BOND OPENS 24-7 STARTUP HUB

BOND University has opened the doors to The Hub, a 24-7 co-working space for entrepreneurs and startups located on campus.

The Hub was inspired by the world's best startup concepts: Stanford's d.school, Rocketspace and Cambridge Innovation Centre.

Director of the Bond Business Commercialisation Centre, assistant professor Baden U'Ren (pictured right), says The Hub is accessible to all those affiliated with the campus and visiting entrepreneurs.

"The Hub will be Bond's HQ for innovative students, academics, alumni and visiting entrepreneurs and will provide the perfect working space for startups to form, storm, norm and perform," says U'Ren.

"A lot of effort has gone in to the design of The Hub to ensure it caters for the different outcomes required: there are engaged active spaces, more relaxed collaborative spaces, structured workplaces and a low-lit 'hideaway' space which serves as a place to decompress or simply chill out.

"We've visited, and drawn inspiration from, some of the world's most innovative and successful startup spaces - Stanford's d.school, Rocketspace, the Cambridge Innovation Centre - they've all influenced the design of the space."

The launch comes on the heels of Bond being named Advance Queensland's Gold Coast 'Hot DesQ Host' as part of an $8 million Queensland Government initiative to encourage startups to relocate to Queensland.

This cements Bond University, and The Hub in particular, as 'Hot DesQ HQ' on the Gold Coast.

U'Ren says Bond's strong focus on business and research commercialisation makes it a prime stomping ground for the initiative.

Bond is already home to a business accelerator program and engaged in a number of entrepreneurial initiatives including Gold Coast Demo Day, Ideas Camp, the Silicon Valley Study Tour and the Mayor's Telstra Technology Awards.

U'Ren says startups working from The Hub will also have access to the Macquarie Trading Centre, the Global Links Room for international networking, videoconferencing and collaboration, and a fully-functioning film and television studio.

"These startups will have access to cutting-edge entrepreneurs from Bond and beyond, plus staff who can connect them to academics, researchers and students who are experts in their relative fields," he says.

"Our students will also benefit from having a direct connection to cutting-edge business and thought leaders from all over the world, and the opportunity to gain insight, work experience and internships with these aspirational new businesses."