Universities with scientific and technological competence transform it into social welfare and add value by collaborating with their local, regional, national, and international stakeholders. Supporting individuals with new business ideas and becoming an important factor in the country's development with their contributions to the culture of innovation, universities are evaluated by TÜBİTAK every year based on their outputs in this field. Their performance is shared with the public.

The index evaluates universities in four dimensions: scientific and technological research competence, intellectual property pool, collaboration and interaction, and economic and social contribution. It ranks universities based on 23 indicators (such as publications, citations, projects, doctoral education, patents, industry collaboration, international mobility and collaboration, academic-industry partnerships, commercialization, etc.).

The Entrepreneurial and Innovative University Index was first prepared in Türkiye in 2012 to trigger universities' innovation and entrepreneurship activities and measure their performance in this field. The 11th edition of the index was announced by the Minister of Industry and Technology, Mr. Mustafa VARANK, on April 1, 2023.

According to the latest 2022 results, KTU ranks 27th in the TÜBİTAK Entrepreneurial and Innovative University Index, where it ranked 39th in 2019, 33rd in 2020, and 31st in 2021.