KIZILTEPE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

UNIVERSITIES AND INSTITUTIONS IN MARDIN ADDRESS DEVELOPMENT ON A REGIONAL DIMENSION

Mardin Artuklu University Public, Private and Mixed Sector Cooperation Coordinatorship (MAÜKÖK) held a meeting with advisory board with wide participation with some leading sector representatives of the city. The meeting, which was held with the aim of determining a strategy for regional development and investigating cooperation opportunities, was held at the central campus hosted by Mardin Artuklu University (MAU).

MAU Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Ömer Bozkurt, MAÜKÖK Coordinator Assoc. Dr. Mehmet Behzat Ekinci, MAÜKÖK Assistant Coordinator Lecturer. Ferhat Demiralp, Faculty member Dr. Veysi Acıbuca, Faculty member Dr. Ömer Doru, Faculty member Dr. Şeyhmus Aykol, Board Vice Presidents Lecturer Dr.Fazıl Emek, Lecturer Dr. İlyas Bayar; DIKA Secretary General Dr. Ahmet Alanli; Abdul Nasır Duyan, Deputy Chairman of the OIZ Board of Directors, Remzi Fırtına, Deputy Director; Kızıltepe Commodity Exchange Chairman of the Board Mehmet Şahin, Deputy Secretary General Metin Sert; Kızıltepe Chamber of Commerce and Industry (by Proxy), Kenan Özçelik, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Mardin Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Nusaybin Commodity Exchange Chairman of the Board Necdet Aktaş, Parliament Speaker Abdülhakim Aytimur, Secretary General Abdullah Dal; Nusaybin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (by proxy); Mehmet Şerif Öter, President of Kızıltepe Grain Farmers Association; Faysal Sun, President of Bulgur Producers Association; MUSIAD Mardin Branch President Mehmet İleri; Hatip Çelik, Head of ASKON Mardin Branch; Özgür Azad Gürgör, President of Mardin Tourism and Hoteliers Association.

After the general introduction, two presentations were made at the MAÜKÖK Advisory Board meeting:

Introduction of the MAÜKÖK formation in the context of the Regional Development Oriented University Model.

Project presentation for e-commerce module development.

At the meeting, discussions were held on the strategies to be followed in the new period. In addition, ideas were exchanged on potential corporate collaborations to increase the degree of success in this process.

Some of the agenda items of the meeting were as follows:

• Product diversity in the agricultural sector, promotion of high value-added products, effective production methods, branding in production, product planning,
• Focusing on the industrial sector, increasing the number of OIZs, branding in products, effective marketing of products, sectoral preferences for the region, giving importance to the textile sector, branding in the textile sector.
• Revisiting the service sector in a comprehensive manner, new approaches to the tourism sector as a service sub-sector, activity diversification, promotional activities.
• Sectoral institution collaborations, integration of corporate activities.

Some of the decisions taken at the meeting are as follows:

1. There is a need for product diversity in the agricultural sector. It is beneficial to switch from traditional products to high value-added products. For this purpose, for example, peanut, Siirt Pistachio, Derik Olive, maralfalfa, lavender, sumac etc. products can be promoted.
2. Efficient production methods are not applied in agriculture. There is a need for awareness raising studies in this regard.
3. Institutional cooperation should be made for lobbying activities regarding delayed GAP irrigation channels.
4. It is necessary to switch to branding in agricultural production. Thus, higher income will be obtained and this will contribute to increasing the production capacity.
5. Agricultural product planning is needed in order to provide supply-demand balance in agriculture and to increase income opportunities. In this context, a guidance system for the products of farmers should be established through cooperation between institutions.
6. Since the industrial sector plays an important role in regional development, investment-employment activities should be focused on.In this context, there is a need to establish new OIZs. Particular attention can be paid to specialized OIZs.
7. Branding in industrial products is of great importance. Projects on branding should be developed and in this context, a systematic approach should be exhibited through institutional cooperation.
8. There is a need for effective marketing of industrial products. For this purpose, especially projects related to foreign commercial marketing should be given priority.
9. ectoral preferences for the region should be made in the industry. For this purpose, for example, the textile industry is important for Mardin. In this context, the original design and production phase should be started from the contract manufacturing phase currently being carried out. In this process, branding in textile is also important.
10. There is a need for new approaches to the tourism sector. In this context, touristic activities should be diversified in Mardin. For this purpose, systematic promotional activities should be carried out in tourism.
11. Institutional activities should be integrated for success and effectiveness in sectoral institution collaborations in Mardin.

MAÜKÖK, which focuses on its interim goals and within the scope of its main goal of increasing the level of added value to its city and region by turning Mardin Artuklu University into an institution, will continue to hold similar meetings in a wider scope.