AVP recently moved into a new office located in the new K3 (name subject to change) building. We’re sharing the building with Aalto Design Factory, Startup Sauna and a bunch of research groups from the School of Engineering. We’ve only been there for a short while, but collaboration between the different entities has already increased, and we can only imagine the future potential. In fact, we’re imagining it right now!
Co-teaching
Visiting each other’s classes and events for both learning and co-teaching has always been important to us all. AVP and ADF share some teachers and regularly help each other build better courses. The different organizations under Startup Sauna, such as Junction and Kiuas, have provided us with coaches and judges when our students are presenting their work, and we’ve provided mentors and teachers to their events. Now that we’re neighbors, visiting each other will be easier than ever. Startup Sauna can offer intriguing opportunities for our Startup Experience students and alumni, and their more experienced members can share the ups and downs of their ventures with aspiring entrepreneurs. If a team working at Sauna needs mentoring on a specific topic, they don’t necessarily need to call someone and book a meeting in three weeks. Instead, they can drop by AVP or ADF and find someone instantly.
Space sharing
Students and entrepreneurs need spaces to work in, and in the new building, we have plenty. It used to be that AVP and Sauna could provide co-working spaces and meeting rooms, but for anything more specific, teams would have to go to Design Factory. Now, Design Factory is literally upstairs. ADF can provide the students and teams working at AVP or Sauna with different kinds of workshops, tools and machinery for prototyping. We have two large event spaces and a big classroom on the ground floor, so there should always be a space to organize events, no matter which organization you represent. And last but not least, in our common lobby area, there are games and other activities to enjoy while taking a break from all the crunching.
Informal meetings
Everyone knows the best conversations are had at the water cooler. Well, we don’t have a water cooler, but we do have a fully equipped kitchen and a coffee area. When everyone comes to get their coffee from the same space, it encourages spontaneous meetings and chats. The kitchen allows us to cook lunch (or dinner, we’re not judging) together with colleagues or new acquaintances. These spaces, together with a more central location on the campus, will hopefully bring together people that would never have met had we all stayed in our previous silos. As we know, diverse teams perform the best, so those chance meetings can be starting points for something groundbreaking.
The new shared venue has a lot of potential, and it’s impossible to say what great things will come from it. If you’d like to add your input, feel free to stop by! One great opportunity is our Open Doors event on May 17th. There, you’ll have a chance to tour the new building, learn about the organizations that work there through fun activities and meet like-minded people over drinks and snacks. Hope to see you then!
