Building a collaborative community

According to Marina Chan, director of strategic initiatives for the Innovation Node, “continued access to resources for alumni of Hong Kong universities and MIT is a major benefit of the physical space.”In Hong Kong, college understudies get a great deal of assets, yet when they graduate, that entrance is significantly contracted,” she says. “We are, in a way, their place of attachment.

Alumni from MIT and Hong Kong universities can stop by Innovation Node to help with ongoing projects or mentor aspiring entrepreneurs.During trips to the region, MIT professors can meet with students and give lectures.

Startups that started in the Innovation Node can still use the space for more prototyping, meetings with the company, and, perhaps more importantly, free coffee.”It’s mental fuel,” Yen jokes.