Innovation Space for Founders

“ConnectSpace is more than just a coworking space. With it, we’re creating a hub for exchange and knowledge transfer and providing a space for business ideas to develop further. Startups can grow without having to move to the cities. We want to keep innovation in the region and increase the startup rate in Hagenberg,” explains project manager Simona Standler from Softwarepark Hagenberg.

International Focus

A total of 15 workstations are available—five of which are reserved for international startups from the Crossborder Start-up Point project. The remaining spaces are open to founders from the region. To help international talent and companies settle in more easily, Softwarepark Hagenberg works closely with the Come2Upper Austria Service Center run by Business Upper Austria.

A Bridge Between Academia and the Real World

Many founders from the region get their start in the co-working space at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria—however, renting space at the “Bytewerk” is only available to students at the university and is limited to a two-year term. This is where the ConnectSpace on the second floor of the IT Center Hagenberg fills a gap. There are also plans to share the university’s infrastructure—such as labs or IT resources. “Although the Bytewerk and the ConnectSpace are independent facilities, they work hand in hand. For founders, this means continuous support,” emphasize Karolina Heller and Cathrin Dorner from Softwarepark Hagenberg, who manage the ConnectSpace.

Actively Strengthening the Business Hub

Romana Gassenauer of Real-Treuhand Immobilien adds: “With ConnectSpace, we’re creating top-of-the-line offices for founders in the IT Center—modern, vibrant, and right in the heart of the Software Park. This offers an ideal next step after the university’s Bytewerk and, at the same time, an attractive platform for anyone who values open-plan work as much as the amenities of state-of-the-art office and meeting spaces. When setting prices, it was important to us to offer fair terms to young companies and thereby actively strengthen Hagenberg as a business hub.”

More Than Just a Workspace

ConnectSpace goes beyond a co-working space and infrastructure. Real-Treuhand Immobilien, as the building operator; Softwarepark Hagenberg, as the implementation partner; and the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, as a co-creator, aim to build a vibrant startup and innovation community. Gerold Weisz, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Director of the Startup Center at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, also supports this effort by mentoring founders and contributing his expertise.

More information about ConnectSpace