By Ugur Arslanhan and Kenan Irtak
ISTANBUL (AA) - Teknofest, Turkey’s largest aerospace, space, and technology festival, this year will take place on Sept. 17-22 at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, the event organizer said on Wednesday.
"Our goal is transform society through the work of our young people, which will propel our country to the top in the fields of high technology, aviation, and space," Selcuk Bayraktar, chairman of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3), told a press conference.
Last year, over 550,000 people attended the first-ever Teknofest at Istanbul's new airport.
Teknofest can spread the word about Turkey's progress in technology to hundreds of thousands of young people, he said.
Turkey has a long history in aviation, he added.
At this year’s festival, several competitions will be organized in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, rocket science, unmanned aerial and underwater systems, turbofan engines, and model satellite design.
Winning teams can get some 2 million Turkish liras (nearly $380,000).
Teams can enter at www.teknofestistanbul.org through the end of February.
The event is supported by Turkey's Industry and Technology Ministry, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, leading technology companies, public institutions, and universities.
*Gokhan Ergocun contributed to this story from Istanbul