what works.
Corporate collaboration and problem definition
Bring your critical technology need to the centre. The confidentiality framework and the sharing of intellectual property are written down on day one, and the problem brief is tied to a traceable record.
Externalising R&D
Hand risky early-stage experiments to agile teams and assess only the validated output. Your own team's agenda stays intact.
Pilot projects
The most productive form of collaboration: small in scale, measurable and low-risk for both sides. Tests are designed around your acceptance criteria.
Technology transfer and licensing
License the output of university research, or enter joint development. The university's share and the transfer of technology are defined in a single framework.
Venture–company matching
Get direct access to qualified, university-backed ventures and shorten the search for suppliers. Solutions that mature flow into your supply chain.
Apply
Share your idea with us.
A five-step process; the first step takes ten minutes.