Several Turkish high school students received awards at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), one of the world's most prestigious science and engineering competitions. The students competed in various fields, Turkey's Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varanak announced on Saturday.

"Competing in ISEF with 10 different projects, 13 Turkish students claimed their awards in a historic achievement," Varank said on Twitter.

Varank stressed that Turkey's Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBITAK) would always continue to support students in the country.

ISEF announced the winners of the competition on its website on Saturday.

Turkey’s spending on research and development (R&D) has increased to 1.06% of its gross domestic product (GDP), the highest in a decade.

Turkey has over 80 technoparks – special technology development zones – at its universities and over 6,000 firms are performing R&D activities in these zones.

In recent years, Turkey has made major investments to boost its technology infrastructure, particularly with its National Technology Move.

The National Technology Move refers to the transformation of Turkey's technology industry through local and unique concepts created by its own people. The term was first used in 2017.

So far, more than 30,000 R&D projects have been completed. Currently, there are 10,000 ongoing projects.

Turkey also has around 1,500 R&D and design centers, while the number of R&D personnel has more than tripled to 180,000 over the last 13 years.