The Science Park Experiment Lab opened on the ground floor of DataCity at the beginning of December. What is the lab about and what happens there?
– The Experiment Lab is a low-threshold place to participate in the development of the Science Park's circular economy. The idea is to inspire companies, as well as people working and studying in the area, to develop operating models that will make the Turku Science Park an area that is pleasant to live and work in, summarizes Maarit Jaakola from Turku University of Applied Sciences.
The Science Park Experiment Lab is part of a joint circular economy project called Circular Tiedepuisto by the City of Turku and Turku University of Applied Sciences, which aims to make the Turku Science Park a model area for the circular economy. It is not an actual laboratory in the traditional sense, but rather a room on the ground floor of the C-staircase in DataCity.
In addition to the Experiment Lab, it is possible to participate in the development of the circular economy through the project's open theme groups. The groups' themes relate to water and nature, construction, mobility, and business development, and participants from companies in the Science Park are welcome to join.
The first concrete example of the project's actions was a dismantling-for-reuse experiment carried out on a plot owned by the City of Turku in Itäharju. Similar experiments of varying scales are coming to different parts of the Science Park.
– A clothing and goods exchange point will be established on the 2nd floor of the Joki visitor center during the spring, and the possibilities for further experiments in dismantling-for-reuse are also being investigated, explains Nea Metsänranta from the City of Turku.
