GITEX Ai Türkiye to showcase Türkiye’s AI talent push in Istanbul

Türkiye will use the inaugural GITEX Ai Türkiye in Istanbul next month to highlight its plan to train 10,000 AI specialists, 100,000 application professionals and 5 million AI-literate citizens by 2028. The event will bring together global tech firms, technoparks, academia, investors and government as Türkiye tries to scale its AI economy.

Why it matters: - Türkiye is tying its AI growth strategy to a national talent pipeline, not just technology spending. - The country’s 2026–2030 AI Action Plan targets 10,000 AI specialists, 100,000 AI application professionals and five million AI-literate citizens by 2028. - The push links public-sector and industrial AI adoption to a broader multi-billion-dollar national investment strategy. - GITEX Ai Türkiye is designed to connect that talent agenda with global expertise, capital and commercial opportunities.

What happened: - The inaugural GITEX Ai Türkiye will take place 9–10 September 2026 at Istanbul Expo Centre. - The two-day event will gather global technology companies, engineering institutions, technoparks, academia, government and investors. - Organizers expect 300+ exhibiting companies and startups, 150 global speakers, 100 investors with US$100 billion in assets under management, and thousands of visitors. - The event is hosted by the Investment and Finance Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, known as Invest in Türkiye. - The Ministry of Industry and Technology is the strategic partner. - inD, the joint venture between Dubai World Trade Centre and Informa, is organizing the event and GITEX brand portfolio.

The details: - The Royal Academy of Engineering will bring an international perspective on AI talent development and responsible innovation. - Senior Programme Manager Gaëlle Elisha said AI engineers will need STEM education, practical experience and lifelong learning, along with systems thinking, ethics, security, governance and human-centred design. - The academy will support 14 engineering innovators at the event and help convene a delegation from 21 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe. - Elisha also said no single country has all the ingredients for AI scale, including research expertise, investment, talent, policy and market access. - Mobiliz General Manager Yetkin Aksoy said AI-powered mobility depends on multidisciplinary teams covering software engineering, data science, product expertise and industry knowledge. - Mobiliz develops that capability in-house through its Arborn initiative. - Aksoy said more opportunities for young talent on real-world AI projects and more cross-sector knowledge sharing will be critical for next-generation intelligent mobility and IoT solutions. - Treomind CEO Ersin Büyükyılmaz said the biggest skills gap spans data governance, AI infrastructure, hybrid cloud, GPU management, security and business strategy. - Treomind uses multidisciplinary teams across AI, data, cloud, cybersecurity and infrastructure to help organizations build architecture, governance and security frameworks and integrate AI into business processes. - DotsHub co-founder Berat Kjamili, who is also a Codex Ambassador and president of Kodluyoruz, will speak on agentic AI’s impact on enterprise operations in a session titled “From chatbots to AI workforces — how agentic AI is already rewiring enterprise operations.” - Kodluyoruz has worked with IBM to upskill 20,000 people in cybersecurity and AI. - Previous collaborations with Microsoft and Harvard University have supported technology education reaching about 200,000 people. - Kjamili said Türkiye has a strong base of entrepreneurial young people, but that talent must be connected to the right skills and opportunities. - Türkiye’s innovation base includes 114 technoparks, more than 13,000 technology startups and over 1,700 R&D and design centres. - YTÜ Yıldız Technopark lets students work on company challenges, build prototypes and turn ideas into business models. - YTU Startup House includes a Llama Hackathon with Meta and a Microsoft accelerator that connects AI startups with corporations. - Yıldız Technology Development Zone General Manager Assoc. Prof. Dr. Muhammet Garip said the goal is to nurture entrepreneurs and technology professionals who can build and commercialize AI products at global scale. - Medeniyet Technopark uses its Teknokampüs programme to provide students and recent graduates with advanced AI and robotics training before they present projects to companies. - Medeniyet Technopark General Manager Ali Ramazan Tak said talent development should be treated as core innovation infrastructure. - International exhibitors include Google Cloud, HPE & NVIDIA, Huawei, ASUS, Dell Technologies, SAP and TrendAI. - Regional exhibitors include Trendyol, Andevos and Halkbank.

Between the lines: - Türkiye is trying to position AI talent as a national competitive advantage, not just an education goal. - The mix of technoparks, universities, companies and investors suggests an attempt to build a full pipeline from training to deployment to commercialization. - The event also gives global firms and institutions a venue to tap into Türkiye’s startup base and workforce development network.

What's next: - GITEX Ai Türkiye opens in Istanbul on 9 September 2026. - The conference program will feature talks on AI engineering, agentic AI and enterprise transformation. - The event is expected to act as a meeting point for technology companies, investors, universities and technoparks around Türkiye’s AI Action Plan.

The bottom line: - Türkiye is using its biggest international AI event to show that talent development is central to its AI economy strategy.