Akademiska Hus wants to create the most attractive meeting places in Sweden as a nation of knowledge – launches new concept

“The property industry is rapidly changing and in order to continue to be a key player we need to find new positions and business areas. Through our new concept, named A Working Lab, we offer innovative environments for education, work and innovation in the middle of the campus. It should be easy for students, researchers, the business community and other community participants to meet under new flexible conditions. With A Working Lab we create value for both current and new customers,” says Kerstin Lindberg Göransson, President of Akademiska Hus.

Each site with A Working Lab has a co-working space and offers a basic range of services. Here companies, businesses and people with a variety of backgrounds can rent space for the time they need and gain access to services and physical environments based on their specific needs. All A Working Lab sites are developed in collaboration with local partners and customers and vary in their focus depending on the context, partners and campus. It can be a specific research area, the geographical location or the mix of activities found on the specific campus. 

“We believe in creative collisions and unexpected meetings as drivers of development and innovation. And that is exactly what A Working Lab is all about.In campus-based environments, we provide an opportunity for the comeback of the physical encounter, and encourage people togrow and become more innovative, effective and inspired together. Togetherwith our customerswe shape Sweden’s most attractive meeting places at the same time that we ensure a more sustainable use of the buildings,” says Ulf Däversjö, head of Innovation and Sustainable Development at Akademiska Hus.

Gothenburg first up

About ten initiatives are currently underway around the country, at different stages and under development in various ways. First to open the doors is “A Working Lab – Johanneberg Science Park” at Chalmers in Gothenburg, which will open in the autumn of 2019. The concept permeates the entire building there, but it can just as well be implemented in an existing environment and as part of a building. In the near future “A Working Lab” will also open on campus at Solna and in Umeå.

Membership will provide access to all A Working Lab sites around the country. Together the different environments form a nationwide network that opens and binds together Sweden’s campuses, where everything from expertise and experience to appointment systems and development costs are shared. For example, members could easily work at A Working Lab in Umeå one day, even if their usual workplace is in Gothenburg.

• Campus development
• Collaboration
• Innovation
• Campus- och stadsutveckling
• A Working Lab