EnschedeLab is taking shape

In the previous update you read that we had just started the research for the physical location of the EnschedeLAB. We had visited two physical knowledge locations in the Netherlands, the knowledge shop in Leiden and WIJS in Groningen. It can be concluded from the previous update that we have collected a lot of information here, about the way in which they run their location, but also about the design of these locations. We then processed this information in our research. Based on the research, we then continued to explore options, but also to make a plan.

What have we done in the meantime?

Over the past few weeks we have been very busy with the entire research, but also with designing a plan for the ‘community space’. We are students with all different educational backgrounds, we have all used our expertise to make a plan as complete as possible. We have been working on both the three forms of marketing and the facility part for EnschedeLAB.

Marketing

The marketing part consists of three different topics: online marketing, offline marketing and international marketing. In all cases, the optimal Customer Journey was first looked at, in other words what is the ideal route that the customer takes to get in touch with EnschedeLAB? For online marketing, the main focus is on how the EnschedeLAB can position itself in the market and what needs to be done to get as close as possible to the Customer Journey.

Online marketing mainly focuses on the digital way of making contact with partners, and the current website and its user-friendliness have been looked at. This research showed that the website is well optimized and very easy to use, the website is fast and clear, which ensures an optimal customer experience. In addition to using the website itself, we also looked at the possibility of finding the website, unfortunately that is still fairly difficult. If you type EnschedeLAB yourself in Google, the website will come up first, but if you use other search terms the website will not be found. Ultimately, a suitable plan will have to be found to improve this.

For the offline marketing part of the project, we look at the target group of EnschedeLAB and how this can best be approached within the customer journey. There are several ways to do this, such as word of mouth, posters and flyers. Word of mouth works very well, but it is difficult to achieve, this requires a lot of positive awareness to be created. A flyer has been designed in the style of EnschedeLAB with a QR code, which refers to the EnschedeLAB website. This flyer can also be used as a poster. In the final report, advice is given on how the target group can best be approached via offline marketing.

The international part of this project is about the integration of international students in EnschedeLAB. Research and interviews have shown that international students show great interest in EnschedeLAB. This is because they would like to integrate more into the city where they study. EnschedeLAB can provide more added value than the educational institutions, by offering neutral and city-related services and assistance. Having a community space that connects students, from all over the world, with the city are features that EnschedeLAB can offer. The final plan will explain how the international students can be approached in this project.

Facilities

For the facilities component, we have been working out the three possible scenarios for running EnschedeLAB. The three possible scenarios are: 1) EnschedeLAB is run entirely by students, 2) it is run entirely by a coordinator with students at his/her side, or 3) it is run entirely by employees. In addition, we have been busy contacting a person who can realize the visualization of EnschedeLAB. We do this so that interested parties can imagine what EnschedeLab will look like. While creating the visualization, we decided which things are still missing and what needs to be invested in. We will do our best to make EnschedeLAB as accessible and inviting as possible.