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co‑work with students and staff helps with experiential learning
and idea generation and development, and thus enriches the
students’ learning experience.
University co-working spaces are also seen as innovation hubs
for university entrepreneurship and research commercialisation,
where students and researchers have access to industry insights
from entrepreneurs, investors and commercialisation experts.
However, the most cited reasons from users of non-university
co-working spaces are the lower costs compared with renting an
office, the flexibility in access and leasing terms (i.e. casual rate,
weekly, monthly and yearly), and reducing the feeling of loneliness
and isolation.
IMPLICATIONS FOR UNIVERSITIES
For universities, the co-working space trend and model has several
significant implications for the future of work.
First, the traditional model of teaching and learning – that lecturers
talk and students listen – is being replaced in many universities by
student-centred models such as the flipped classroom.
Converting some of the classrooms into co-working spaces
would provide more engaging, inviting and fun spaces for teaching
and learning, and for students to work together on projects.
Flexible space design in co-working spaces may contribute to the
modernisation of campuses.
Second, digital technologies are reshaping the way courses are
delivered. More and more students are now studying online. The
lack of face-to-face interaction with their peers and lecturers has
been a big drawback for these students. Co-working spaces would
help solve the problem.
Third, universities have the tradition of assigning each academic
to a fixed office or desk. This is not an efficient use of university
facilities, as it is often the case that many of these offices are
unoccupied at any given time. This underutilisation of office space
is common, as academics are not required to attend their offices.
Co‑working spaces with shared amenities and dedicated flexible
spaces could improve the efficiency of university resources and,
equally importantly, collaboration and idea sharing between staff, as
seen in public co-working spaces.
Fourth, if universities share co-working spaces with students and
staff from other universities, the potential benefits from the inter-
university collaboration and cross-fertilisation would be significant.
With the increasing demand for engagement with communities
and for creating social and economic impacts, and the mounting
pressure for resource efficiency, universities may find the
co-working space concept inspiring in tackling the challenges. ■
Fang Zhao is a professor of management at the School of
Business and Management, Edith Cowan University.
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