UPDATE - Turkish fellowship receives applications from 30 states

UPDATE WITH MORE COMMENTS FROM THE MINISTER

By Eda Fatma Topcu

KOCAELI, Turkey (AA) - Turkey's government-funded fellowship program has received applications from 30 countries, the industry and technology minister said Friday.

"Over 200 researchers from the top 100 universities of the world will continue their researches in Turkey," Mustafa Varank said at an event in the industrial province of Kocaeli.

He said a Nobel Laureate, who participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007, also applied for the fellowship.

These researchers are from prominent universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College and Yale, he added.

The U.S. ranked first in the number of applications for the International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers, followed by the U.K. and Germany, he added.

"Pioneers of the field said 'yes' to science in Turkey. The world's best researchers decided to move to Turkey," Varank added.

Turkey announced the fellowship program last November and launched it in mid-December.

The selection criteria includes work experience in one of the top 100 universities of the world, scientific studies with the highest number of references, and participation in high-level scientific researches and prestigious research centers abroad, the minister said.

Sharing the background of applicants, he added: "When we look at their experiences, there are technology companies and research centers such as Intel, Amazon, Siemens and CERN."

These researchers will play a key role on developing national policies on technology, he said.

The program is conducted in coordination with the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK).

*Writing and contributions by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul.