The ATHENA Alliance has launched the "Co-Creation Hub", which is an initiative that allows FabLabs, makerspaces, and Design Factories from the ATHENA Alliance to open their creative workshops for joint projects and collaboration. This innovative platform aims to foster collaboration among various stakeholders in the ATHENA ecosystem, including university students, staff, industry, and the wider society. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH) has joined this collaborative initiative with VILNIUS TECH's Creativity and Innovation Centre "LinkMenų fabrikas" at the forefront.

 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Asta Radzevičienė, the VILNIUS TECH coordinator of the ATHENA University Alliance, highlights that "This collaboration across the Alliance's innovative and creative ecosystems enables cross-disciplinary collaboration and co-creation at national and international levels. We hope that VILNIUS TECH's "LinkMenų fabrikas" will reinforce this ATHENA Alliance initiative with its expertise, resources, and creative projects. Meanwhile, such collaboration will also open up more possibilities for joint research, mobility and educational projects for both VILNIUS TECH students and researchers."

 

Dr Lina Pečiūrė, director of VILNIUS TECH's Creativity and Innovation Centre "LinkMenų fabrikas", says, "The "Co-Creation Hub" initiative has already begun to see tangible examples of cross-collaboration between members, such as participation in hackathons and winter and summer schools organized by VILNIUS TECH's "LinkMenų fabrikas". These events provide opportunities for members to work together and exchange ideas in a supportive and cross-disciplinary environment. By participating in such activities, members can gain valuable experience and knowledge that can be applied to their own projects and initiatives. Besides, these collaborations can lead to the development of innovative solutions to real-world problems that benefit both the academic and wider society."

 

One of the key objectives of the "Co-Creation Hub" is to create a network of creative but diverse ecosystems at the international level, where students, industry, and other stakeholders can access the resources and support they need to turn ideas into reality.

 

The working spaces, instructional content, and equipment for the FabLabs, makerspaces, and Design Factories will be shared going forward, making it easier to form groups for tasks like applied research on joint projects. 

 

Researchers will have the capability to generate prototypes at a particular university and subsequently have them evaluated and utilized by researchers from another university. In certain scenarios, remote process control is already feasible.

 

Ruger Winnegge, coordinator of the ATHENA University Alliance at the University of Siegen, which curates the "Co-Creation Hub" initiative, says, "When you start working with the potential remote creation of products, you can say that science is becoming tangible across borders in the truest sense of the word."

 

 

The "Co-Creation Hub" also promotes knowledge sharing and collaboration between different stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem, including researchers, investors, and industry experts, who can share their knowledge and expertise with students and startups from the ATHENA Alliance to help them grow and succeed.

 

The ATHENA Alliance has brought together a team of experienced professionals from the Alliance's makerspaces, FabLabs, and Design Factories to lead the "Co-Creation Hub" initiative.

 

This initiative comes at a critical time, as the world faces a range of challenges and opportunities in the innovation and entrepreneurship space. Through the "Co-Creation Hub," ATHENA can provide collaborative opportunities such as joint programs, workshops, hackathons, open-source databases, networking possibilities, and other solutions.