Iranian students win top spots in AI competition at Turkish TEKNOFEST 2025

Iranian students captured first and second places in the inventions and innovative technologies category at TEKNOFEST 2025, demonstrating the country’s growing prowess in robotics and artificial intelligence. The achievement at Turkey’s premier technology festival signals Iran’s emergence as a competitive force in global tech innovation, with young engineers successfully competing against teams from 56 countries.

What you should know: TEKNOFEST 2025 brought together nearly 1,000 projects from around the world in Istanbul from September 17-21, positioning itself as the world’s largest aviation, space, and technology festival.

• The Iranian team consisted of eight members: Kian Karbalei, Mehrtash Razgordani, Artin Islampanah, Seyyed Amir-Homan Tabatabei-nejad, Samyar Reza-Soltani, Ardin Khanalizadeh, Mohammad Reivandi, and Mehdi Reivandi.
• Competition was open to middle school through doctorate-level students studying in Turkey and abroad, though open education students were excluded from all categories.

The big picture: Iran’s strong showing at TEKNOFEST reflects the country’s strategic investment in STEM education and youth development in emerging technologies.

• The festival served as a showcase for innovations across multiple disciplines, with participants competing in areas including inventions and innovative technologies, university research projects, knowledge-based industrial products, and startup concepts.
• Teams from major tech powerhouses including Germany, South Korea, Russia, the Netherlands, and India participated alongside emerging markets like Iran, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Paraguay.

Why this matters: Iran’s success at this international competition demonstrates the country’s ability to develop world-class technical talent despite geopolitical challenges.

• The achievement comes at a time when nations are increasingly competing for dominance in AI and robotics, making youth development in these fields a strategic priority.
• TEKNOFEST’s role as a knowledge exchange platform allowed Iranian students to showcase their capabilities on a global stage while learning from international peers.

Event details: The competition was organized under the leadership of the Turkey Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation) and Turkey’s Ministry of Industry and Technology.

• The festival attracted millions of technology enthusiasts to Istanbul, creating a unique environment for innovation showcase and knowledge sharing.
• Projects were evaluated across four main categories, with the inventions and innovative technologies area where Iran excelled being particularly competitive.