TECHNOVATION HUB JOINS DESIGN FACTORY GLOBAL NETWORK

FACULTY WORLDWIDE

From its founding in 2016, Technovation Hub had big plans. Where the assignment initially was to support the student teams on the faculty’s campuses, the organization had grown into an incubator of engineering talent and an accelerator of innovation. On 8 January 2020, Technovation Hub joined the Design Factory Global Network at Aalto University in Helsinki.

Tuesday 8 January 2020 was a special day at Aalto University. The institute not only celebrated its 10th birthday, but also the entry of the 30th member to the Design Factory Global Network (DFGN). Chrisje Haenen and Stijn De Jonge, administrators of Technovation Hub, could not have imagined a better time to sign the cooperation agreement in Helsinki.

Stijn De Jonge

Like-minded

Chrisje Haenen looks back in time. “Technovation Hub is an initiative of the Faculty of Engineering Technology. It was founded five years ago with the support of the Science, Engineering & Technology Group of KU Leuven to support the emerging engineering talent on the campuses and at the Stijn De Jonge same time to be the incubator of new and promising projects. There are already six student teams under the wing of Technovation Hub, each of which is an example of entrepreneurship and innovation. One of them, the Agoria Solar Team, became world champion in the World Solar Challenge in October 2019. These examples work contagiously, also within our community. We found that the time was ripe to push the boundaries and to look for like-minded partners in other countries and continents”.

Co-creation

These like-minded partners were found in DFGN. “What brings us together is passion-based co-creation”, explains Stijn De Jonge. “The network consists of innovation hubs such as ours that are active in universities and research centres around the world, from CERN in Geneva to Tongji University in Shanghai. Design Factories are platforms for experimentation, action and co-creation. In addition to the local activities of each factory, there are also numerous shared initiatives.”

“One of the basic principles of a Design Factory is that innovation is not something that is accomplished by an individual. Instead, innovation is by definition a social and a collaborative matter. Another important characteristic of a Design Factory is the revaluation of the concept of ‘space’. Creativity needs a space that is separated from the activities of daily working life. Building a space away from the routine job is key to enhancing a team’s creative capability. At Aalto University, Design Factories can have spaces ranging from 5 to 5,000 m². Interesting in that context are the ‘traveling projects’ that literally move to the locations where the most suitable expertise or equipment can be found”.

Double purpose

As a recognized Design Factory, Technovation Hub 2.0 pursues a dual goal. “Our main assignment is to encourage even more scientific or engineering students to participate in team projects, both inside and outside the curriculum”, says Chrisje Haenen. “Therefore, we want to appeal to our partner companies more than ever to serve as a commissioner or a client. It encourages the teams to think more thoroughly about the valorisation of their concept or product.”

“A second goal that we have in mind is a proper location where the teams can get to work. The space we dream of is a casual meeting area as well as a learning environment that facilitates the making of physical artefacts and is accessible to the local and global academic and business community through a virtual window. We are therefore looking for a location that allows different ways of learning, working and sharing in a single space. We are convinced that Technovation Hub 2.0 will soon have its own place in the sun”.

Yves Persoons