Istanbul Medipol University School of Engineering and Natural Sciences held the ‘6G Conference’, which is the continuation of the 6G Workshops organized since 2017. The 6th generation wireless communication technology studies and Türkiye’s vision in this field were discussed at the conference, where high-level participants from the public, universities, and industry took part. Seven different panels were organized in the event, and 60 expert speakers participated. Held at the South Campus Conference Hall, the opening speeches of the conference were delivered by Prof. Haluk Görgün, Secretary of Turkish Defence Industries, Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez, Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology, Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Prof. Ömer Ceran, President of Istanbul Medipol University, and Prof. Hüseyin Arslan, Dean of Istanbul Medipol University School of Engineering and Natural Sciences.

PROF. ARSLAN: WHO CONTROLS THE DATA CONTROLS THE WORLD
Prof. Hüseyin Arslan, Dean of the School of Engineering and Natural Sciences at Istanbul Medipol University, who is leading the team preparing Türkiye for 6G technology, said: “Our biggest goal is to develop the technology in Türkiye by creating an ecosystem with technology companies. If Türkiye engages in both R&D and P&D activities for 6G, we can gain an important place in the world. Especially the domestic and national development of this technology is very important in terms of security, development, and competition. Information and communication technologies have left their mark on all sectors. Everything now generates data and information, and this information flows from one point to another. With 6G, this process will accelerate even more. Therefore, whoever controls data controls people, nations, and the world. We do not have a goal to control the world, but at least we need to secure ourselves. The most critical area of this technology is the defense industry. Without them, this technology cannot develop.”

PRESIDENT CERAN: 6G IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR SUSTAINABILITY
In his opening speech, Prof. Ömer Ceran, President of Istanbul Medipol University, said: “6G is more than just a technological innovation, it represents a major development that will radically change social structures, economic dynamics, and even human life. With this next generation communication technology, not only devices but also interactions between people, cities, and even civilizations will be faster, more secure, and more comprehensive. 6G technology will offer great opportunities, especially in terms of sustainability. Less energy consumption, more efficient data transmission, and the development of environmentally friendly technologies are critical for the future of the world. As Istanbul Medipol University, we are excited to be a part of this great innovative development, and we continue to pioneer in this field with our scientific research and projects and to support our scientists as a university.”

DEPUTY MINISTER DR. DÖNMEZ: 6G IS FASTER, DENSER, AND MORE PENETRATING
Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez, Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology, said: “6G technology means faster, denser, and more penetrating data. As the ministry, we already foresee that these issues will change the manufacturing industry or other industries on a very large scale with many innovative technologies. We can say that this situation will provide a great cyclical increase in machine learning in creating big data, using it by passing through many filters, pulling it from the source quickly, and establishing the continuity of newly learned information as data. I would like to add that this kind of learning will super-accelerate many decision-making and application analytics-based sub-technologies supported by the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, and will increase market success and competitiveness in all areas by realizing the success rate based on years of trial-and-error experience in all sectors in a much shorter term.”

DEPUTY MINISTER DR. SAYAN: WE CONTINUE OUR WORK FOR 6G
Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, said: “Rapidly advancing technology is changing and transforming many areas of our lives every day. With digitized living spaces, the importance and impact of digital ecosystems, where people, devices and businesses interact in a seamlessly connected way, is growing every day. Today, ubiquitous connectivity has become almost as fundamental to society as water and electricity. People-oriented technologies, which we always emphasize, will be at the heart of technology in 6G. It is also seen that 6G has ameliorative goals in terms of energy efficiency, environment, and climate. In 6G communication technology, Li-Fi technology, that is, communication technology with visible light with high-energy LED, is planned to be used instead of Wi-Fi. Many countries have launched projects, programs, and partnerships to shape the framework and main business focus of the not yet standardized 6G technology. We continue our work with our relevant stakeholders on 5G and beyond technologies.”

SECRETARY OF TURKISH DEFENCE INDUSTRIES PROF. GÖRGÜN: 6G IS THE CRITICAL KEY TO NATIONAL SECURITY
Prof. Haluk Görgün, Secretary of Turkish Defence Industries, said: “Türkiye’s efforts in 4G and 5G technologies provide great economic, technological, and security gains for our country. In the future, the development of 6G technologies with national capabilities and the integration of non-terrestrial networks into this process will increase Türkiye’s technological independence and strengthen its global competitiveness. These technologies will play a critical role in achieving our country’s strategic goals by offering significant benefits in terms of public security and military communications. 6G technologies are not only a communication infrastructure, but also the most critical key to national security and economic development. Our country having a say in these technologies will enable it to be one of the countries that shape the world of the future. The ability of our defense industry to keep pace with this technological transformation—and to lead it when necessary—will further increase the deterrence power and regional influence of our defense industry. 6G is not just a faster network, it will be the foundation of a new world. It will have a transformative impact across trade, defense, health and society. This future will be possible by bringing together the best ideas and efforts across industry, government, and academia.

The list, prepared by Stanford University and published by the Netherlands-based publishing company Elsevier, was made by evaluating the career performance of scientists around the world. Using the SCOPUS database, more than 220,000 scientists were included in the list, based on criteria, such as the scientific productivity and quality of the work of approximately 7 million scientists. The lists, compiled by Prof. John P. A. Ioannidis and his team in 22 departments and 174 sub-disciplines, were organized into two categories: “Career-Long Impact” and “Annual Impact (2023 only)”.

9 ACADEMICIANS IN THE CAREER-LONG IMPACT CATEGORY
9 academicians from Istanbul Medipol University were among the “World’s Most Influential Scientists” in the “Career-Long Impact” ranking by entering the 2 percentile. Medipol academicians in this category are Prof. Zekai Şen, Prof. Jean de la Rosette, Prof. Hüseyin Arslan, Prof. Pilar Laguna, Prof. Reda Alhajj, Prof. Fatma Jülide Akbuğa, Prof. Bahadır Kürşat Güntürk, Prof. Hasan Dinçer, and Prof. Serhat Yüksel.

7 ACADEMICIANS IN THE ANNUAL IMPACT CATEGORY
In the “Annual Impact” category, Prof. Zekai Şen, Prof. Hasan Dinçer, Prof. Serhat Yüksel, Prof. Jean de la Rosette, Prof. Hüseyin Arslan, and Prof. Pilar Laguna, who are also in the “Career-Long Impact” category, and Research Assistant Saad Hassan, who worked with Prof. Pilar Laguna at our university during the period when the lists were prepared, were included.

PRESIDENT CERAN: THIS SUCCESS IS A REFLECTION OF INTENSE EFFORTS
Prof. Ömer Ceran, President of Istanbul Medipol University, made the following statement about the achievement of academicians: “It is a tremendous source of pride and motivation for us that the name of our university is included in every scientific ranking. We see that the momentum we have gained in world rankings is a reflection of our intense efforts. The fact that 9 valuable academicians from our university are included in the ‘World’s Most Influential Scientists List’ is an important indicator of our research, quality and success-oriented approach. These achievements are not only individual, but also a manifestation of the vision of our university and the strength of our scientific ecosystem. I congratulate our academicians for their success and share their happiness.”

EVALUATED USING INTERNATIONAL CRITERIA
While compiling the list of the “World’s Most Influential Scientists” published in the Elsevier Database, the studies produced by scientists throughout their careers were taken into account. In the list, the following international criteria were used: “the number of qualified publications, the impact value of the journals in which the articles are published, the number of citations, h-index, hm-index, number of patents, the number of first-name and sole-authored articles, the number of cited articles, and the impact value of the journals in which the cited articles are published”.