UNDP, Industry Ministry aim to find sustainable solutions to public transportation

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Turkey's Industry and Technology Ministry have teamed up to find an innovative and sustainable solution to the western province of İzmir's transportation issues.

With a hackathon event held on March 6 and March 7, hundreds of engineers, software developers and entrepreneurs spent nearly 24 hours to find environmentally friendly solutions for the deficiencies in the Aegean metropolis' rail transportation.

The İzmir Transportation Hackathon aimed to find a more innovative approach to the public transport system in the city. The event was the third one organized within the activities of the to-be established innovation center in İzmir.

The center targets to make İzmir a national and global city for innovation and entrepreneurship, and to support sustainable development. The project is being funded by the European Union and have been carried out with the partnership of Industry and Technology Ministry, İzmir Chamber of Commerce and the UNDP.

It is part of the UNDP's Turkey Resilience Project in response to the Syria Crisis (TRP).

At the Innovation Center companies will have the chance to meet with entrepreneurs, start-ups and universities. It is also expected to generate employment as the international firms will be able to compensate for their qualified employee needs with university students. The center's contribution to the companies' project development is also another bonus.

Even though the project's focus is innovation and entrepreneurship, it is still related to the integration of Syrian refugees and asylum seekers living in Turkey.

"We are living in a region where we see the post-crisis effects of the [Syrian] crisis. In our works, we must take the needs of the...