Today, we frequently discuss the role of new digital technologies in transforming almost all industries and current ways of doing business by creating new areas of practice. Among these, one of the most interesting to me is healthcare, because it’s focus is directly related to improving the quality of human life. Many game-changing new innovations are expected in this area and we have already started to see the first examples of these. Let’s take a look at the benefits that Siemens Digital Twin technology, which we attach great importance to, offers to healthcare.

First of all, let me briefly explain what Digital Twin means. The example of digital twin technology is a paradigm or model of new trends where sophisticated SW and competences in data analytics with AI can improve the quality of our life. Siemens Digital Twin technology ensures building a virtual version of a factory before physical construction and offers a simulation of all production phase. Thus, research, testing and production processes of companies and institutions become a lot faster, more efficient and economical. All the digitalization projects in which we employed Digital Twin technology have so far provided great efficiency and savings in the business processes of our stakeholders. Examples of these are available in Turkey in various sectors. 

In addition to accelerating and facilitating processes, Digital Twin also enables boutique production and customization. Obviously, the concept of “customization” becomes more and more important. Customized solutions are not only about preferences or tastes; they can be of vital importance in areas such as healthcare. Our expertise in digitalization and our Digital Twin technology reinforce our practices in this area and create a base for future applications in healthcare. And future possibilities in healthcare truly thrill us.

Perhaps very soon, we will be able to generate digital twins of “customized” organs such as the heart and lungs, or of tissues and even individual cells. Such simulations will help healthcare professionals to understand how different individuals react to different treatments. Operations will first be performed on digital twins and anything that might go wrong will be identified in advance. Here the gathering and analysis of data with new AI applications plays a crucial role in all aspects of our life. 

We all know that early diagnosis and early monitoring of any precursors that precede healthcare issues is of essence. Digital twin will provide significant benefits in this area as well. Through sensors, we can continuously send data to our digital twin on the condition of our organs and thus ensure early diagnosis of a potential health problem. For instance, metastases that may occur in the post-treatment process of cancer patients can be very rapidly identified with this method. And ultimately, totally customized medical care can be offered through affordable and almost real-time models to help diagnosis and treatment.

An example to the possible transformational impact of digital technologies on the healthcare industry is Siemens Healthineers Digital Heart Twin. Siemens Healthineers developed an artificial intelligence platform to generate a 3D physical structure of the heart by using its electrical and physical data. Aiming to support surgeons in treatment plans, the digital heart twin can serve as a vehicle to use artificial intelligence in diagnosis and treatment. 3D-printed digitally-intelligent heart twin enables simulations so as to help doctors run some tests before surgery. That means a cardiologist, before entering the OR, can simulate and monitor on his computer screen how the patient with congestive heart failure reacts to the treatment; by means of placing the electrodes of a pacemaker on the 3D digital heart twin that simulates the patient’s heart cells as well as its electrical and physical qualities.

Although the Digital Twin technology is in a development stage in the healthcare industry, it has a great potential to offer significant new developments and treatments in a very short time. And, of course, widespread adoption of this technology in the industry means many opportunities for both the patients and the healthcare professionals in terms of improving the quality of life.

Today is March 8th, International Women’s Day.

After taking a look at last year’s blog post on International Women’s Day, I regret to see that the major problems I mentioned a year ago still continue, even in an augmented manner. Although society’s awareness on “violence against women” is increasing, we still have a long way to go. Today, half of our 70-million population are women. Naturally, it is impossible for a society to improve by developing only one half and neglecting the other. Especially if the neglected half is the most important actor in raising the children, i.e. our future, such improvement becomes even harder. Therefore, we need to take steps that truly create value and benefit. And we need to do it not only as individuals, but also as corporations.

Sustainability is a key component that makes Siemens what it is. We attach great importance to benefiting from innovative ideas created through diverse cultures and mindsets in all of our corporate principles and operations. Today, in parallel with the extraordinary increase in the means of communication, we are facing more severe problems that need to be solved. One of the problems to be solved is finding ways to expand and reinforce women representation in the business world. We, as Siemens Turkey, are proud to have an active “Diversity Council” that shares the same goal. We have also been one of the first companies to sign the “Business Against Domestic Violence Policy Development and Implementation Guide” in Turkey. But is that enough? Of course not. We pay attention to every initiative in this regard and we will continue our efforts to create a difference.

On this year’s March 8th we wanted to make an announcement that is really meaningful to us. As a technology and engineering company, we attach great importance to increasing the number of female engineers. Therefore, we are launching a scholarship program with Turkish Education Foundation (TEV), with whom we have cooperated in various projects so far. Within the scope of this program, we make donations to meet year-long educational expenses of young women studying engineering to get a BSc or MSc degree. Success should be supported and we are determined to contribute to increasing the number of successful female engineers.

International Women’s Day is a celebration of women’s labor, freedom, and the value they generate for life itself. We are more than happy to celebrate this day with an announcement that focuses on social contribution. Happy International Women’s Day!

I am in San Francisco meeting young people – all in search for the future. Every conversation is about what he or she is working on ( to start a new company): A new project, invention or a new idea how to change the existing stage of everything and come up with something new.

Likewise, I am also meeting many engineers from all over the world. Some of those are from countries where their grandmothers predicted the future by looking into a cup of coffee. Here they know that the Future can not be predicted and they are all working on inventing it.

Today is a special day. Every year we celebrate the 24^th of November to remember our teachers and pay respect to them. On one hand, we remember our own teachers and on the other, we consider the day as a chance to show our gratitude, love and respect to the teachers of our children, if we have any. Or if we are teachers, we hear from our past students and also enjoy the chirping of those we still teach: “Happy Teacher’s Day!” That’s all good. But sadly, teaching as a profession is still very far away from the point that it deserves to be. We have not yet been able to provide our teachers, the architects of today and tomorrow, with an environment where they will have no other concern than to teach and educate. However, none of these facts can damage the importance of this profession. So, what is the definition of “the best teacher” to me and what is the first and foremost reason for attaching such great importance to teaching?

In my opinion, the best teacher is the one who is always open to innovations, who sticks to this habit even in age of maturity and never closes the doors for what’s new. Access to information is very easy for today’s children, I realize this best when I listen and talk to my kids. Therefore, I do not and cannot ever be contented with what I teach them myself.

The best example so far for our teachers is, of course, Atatürk – the leader who established the foundations of this opportunity for them. But in fact, we have not seen the best examples yet. The best example will be the next generation. Why? Because the new generation is a modern one, seeing innovation neither as a risk nor a reason for fear. That will be our greatest luck. We always talk about the great potential of Turkey. Unless we have teachers to turn this potential into value for the individuals and the society, that potential will remain unproductive. Thus, innovative teachers who teach and encourage students to think with an innovative perspective will be the greatest fortune for us. One day, when we actively participate in space studies as a country, we should remember that our teachers, to whom our parents first entrusted us as young children, have played a great role in this success.

Happy Teacher’s Day.

While thinking about the celebration of the 167th year of our company on October 1, 2014, I considered the most fundamental factors that bring success to a company within the framework of the hot topic of “sustainability”. Yes, a company can fail to catch the future despite its remarkable successes today or it may go bankrupt today despite its bright and high-potential future plans. The secret to the art of entrepreneurship is the balance between the present and the future. The survival of a company must be ensured while performing successful operations today. This is surely not easy at all. It is not within everyone’s means to be able to always play this game in the highest league. The history of many successful companies clearly reveals this fact. Guaranteeing the future is always associated with financial and moral investments. These include investments in new technologies and products, new regional markets and sales channels, as well as investments in securing the customer portfolio, trust, new generations, people, and the environment. The most important factor behind all these investments is the responsibility of the company towards its customers, employees, society, and the environment.
There is no exact solution to guarantee the future of a company in an uncertain future. Strategic planning always includes a rational and an emotional element. The right path is understood later on. However, the costs for good or bad decisions are paid faster today, compared to a few years ago. At strategic decision stages, it is the entrepreneur’s call. He takes decisions deliberately by taking risks, and at the same time by assuming the responsibility of not risking everything. The most important conditions for continuous success are multidimensional thinking, seeing the big picture, and getting good grades. In this context, particularly the interests of all stakeholders should be considered (shareholders, customers, employees, and the environment).
For me, continuous success* is based on five factors:
• Flexibility
• Belief
• Consistency
• Striving
• Reliability

On the threshold of 2014, I hope you may find the time to think about what was important, meaningful and unforgettable to you in 2013. We live in a time when every day is full of action and we encounter many different things in our country, n our work life, and within ourselves. Incidents and situations emerge and end in such a short time that we need to be prepared for a new one before we can even understand the previous one.
As I think back on 2013, I have to admit that, in the face of incidents and situations that emerge and “become history” very fast, I am astounded, thinking “When does the future start?”
Today, 2013 becomes history and the future makes a new start with 2014.
I wish you and your loved ones a year in which all wishes, particularly those of health and happiness, come true.

Darüşşafaka High Advisory Board gathered on September 21^st to discuss the future opportunities for Darüşşafaka Society.

In addition to my personal commitment to this educational institution, Siemens Turkey also proudly supports Darüşşafaka, which has offered a bright future to thousands of students since its establishment, with the strength and trust built in 150 years.

I sincerely hope we will have many other good examples in education like Darüşşafaka.

People who consider making important changes in their life, usually are lost in finding the right questions (hence answers) before taking the right step for a change. With the following  ‘3 Hints Series’  I will publish life and business experiences in a clear-cut format to focus on essential topics. The idea of this series comes from my children who are always challenging me with topics relating to ”the devil is in the detail”.  Naturally growing up with the Social Media, Generation Z like to come to the point quickly without getting into the details.

The first topic ‘Career Change’  is quite important for everyone, but particularly for the young generation. What are the essentials when starting a career or changing jobs?

1) Challenge: A job should provide excitement, recognition, future prospects.
2) Location: It should be acceptable for the entire family and meet one’s standards.
3) Compensation: Although not the key aspect, it should be motivating, fair and provide flexibility.

If all three aspects are met , being successful depends on your individual approach and commitment!

In 1956 three great engineers Bardeen, Brattain and Shockley received the Nobel Prize in Physics based upon their research carried out in relation to the Semiconductor and their discovery of the transistor. Their inventions have formed a fundamental base for development of future technologies for all high tech inventions which have followed since up until this present time. Some of these consist of, but is not limited to Transistor Radios, Television, Computers, Mobile Phones, Internet, Social Media, and the list extends further on.

So, after all these substantial inventions what are the next key trends which will determine the change of the way in how we will live, communicate and build on for the future of this world?

Now that we have access to these inventions and a vast amount of new applications, products and networks have been introduced, the next key focus will be utilizing what can be done to enable usage of these as a whole and in the best productive way. The next 10 years of evolution on a global network will focus on our ability to connect and integrate all technological resources available on usage, products and networks. It is essential that these are all connected in order to make it possible to reach to the next level of transparency, efficiency and productivity.

I would like to give some examples in context of this situation. On average there are approximately 150 separate sensors in each car. If we had the opportunity to connect the sensors of all vehicles on the road, we would be able to achieve the most reliable map of our cities. People who live alone, and those of old age, would be able to live safer lives with the benefit of sensors connected to their homes. For example, these sensors would be able to detect automatically any sudden jolts by sending signals and help in situations of sudden falls or other life threatening emergencies that may occur within the home. The elderly who experience difficulty in mobilizing outdoors, and those who are posed at risk, would have the benefit of connecting with their doctor for a consultation over the internet at any time. With the use of all households being connected to a network of this kind, we would be able to optimize the utilization of energy during periods of maximum usage and would also allow the opportunity to re-feed unused energy back to the grid. Another example: The solutions offered by ‘Smart Networks’ (Smart Grid division) of Siemens, enables electric, water and natural gas networks to be monitored on the same platform. This system is able to detect with ease the measurement of optimized utilization or how these could be more productively used. In the coming terms we will more and more witness such patterns. The more we connect, with what we have in hand, the more we could increase the transparency and opportunities in the generations to come.

It is at this point of course that the unavoidable question comes to all minds once again: Does the full connectivity increase the risk of what we call ‘”Big Brother is watching”? Will this result in us being more closely controlled?

This is unavoidable, as we already live in an environment today where we are watched and observed every day by all service providers. How many of us take the time to read and peruse the terms and details of usage agreements before subscribing to a service provider? Each time we use our credit card, the service provider can determine what shops we prefer, which items we like, and what our payment patterns are. This happens each time we click on Internet links, Facebook, Google and Twitter our areas of interest are monitored.

The key in the future will be to develop a global standard of by whom and how the information of this kind should be used. However, the driver of all new future smart inventions will be built on the networking foundations of what we have today.

The school year has just ended and many students of all levels should have a short (!) time to breathe. However, are students really doing this?

A vast majority of students are already rolled up in prep schools, camps and education centers, in order to prepare themselves for the next semester. Parents are more stressed (mentally and financially) than the students themselves. Why? To give parents credit, their instinctual behavior and attention is ” not to make any mistakes” when it comes to the future of their children. For this reason they are acting upon the advice of the teachers and are using all efforts to improve their child’s academic records in the areas where their weaknesses are.   As a parent myself of three, my wife and I often question ourselves on the topic of how to find the right balance between focusing on the weak areas and nurturing the strength of our children.

Interestingly (empirically) the main dominator of a child’s success in life will be her natural talent, strengths, way of thinking and her uniqueness.  They will succeed life because of these specific talents they have. The best sales person is not one who has the highest GPA or one who comes from a top school, but more the person who has the unique talent, the individual personality to deal with customers. We look at people who solve problems differently, who are creative in addressing issues from different perspectives and angles. When we at Siemens focus on new talents for our company we do not only look at the academic grades. We look and assess the individuals unique capabilities, thinking patterns, and values  and how they solve problems differently. It is of question whether  our education system is teaching and grooming upon these aspects? Unfortunately the present system of education is still lacking in making us subservient, mechanical and deeply thoughtless. It may awaken them intellectually but inwardly it leaves them incomplete.

In our education system ( not only in Turkey) we place too much emphasis  on the explicit conventional knowledge training. Another knowledge exists however which we call Tacit knowledge. The term “tacit knowing” or “tacit knowledge” was first introduced into philosophy by Michael Polanyi in 1958 in his magnum opus Personal Knowledge. Here we talk about a specific knowledge and thinking pattern which is difficult to convey to another person in writing or simple verbalizing. Our children know more than they can tell but they may not be able to articulate it in the conventional academic way and as a result of  time pressure.

Teachers and parents are often not aware of the knowledge their children possess or how it can be valuable, if nurtured wisely to the future children or our society. In light of this our teachers and our school system needs to adopt a revolutionary change.
The ultimate aim of education and educators should be grooming the future citizens of our nation by focusing on those with diverse thinking capabilities which should be construed as a gift and not as a failure.