Technical Project Competition for junior high and high school students

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey (TMMT) began a technical project competition for junior high and high school students at schools in 2006. The first competition involved students from the city of Adapazari, Sakarya province, where TMMT is located.

Local authorities consider the technical project competition as one of TMMT’s most effective educational initiatives. Rapid industrial and economic developments in Turkey may lead to a shortage of technical experts in the future. TMMT’s effort to increase the interest of students in these career paths is highly appreciated.

Working alone or with a partner, the students decide on their project themes from one of four areas: the environment, automation, information technology or energy. For six months the students undertake field research and experiments and develop their reports. At the end of the six months the students submit their results for judging.

The second competition was held in the spring of 2007 and attracted entries from 205 teams. The award ceremony was held in June 2008 at Sakarya Science High School Hall. At the same time the entries for the third competition were also displayed. Local government authorities, family members, school managers, teachers and the local media attended the award ceremony and exhibition. Awards were presented to 64 students who worked on 40 different projects.

The number of students participating in the competition has increased significantly from the 82 that entered the first competition in 2006. By 2007 participation had risen to 305 students and in 2008, 370 students took part. There were 244 teams involved in the 2008 competition, of which 121 came from junior high schools and 103 from high schools.

The quality of the projects undertaken by the students is also increasing year by year. Young students are developing very original ideas including projects to detect gas-leaks through the use of sensors, natural lighting of tunnels with mirrors and optical fibre cables, and meeting the energy needs of the park along the Sakarya River through the use of vortex wheels.

With production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year, TMMT is a strong contributor to the Turkish economy and has been the nation’s leading exporter since 2004. TMMT also participates in numerous public interest activities, especially in the area of education. TMMT has donated personal computers and technical training materials such as engines, transmissions and vehicles to schools.