Published: 21 September 2026
Text: Anne-Marie Korseberg Stokke
Photo: Anne-Marie Korseberg Stokke
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Here's the translation with that adjustment:
iHub currently hosts three different initiatives: the student incubator Insj, the innovation program Co-Create, and the internship program Momentum. From their centrally located premises in the Oslo Science Park, they have views both toward the busy glass street and into Startuplab's premises.
"Hi there! Come in! Would you like something to drink?"
Jakob Fallaas, deputy leader of the student incubator Insj and the one who organizes iHub's premises, is friendliness itself. Within the glass walls, they've created a cross between a typical startup office and a student club. Here, innovative students from UiO can work on their startup or project both during the day and in the evening.
"We've worked on making it nice here, with plants and a sofa and things like that, and we've also added more workstations. Some days it's completely full here."
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"But why are you here at the Oslo Science Park, and not at Blindern or another UiO campus where students are closer?"
"It's actually partly about the positive associations you get, and that we get to feel the energy that's here. Just the fact that we look straight into Startuplab provides inspiration in itself. And seemingly trivial things, like getting your own key card to the Oslo Science Park, matter!"
"In addition, there's the practical advantage of being close to relevant environments. You feel, in a way, that you're more like colleagues here, rather than just being students visiting. It's much easier to poke your head into a startup and ask if they have a few minutes, than to arrange a meeting via email," says Fallaas.
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Per nå er i underkant av 30 prosjekter knyttet til Insj. Det er en betydelig økning fra 10 prosjekter i 2025 og 13 ved starten av 2026. Hans Terland, leder av Insj, er godt fornøyd med at stadig flere studenter ønsker å jobbe med sin egen startup.
– Flere av prosjektene stammer fra workshops i Co-Create, noen har deltatt på sommerprogrammet til Startuplab eller på faglige konkurranser som iGEM. Tradisjonelt har det vært flertall fra Institutt for informatikk, men vi ser nå større grad av tverrfaglighet, med studenter fra nye prosjekter fra for eksempel psykologi, medisin og biologi, sier han.
I likhet med Fallaas ser også han verdien av å være i tett på næringslivet og startup-miljøet i Forskningsparken. Et eksempel er de mange koblingene mellom iHub og inkubatorene Startuplab, ShareLab og Aleap.
– Vi ser at det er god flyt av prosjekter og talenter både inn og ut av iHub. I tillegg til deltakere i sommerakselleratoren til Startuplab har for eksempel ett selskap, NIU Sleep, nylig blitt tatt opp i helseinkubatoren Aleap, rett borte i gangen her.
I ShareLab har nytten gått begge veier:
– Vitr utvikler celletellingsteknologi og fikk innpass på ShareLab for å bruke laben som sitt testmiljø. Samtidig som de hjalp andre medlemmer i ShareLab med å telle celler, fikk de validert løsningen sin på reelle prøver. Vi har også eksempler der erfaring fra studentprosjekter innen bioteknologi har fungert som et springbrett inn i ShareLab-miljøet, som iGEM-prosjektet Outrun.
Aktiviteten iHub drives i samspill med UiO Veksthuset for verdiskaping, blant annet ved at Insj UiO forvalter og tildeler innovasjonsmidler til ferske studentprosjekter på vegne av Veksthuset.
Senior innovasjonsrådgiver Nicolay Bérard-Andersen ser at samspillet med økosystemet i Forskningsparken bidrar til kunnskapsoverføring og bygger kultur.
– Flere prosjekter som sitter i iHub søkte seg til Startuplabs sommerinkubator og hadde stor nytte av deres profesjonelle veiledning. Dette er erfaring de tar med seg tilbake til iHub som rollemodeller for neste generasjon gründere.
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