HubKo, Innovation, study and work centre
Rooted in possibility.
Project Details
- Category
- Service design
- Discipline
- Service design, design research, UI design, UX design
- Team
- Group project with Žiga Dolinar
An innovation, study and work centre for young people in Kočevje, a rural town in Slovenia. It grew out of a research project with the municipality on why young people leave and what would keep them.
Research
The project started by listening to the local community.
The team interviewed students, secondary school teachers, employers, municipal staff, residents and former residents. Every observation was written down.
Insights were clustered by theme, and then each cluster was formed into an innovation direction. Every direction had a clear structure, which kept every idea traceable to what people had actually said. The directions covered transport, healthcare, safety, education and local identity.
- 01ProblemThe problem the direction addresses
- 02InsightsThe numbered insights behind it
- 03QuestionsA set of “how might we” questions
- 04BenefitsFor residents, the municipality and others
The selection of innovation directions.
Opportunity
One in five insights was about young people and work.
Kočevje has a student club and a business incubator, but both are far from the centre, so after school young people go home or meet in the one café near the gymnasium.
An employer summed up the problem: “Kočevje lacks professional jobs. You either work in production or look for work elsewhere.” A student added: “We have nowhere to study for exams together with friends.”
Since the COVID pandemic, many office workers work from home at least part of the week. Start-ups that go through an incubator have an 87% chance of surviving five years, compared with 44% of those that don’t.
87%
chance of surviving five years for start-ups that go through an incubator
44%
for start-ups that don’t
Proposal
Kočevje doesn’t need a new factory. It needs a place where remote workers, students and young founders can meet.
HubKo is a newly built centre for young people in Kočevje. It promotes innovation, studying, employment and an overall safe space for young people in a municipality known for a lack of safety. HubKo is split into three parts and sits in the centre of Kočevje.
Free
for students
€50
a month for a co-working desk
6:00–24:00
opening hours, with NFC access
App
The centre has its own app.
HubKo app offers an easy way to connect with others, join or host workshops, as well as book office and other spaces.
Start: entrepreneur or student. 
Workshops. 
Date and time. 
Booking a study room. 
A student’s profile. 
An entrepreneur’s profile.
Expected outcomes
A more engaged local community, a highly educated workforce staying in town, closer links between companies and students, economic growth, new residents in the future
