‘Panda’ goes global

Sadık Onur Özden and Tunç Çokuysal, who graduated from Izmir University of Economics (IUE) this year, received 200 thousand lira support from TUBITAK with the "Construction Panda" project, which brings together architects and people or contractors who want to build. Özden, who went to Hungary for his master's degree, and Çokuysal, who preferred the United States (USA), started working to expand abroad with the application called 'Construction Panda', which can be used over mobile phones and computers. Stating that they have determined Europe and the USA as their target group, in addition to Turkey, Özden and Çokuysal said, “Thanks to Construction Panda, people who are considering construction will reach architects and quickly find the solutions they need. Architects will also be able to easily share their projects and portfolios.”

Sadık Onur Özden, a graduate of IUE Department of Industrial Engineering and Tunç Çokuysal, a graduate of Department of Architecture, started working on a project that will bring a breath of fresh air to the construction industry 1 year ago. The duo got support from senior executives and experts in the sector, by entering the top 10 out of 2,200 entrepreneurs in the ‘Bu Gençlikte İş Var’ program organized by TUSIAD for university students in May. With this motivation, IUE graduates, who worked on all the details including the name of the project, the visuals to be used, and did the infrastructure work, received incubation support (mentoring and office space) from the Commercialization Center (BTM) of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and Izmir Technopark. Özden and Çokuysal also founded a company called Construction Panda Electronic Services.

SUPPORT WAS A BIG RELIEF

While reaching the final point in the construction phase of the application called 'Construction Panda', 200 thousand lira support came from TUBITAK. Özden and Çokuysal said that the 'Construction Panda' application would be completed and put into use in a very short time. Stating that they prepared the demo of the project and that minor deficiencies will be corrected after the final tests and controls, the duo stated that the support from TUBITAK relieved them.

BEING A MEMBER IS ENOUGH

Özden, who won a Hungarian government scholarship and got a master's degree in the field of 'engineering management' at the University of Debrecen, shared details about how to use 'Construction Panda'. Özden said, “The intense interest in digitalization during the pandemic also emerged in the construction industry. We see that technology and the digital process increase the impact of not only the construction phase, but also communication and planning. At this point, we decided to create a platform where architects and people who want to build can easily meet, ask each other what they are curious about and run the process. People visiting Construction Panda via smartphone or computer will register to the system by typing their basic information, the name of the brand or the place they work. They will be able to share the works they have done so far, their areas of expertise, and demands. Then they will communicate with whomever they want. This service is free for those who want to build.”

WE WILL WRITE A SUCCESS STORY

Çokuysal, who went to the USA for his master's degree in 2022, said: “One of the biggest problems of the person who wants to build is not being able to come together with the stakeholders of the sector or having to spend a lot of time on this in order to eliminate the deficiencies in planning. Construction Panda will offer a very creative solution in this regard. We continue to receive interview requests from entrepreneurs for the project we have implemented. Our friendship with Onur at school turned into a business partnership. After graduation, we both moved abroad. We rely heavily on the app called Construction Panda. We think that the application will attract a lot of attention in the USA and Europe, and we make our plans accordingly. We aim to represent our country in the best way by writing a success story.”