University community receives Entrepreneurial Hub Konttori on Hämeenkatu street
Liedon Säästöpankki offers the former bank office on the Hämeenkatu street for the use of the University of Turku. The Entrepreneurial Hub has been named Konttori (Finnish for bank office) and will be introduced as a working space for students and staff.
The comprehensively renovated space was opened on Thursday, 20 October 2022, when the Rector of the University of Turku Jukka Kola and CEO at Savings Banks Group Liedon Sp Jouni Niuro signed a collaboration agreement.
“At Liedon Säästöpankki, we have considered for a way to participate in strengthening the vitality and business-positivity of the Turku region while developing our collaboration with the University of Turku. Our former office offers us a great way to support the activities of the University of Turku in combining academic studies and research and making them entrepreneurship-based. The future Liedon Säästöpankkisäätiö foundation will continue the versatile collaboration that has now been started,” says CEO of Savings Banks Group Liedon Säästöpankki Jouni Niuro.
“At the University of Turku, we want to offer the students opportunities to develop their skills in entrepreneurial thinking and activities. It is wonderful that this collaboration offers us a space dedicated to entrepreneurship. We are hoping that the Entrepreneurial Hub Konttori will inspire and encourage both our students and our researchers to be entrepreneurial and for example commercialise their research,” says Rector of the University of Turku Jukka Kola.
In the Hub, the members of the University community can meet others who are interested in entrepreneurship and as well as parties that offer support and inspiration. Students and researcher can also use the space when founding their own companies.
“The students’ entrepreneurship society Boost Turku, the Entrepreneurship degree programme of Turku School of Economics, and the development company lead by students Monttu Ventures Oy are regularly present at Konttori. Moreover, the space also offers the parties and companies interested in university entrepreneurship an opportunity to interact with the students and other members of the University community,” says Director of Community Relations at the University of Turku Leena Wahlfors.
The Vice Rector responsible for partnerships at the University of Turku Mika Hannula rejoices the collaboration with Liedon Säästöpankki.
“We have actively increased our University’s interaction with companies and our other partners. The Entrepreneurial Hub Konttori illustrates this clearly. We will be using the space for promoting entrepreneurship both among the students and the researchers as well as for increasing interaction with our stakeholders. Liedon Säästöpankki and in future Liedon Säästöpankkisäätiö foundation is our significant partner in collaboration, and we very much appreciate the fact that our important partner wishes to support the University’s impact,” says Hannula.
Companies that are interested in collaboration can contact Director of Community Relations Leena Wahlfors.
