MFK
Mehmet Fatih Kacır
Türkiye
Minister of Industry and Technology
Description
Mehmet Fatih KACIR was born in 1984 in Istanbul. He completed his secondary and high school education at İstanbul Erkek High School. He was ranked 12th in the country in the 2003 University Entrance Examination. Mr. KACIR received his bachelor's degree with honors in Industrial Engineering from Boğaziçi University in 2008. During his studies, he was a student representative and a pioneer in interdisciplinary research and project management courses. After graduation, Mr KACIR decided to become an entrepreneur and took innovative steps by developing various useful models and industrial designs in the companies he founded and managed.
In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, Mr. KACIR has also played an active role in non-governmental organizations. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Türkiye Technology Team (T3) Foundation, of which he was a founder, until 2018, and was one of the pioneers of the DENEYAP technology workshops, the Future Technology Stars program for children with special abilities, the Science Center and Enterprise Center programs, and TEKNOFEST, the world's largest aerospace and technology festival. Mr KACIR was appointed as a member of the TUBITAK Science Board in 2018. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of ASELSAN between 2019-2023.
Mr. KACIR was appointed as Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology on 31 July 2018 by presidential decree. He oversaw the National Technology Initiative and the strategic transformation policies of the Ministry, coordinating the work of the General Directorate of National Technology, the General Directorate of Strategic Research and Efficiency, TUBITAK, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, the Turkish Academy of Sciences and the Turkish Space Agency.
In his position as Deputy Minister, Mr. KACIR served as the Chairman of the Board of TEKNOFEST, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the DENEYAP Türkiye project implemented in 81 provinces, Chairman of the Technology-Oriented Industry Move Programme Committee, which is the R&D and investment incentive program for high-tech products and innovative technologies, Chairman of the Research Infrastructure Monitoring and Competence Evaluation Committee, and Chairman of the National Technology Entrepreneurship Council. Mr. KACIR, who pioneered the establishment of the Turkish Open Source Platform and 42 Software Schools, a new generation education model, worked on the creation and implementation of the technology roadmap of Turkey's automotive company, Togg.
Mr. KACIR led the work on the 2023 Industry and Technology Strategy, the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the National Space Programme, the National Technology Entrepreneurship Strategy, Mobility Technologies, and the Smart Life and Health Technologies Roadmap. He led the implementation of the action plans under the strategies and the restructuring of the Ministry.
Mr KACIR is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cansağlığı Foundation and the Turkish Technology Team Foundation. Fluent in English and German, Mr KACIR is married with two children.
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