Designing the Future Together

The fourth edition of the program brought together young talents around real industry challenges with a strong focus on sustainability and innovation, evolving into a meaningful journey centered on learning, interaction, and impact. 

Within LetsInnomind’25, 180 students from 27 academic disciplines, 35 universities, and 14 cities participated in the program. The journey began with 38 teams, continued with 30 teams advancing to the semi-finals following jury evaluations, and culminated with 7 finalist teams presenting their projects in person on Final Day, held on November 28 at Organik Kimya’s Kemerburgaz Social Facilities.

Throughout the program, students worked on challenges covering sustainability across product, process, and strategy dimensions, addressing topics such as circular economy, resource efficiency, digitalization, social impact, and occupational health and safety. During this journey, they received regular feedback from Organik Kimya professionals and joined LetsTalks sessions moderated by Dr. Zeynep Erden Bayazıt, where perspectives from academia, startups, and industry on sustainability, entrepreneurship, advanced materials, and digital transformation were shared.

The Final Day combined project presentations with interactive activities, creating an inspiring and collaborative atmosphere. Finalist projects were evaluated by a jury composed of Organik Kimya professionals based on criteria including clarity of purpose and solution, positive impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and/or SHEQ, originality, feasibility and applicability, team structure, and presentation quality.

At the end of the Final Day, projects that successfully combined sustainability and innovation within a strong technical framework stood out.

• Team 8 – Regenius was awarded first place for its bio-based barrier coating project, offering a compelling solution in the fields of advanced materials and sustainable product design.
• Team 30 – PentaLab earned second place with its digitally supported “breathing walls” project, which effectively brought together digitalization and sustainable building solutions.

In addition to cash prizes, the winning teams were offered internship opportunities at Organik Kimya, as well as—within the scope of the first-place award—a job shadowing experience with C-level executives. This demonstrated that the value LetsInnomind offers to young talents extends beyond awards, reflecting a long-term development journey grounded in real-world business exposure.