PRODUCTIONProject ManagementSponsorship & Stakeholder RelationsSoftware Unit MentorshipSystems EngineeringSimulation & Testing

TEKNOFEST Robotaksi Autonomous Vehicle Competition

Served as Team Captain in the TEKNOFEST Robotaksi Binek Otonom Araç Yarışması, one of Turkey's most prestigious technology competitions. Led a 5.5-month intensive engineering campaign from an initial pool of 367 applicants to the top 24 finalists, ultimately ranking 13th nationwide. Oversaw system architecture, technical coordination, sponsorship negotiations, and design validation processes. Achieved a score of 84.5/100 in the Critical Design Report phase and 14.58/16 in the Vehicle Test & Simulation phase, demonstrating strong performance in both theoretical engineering rigor and applied system validation.

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Problem Statement

As the ŞAHİ OTONOM Team of Tekirdağ Namık Kemal Üniversitesi, we competed in the TEKNOFEST Robotaksi Binek Otonom Araç Yarışması—a highly competitive challenge involving hundreds of teams, multiple elimination stages, and an intensive timeline. As the only team representing the Thrace region, the responsibility was substantial: we were required to deliver a reliable autonomous vehicle concept, produce a high-scoring Critical Design Report, and generate robust simulation and testing outputs. In parallel, we coordinated a multidisciplinary student team, managed sponsor relations, and provided technical mentorship to the software unit. The objective was clear: reach the finals, represent our university at the highest level, and establish a sustainable competitive culture for the coming years.

Role: Team Captain

TEKNOFEST 2024 Robotaksi Binek Otonom Araç Yarışması drew hundreds of university teams from across Turkey. Our team, Şahi Otonom, navigated a rigorous multi-phase process—from 367 initial applicants to 38 qualifiers, and ultimately into the top 24 finalists. Representing Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University and the entire Thrace region as the sole Robotaksi entrant, we executed a focused 5.5-month effort spanning vehicle design, critical design reporting, and simulation and test validation.

As team captain, I owned the full project lifecycle: defining milestones, driving cross-functional coordination, securing sponsorships, managing institutional stakeholders, and providing hands-on mentorship to the software unit—ensuring we consistently met phase deadlines while maintaining alignment with the university and our sponsors.

Deliverables & Milestones

A. Critical Design & Technical Qualification

Technical qualification and critical design report

We completed the Technical Qualification Form and authored a Critical Design Report that scored 84.5/100. The report rigorously documented our autonomous vehicle concept, safety and redundancy architecture, and system-level design rationale—establishing the technical credibility that carried us through subsequent evaluation phases.

Vehicle test and simulation

In the Vehicle Test and Simulation phase, we achieved 14.58/16 points—validating our design choices and software stack in a controlled competition environment. This result was instrumental in securing our place among the 24 finalists for the final event (20–23 August).

B. Stakeholder Management & Institutional Support

Sponsorship and partnerships

Throughout the competition, I built and managed a broad network of sponsors and institutional stakeholders from the ground up. I personally conducted one-on-one meetings with each organization, coordinated the partnership process end-to-end, and successfully closed every collaboration alongside my team. Our team was supported by Tekirdağ Governorship, Çorlu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Trakya Development Agency, İnan Tech, SER Mekatronik, Canlar Mekatronik, Hidroser, MFE Teknoloji, and AYSAÇ Mühendislik. Presenting in front of experienced business leaders and public administrators gave me a demanding, real-world environment to sharpen my professional communication, persuasion, and representation skills. These partnerships were not peripheral—they provided the financial resources, technical infrastructure, institutional visibility, and organizational credibility that the competition demanded.

Outcome: Measurable benefit

For me, the real benefit was not the ranking but what the journey added: leading a team under pressure, presenting to senior stakeholders, closing sponsorships from scratch, and mentoring a technical unit while keeping the big picture in view. I left with stronger project leadership, clearer communication under stress, and a network of institutional and industry contacts I would not have had otherwise.

Leading a multidisciplinary team through a long, high-stakes timeline—prioritising, delegating, and keeping everyone aligned without formal authority.
Pitching and negotiating with governorship, chamber of commerce, development agency, and multiple companies; learning to translate technical work into value for non-technical decision-makers.
Mentoring the software unit while wearing the captain hat—balancing hands-on technical input with project and stakeholder management.
Presenting in front of experienced executives and public administrators; building confidence in professional communication, persuasion, and representation.
Working with tight deadlines and limited resources; making trade-offs and saying no so that the right deliverables stayed on track.
Leaving a repeatable structure and culture for future teams—documented process, sponsor relationships, and a clear “how we did it” so the next cohort can build on it.
A concrete network: institutional and industry contacts who know my work and with whom I can collaborate again.