Future Artificial Intelligence Projects Come to Life at Bilişim Vadisi

The final of the Turkish Natural Language Processing (NLP) Competition, organized within the scope of TEKNOFEST—the world’s largest space, aviation, and technology festival—took place at Bilişim Vadisi on August 14–15, 2025. From a total of 893 applications across 53 provinces of Türkiye, 272 teams applied, and 40 finalist teams presented their projects to the jury. The winning teams received a total prize of 600,000 TL. As Türkiye’s hub of technology and innovation, Bilişim Vadisi continues to strengthen the Turkish NLP ecosystem on a global scale in AI through this competition, which highlights both the power of the Turkish language in artificial intelligence and the role of young people in technology.

The final of the Turkish Natural Language Processing Competition, organized within TEKNOFEST—the world’s largest space, aviation, and technology festival—was held on August 14–15 at Bilişim Vadisi, Türkiye’s technology and innovation hub.

For the third time, Bilişim Vadisi hosted the Turkish Natural Language Processing Competition. In 2025, 272 teams applied: 162 in the Open Category and 110 in the Scenario Category. Of these, 40 finalist teams—20 from each category—successfully completed the process and presented their projects to the jury, not only with technical competence but also with the cultural vision behind their ideas. A total of 171 contestants presented their projects in the final, with 4-minute presentations, 1-minute demos, and 5-minute Q&A sessions. Winners in both categories shared a total of 600,000 TL in prizes.

At the opening speeches, Bilişim Vadisi CEO Erkam Tüzgen, T3 Foundation Chairwoman Elvan Kuzucu Hıdır, and Ministry of Industry and Technology’s General Director of National Technology Sadullah Uzun highlighted the role of the Turkish language in AI, the contribution of youth to technology production, and Türkiye’s global technology vision.

The Turkish NLP Competition Ensures Turkish Becomes One of the Productive and Influential Languages of the Future

Bilişim Vadisi CEO Erkam Tüzgen said in his opening remarks:
“Especially the Turkish NLP Competition is, for us, beyond a technical event—it is an effort to carry the voice, vocabulary, and world of meaning of our language into the digital age. Since 2021, this competition has functioned as a bridge that carries the memory, identity, and confidence of a nation into the future—through algorithms, datasets, and lines of code. Language is the memory of a nation. A nation that loses its memory loses not only its words but also its voice in the world. Today, AI speaks, understands, and writes… But if we cannot exist in this great transformation with our own language, we will be doomed to remain extras in the sentences of others. This competition ensures that Turkish is not only a legacy of the past but also one of the productive and influential languages of the future.”

Strengthening the Existence of Our Language in the Digital World Is a Major Responsibility for Us

T3 Foundation Chairwoman Dr. Elvan Kuzucu Hıdır emphasized the opportunities the competition offers to young entrepreneurs, saying:
“Today, language is not just a means of communication. It is also the greatest treasure of our culture, history, and intellectual world. As technology advances, strengthening the existence of our languages in the digital world and ensuring they live within AI systems is a great responsibility for us. This competition is a platform where our youth bring their creative ideas together with technology. Their projects not only contribute to the digitalization of Turkish but also reinforce our Türkiye vision in the field of artificial intelligence.”

The Technology of the Future Lies in the Hands of Youth

Sadullah Uzun, General Director of National Technology at the Ministry of Industry and Technology, emphasized the role of young people in technological production, saying:
“When we define the National Technology Initiative, we place human capital at the center. The innovative projects of our youth form the building blocks of this initiative. The Turkish NLP Competition is an important platform that supports this vision with concrete projects. The whole world is talking about developing talent with AI. We now live in a world where people who can use the instruments provided by AI can reach a much more effective position.”

This year, the competition was elevated through the technical proficiency exam carried out via the Eduvence platform and the mentorship support provided through the Mentornity system. These steps not only ensured fair competition but also strengthened the technical development journey of young participants.

As Bilişim Vadisi, we will continue to add value to the productions of youth and to strengthen the Turkish NLP ecosystem globally in the field of artificial intelligence.