OzU-X is an Innovation Center located at Ozyegin University Çekmekoy campus, and is the flagship building of the university campus. The building’s name was picked by students after a university-wide poll, and chosen as a reference to the word “Exploration,” the symbol of technology and innovation in the era of global digitalization, as well as Ozyegin University’s one of key values. Ozu-X is organized around a start-up incubator led by the University, surrounded by laboratories and studio space for students. A large makerspace links all the various laboratories together by offering services to all students and incubees. The space is planned as an ecosystem that streamlines collaboration, generates Innovation and augments productivity. The place acknowledges that new ways of learning requires a new type of space. OzU-X supports flexibility by creating various environments for technology, for small group working, to support interdisciplinary learning and research, project spaces, community spaces, classrooms and seminar rooms, studios and workshop. Maybe similar to other innovation spaces in terms of its infrastructure and architectural design, OzU- X is unique in the way it reflects OzU’s entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to exploration through collaboration. It is designed for product realization from design through to manufacture and occupies teaching spaces and laboratories bringing into one space various stages in the design and manufacture process, as well as reinforcing interdisciplinary work among different creative units. External stakeholders hosted at Ozu-X, such as General Motors and Turkish White Goods Suppliers Association, also contribute to innovation by accelerating the creative process at the center.
