GUCs innovation team consisting of students and employees decided the name through a brainstorm last December.

Henrik Steen Karlsen, Ane Reinert, Thor Johannes Wang and Torbjørn Sandbakk competed with several other students in to design the graphical profile of the "Innovatoriet". They say the process has been instructive. -It has been very enjoyable to participate on this. The project is quite different and more practical and concrete than the thing we usually are involved in, says the four students.

The “Innovatoriet” is a part of GUCs strategic priorities on innovation and entrepreneurship. The “Innovatoriet” is physically located in the glass cage at second floor in the G-building.

-The “Innovatoriet” is supposed to be an arena for students and employees to initiate creative processes and to liberate oneself from traditional ways of thinking, says project manager of innovation, senior adviser Torunn Linneberg.
The graphical profile of the “Innovatoriet” is now being implemented. Yellow foil with the graphical profile is mounted on the glass cage, parquet on the floor and birches are fetched for a special effect in the “Innovatoriet”. The students have been involved in all parts of the physical interior design of the “Innovatoriet”. They have created the graphical profile, participated in choice of furniture and materials and so on. The “Innovatoriet” have four different workstations who each in its own way is adapted for creative processes regarding ideas and development processes.

-This is a unique project. It will be very exciting to see the “Innovatoriet” when it is ready for use. It is the content of the concept and the user frequency who will decide if this becomes a success. Official opening is the 15th of March, says Linneberg. She praises both the students and Henning Holmbakken who have been hired in part-time as a resource in this project since November. –There have been a huge engagement and good processes regarding this project from all at GUC, states Linneberg.

Top photo: Henrik Steen Karlsen, Ane Reinert, Thor Johannes Wang and Torbjørn Sandbakk

Middle photo: A draft of how the “Innovatoriet” will look like with the yellow foil mounted.

Bottom photo: Torunn Linneberg and Henning Holmbakken