TürkTraktör, the first manufacturing organization in Türkiye’s automotive sector and a company within the Koç Group, brought together more than 300 young women with the Woman in Technology Association (Wtech) in Van as part of the “Miracles of Sprouts, Technology and Innovation” Education Program. The education program took place on May 11-12, 2023, at the Van Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and inspired young women to step into the world of science and technology through inspiring speeches and perspectives training sessions provided by the Woman in Technology Association.
With the motto, “TürkTraktör Prepares for the Future,” TürkTraktör aims to prepare agriculture and urban life for a better future, transforming them with its products and services while developing impactful projects through its social benefit initiatives to transform the society itself. “Supporting gender equality” holds an important place among these efforts. In 2016, TürkTraktör launched the “Miracles of Sprouts” project in collaboration with various institutions and platforms to support women and their entrepreneurial efforts, to increase their number in the workforce, and draw attention to the significant role of women in sustainable development processes in Türkiye.
Following the project that focuses on three different areas (education, employment, and agricultural production) TürkTraktör opened a new chapter in March 2022 by committing to support gender equality in technology and innovation and empower women in these fields and initiated the “Miracles of Sprouts, Technology and Innovation” Project.
“Miracles of Sprouts, Technology and Innovation” aims to reach 30,000 individuals within 5 years, to promote gender equality, and to empower women by focusing on technology and innovation. The project prepares young women, who are STEM students at different universities, for the future through Technical Training, Mentoring-Coaching, and Hackathon Programs, supporting their holistic and multidimensional growth. The Mentoring-Coaching Program offers personalized experiences, including tailored mentoring, reverse mentoring, individual, and team coaching. The Hackathon Program allows participants to consolidate their learning through simulation experiences.
TürkTraktör works towards increasing the ratio of female employees and female students undertaking internships in STEM fields by up to 50%. In line with these goals, they joined forces with the Woman in Technology Association and took a solid step towards increasing diversity in the science and technology sector for a stronger Türkiye.
The objective of the partnership between the two organizations is to improve the technological literacy of 4,000 female university students and develop their vision and knowledge about emerging technologies. Physical training programs were conducted in Gaziantep and Adana, while online training took place in January. Despite the earthquake disaster, which took place in February, the training programs continued in March reaching a total of 1,383 individuals, 788 of which are female students.
The opening speeches of the education program, which took place in Van on 11-12 May 2023, was delivered by the President of Van Chamber of Trade and Commerce Necdet Takva, the Founding President of the Woman in Technology Association Zehra Öney and TürkTraktör Learning and Talent Management Product Owner Zeynep Gamze Erdem. TürkTraktör and Woman in Technology Association reached more than 1,000 female students after the event that took place in Van on 11-12 May 2023, which hosted more than 300 female students. The event recognized the achievements of students who participated in all the sessions by awarding them smart digital certificates. During the two-day training, which has started with an opening speech from the Founding President of the Woman in Technology Association Zehra Öney, the students received 1.5-2 hour sessions on various topics, such as Game Software, Technology Entrepreneurship and Industry 4.0, Metaverse and Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, E-commerce, NFT, Blockchain, and Digital Wallets. Participants also developed their understanding of modern technologies used in these areas and took the first step towards specializing in these fields. Moving forward, the Woman in Technology Association will continue its efforts to increase the labor force participation of 100-150 of these female students in various positions related to science and technology.
