Pakistan's largest entrepreneurship competition, Finding Innovative & Creative Solutions (FICS 2023), which has been held annually since 2013, concluded on 22 August 2023 at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Pakistan. The tenth edition of the competition encouraged thousands of students and researchers from around the world to find technology-based solutions to societal problems through innovation.

FICS 2023 also witnessed significant collaboration between Türkiye and Pakistan. In partnership with Pakistan's NUST and Gazi University, the first phase of FICS 2023 took place on April 13, 2023. In the event which was hosted by Gazi University, 20 teams from universities in Türkiye participated, and competed by presenting their project ideas to achieve rankings. The teams from Ege University and Gazi University, which excelled in this event held at our university, had earned the right to participate in the Grand Finale held at NUST.

Gazi University achieved great success in the "FICS 2023 Grand Final". Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Ramazan Bayındır and Advisor to the Rector Prof. Dr. Halil İbrahim Bülbül attended and participated in the event. The “Photonics Intelligence" team led by our faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nihan Akın Sönmez outperformed its international competitors. Members of the team includes Ramazan Aydın (captain, graduate student, Department of Photonics Science and Engineering), Gamze Altun (undergraduate student, Department of Photonics), Alperen Durgun (undergraduate student, Department of Photonics), Oğuz Kaan Seymen (undergraduate student, Department of Photonics) and Muhammad Adnan Saeed (researcher, Photonics Application and Research Center). The team's project "Recycling of Silicon Based Solar Panels" won the "Global Champion Award" worth 5000 USD.

This year, more than 700 project applications were received from a large number of national and international organizations for the FICS 2023 competition, with all of the evaluated projects being in line with the "Sustainable Development Goals". More than 100 teams were selected to participate in the Grand Finale, where they presented their innovative technology-based solution prototypes to a panel of more than 30 industry judges.

FICS 2023 was attended by senior government officials and ambassadors from the German, Azerbaijani, Russian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Palestinian, and Turkish governments. This competition provided an international opportunity for young entrepreneurs from around the world to create innovative solutions to the world's most pressing problems. It was also recognized as a great model for the entrepreneurial ecosystem.