Co-working center: a tool to promote independent professionals in the academic environment. Norbert Vrabec To cite this article: Vrabec, N. (2011). Co-working center: a tool to promote independent professionals in the academic environment. In: Marketing Communications / Modern Educational Methods in Teaching Marketing Communications in Tertiary Education : The Collection of The 1st International Scientific Conference. Prague: Vysoká škola finanční a správní, pp.1 - 5. ISBN 978-80-7408-055-5. See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325425011 Co-working center: a tool to promote independent professionals in the academic environment Conference Paper · January 2011 CITATIONS READS 0 28 1 author: Norbert Vrabec University of St. Cyril and Methodius of Trnava - Univerzita sv. Cyrila a Metoda 23 PUBLICATIONS 8 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Media Literacy and Academic Research View project All content following this page was uploaded by Norbert Vrabec on 29 May 2018. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Marketing Communications / Modern Educational Methods in Teaching Marketing Communications in Tertiary Education : The Collection of The 1st International Scientific Conference / Editor: Dušan Pavlů. - Prague : Vysoká škola finanční a správní, 2011. ISBN 978-80-7408-055-5. Co-working center: a tool to promote independent professionals in the academic environment Norbert Vrabec ABSTRACT: The paper deals with the possibilities of development of the co-working centers in academic institutions. Co-working is an innovative business and lifestyle trend that is developing in an environment of independent professionals. Various creative experts (graphic designers, marketers, copywriters, experts on internet marketing, website, visual communication, etc.) work together in a shared center. They have necessary technical equipment and creative background and provide services for the external environment. In the academic environment, the center is actually a kind of business incubator, which develops students' ability and practical skills focused on real business. KEYWORDS: co-working; marketing; collaborative workspaces; freelancer; The future of marketing professionals is not in corporate structures, but in the freelance sector. More and more graduates of marketing departments do not apply in the classic marketing departments of large enterprises. On the contrary, act as independent experts, who offer specific services to the external environment - not only for the corporate sector, but also for large advertising agencies, PR agencies etc. Many companies adjust to this trend. And we can say that it's convenient for them. The current trend is the outsourcing of activities unrelated to core business to external suppliers. Many businesses are cut off from their own marketing departments. Services formerly provided by internal marketing department are increasingly replacing external suppliers. Many of them are not “big fish”, but independent marketing professionals. Employers have three key requirements for their prospective employees - flexibility, creativity and the favorable ratio between the cost of labor and employee performance. Combine these three requirements is often very difficult task. Working in the field of marketing has become increasingly specialized character. Especially for small and mediumsized firms is prohibitively expensive to employ a range of specialists - web designers, copywriters, SEO experts, graphic designers, PR managers etc. Work on specific marketing contracts is more and more about specific projects, where specialists are applied to solve various specific problems. These experts act as independent professionals and working for several companies at the same time as contactors. A new style of work also becomes new types of lifestyle, which is very popular especially among young professionals. It is an interesting coincidence that the labor market should demand the right people suits this style of work. Preparation of marketing experts at universities should be respond to these new labor market requirements. Creating co-working centers is an ideal platform to satisfy the requirements of the labor market 1 What is the co-working? Co-working is a movement that started in California in the late '90s that brings together professionals who normally work from home for different companies, and even different industries, but who want to share a workspace with others, be it in a café, gallery, someone's living room or an office. The concept is much more developed in North America, where Web developers and marketing consultants sit next to journalists and fashion designers in shared office spaces. (Thompson, 2010). In the past decade independent co-working groups are popping up all over Europe, as well - including in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and some other Central European Countries. Co-working is a phenomenon that happens in shared, collaborative workspaces in which the emphasis is on community (not space), relationships, and productivity. Co-working has its foundation in the freelance/self-employed realm. Co-working is not just about having a desk or exchanging business cards with your coworkers. It never has been. It’s about being part of a movement that is changing the face of work as we know it (Kwiatkowski & Buczynski, 2011). But it is important to note that co-working is not only a new style of working, but state of mind too. This style of work attracts people with similar sentiments and views on life, work and career. Co-working concept is a revolutionary element of the larger collaborative movement shared by a groups of young people at local and global level. Most of co-working spaces are part of a grassroots international movement that is loosely connected through the Internet. The founder of the movement is considered Brad Neuberg, San Francisco inventor and opensource software developer who coined the term "co-working”. Many co-working pioneers came out of the open-source software movement, which believes in making source code freely available for use by anyone around the globe. They approached co-working not just as a business model but as a mission. The main aim is to extend open-source-style collaboration into other parts of life (DeBare, 2008). More and more people in the world are working on their own either full or part time. Some co-working centers have an open-door policy, in which people rent desks and can free use the Wi-Fi or the conference room. Part of the spaces is completely free and takes support from public or private sector. Co-working is the answer for freelancers and other location-independent professionals who can share four important common principles - collaboration, openness, community, sustainability and accessibility (Frost, 2008). Co-working acknowledges the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the independent workforce by providing a community where socialization and collaboration are readily available. Anyone can locate a desk and a free internet connection, but co-working provides more. It allows members to participate in a coworking community, common support system, informal educational network, and be part of creative think tank, both locally and globally. (Kwiatkowski & Buczynski, 2011). Why is co-working so popular? 2 We ask ourselves, why is this style of work and also a lifestyle so popular? For this phenomenon is the emergence of several factors that are synergistic and mutually influencing. The most important factors include the following: A growing number of creative professions. Market generates more and more expert positions. They do not need to work with corporate background. Their main working tool is a laptop, web connection and cell phone. Growing demand from small and medium enterprises, but also the corporate sector, for subcontracting of services (especially services provided by creative and marketing professionals). Outsourcing creative and marketing services. External suppliers of these services may not be the only large professional agencies, but also small-scale contractors and freelancers. Freelancers prefer co-working styles of work. In particular, young independent professionals are often unwilling to commit to one employer. Instead of continuous employment they prefer to work part time for a given number of contractors. Creative and stimulating environment that boost co-workers skills and motivation. This style of work provides new opportunities for people who are still working independently and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with talented and motivated people in the same space. Affinities and cooperation between members. For co-working concept is very important free exchange of business and skills know-how, social aspect of the meet-ups, work on common projects and contracts. This environment fosters innovation, creativity, and competitive development. First Global Co-working Survey The number of co-working spaces worldwide rose in February 2011 to more than 700. According to First Global Co-working Survey (King, 2010) the majority of these new collaborative workspaces are still in North America. But Europe is catching up, and the growth rate is highest in South America and Australia. In Europe there are now 281 coworking spaces. A total of 661 people from 24 countries took part in the survey, which is part of an academic, non-commercial research study to map out co-working experiences globally. The survey shows that:  An ideal co-working space would have a mixture of open shared working areas, as well as smaller closed rooms for private conversations.  Most important factors for their work, co-workers rank flexible work times as the highest (86%). Equally important is interaction with other people (86%), and the ability to share knowledge with them (82%). Co-workers also place high value on the random opportunities and discoveries made through such interaction (79%).  Most co-workers are in their mid twenties to late thirties, with an average age of 34. Two-thirds are men, one third are women. The same ratio of men to women is generally found in the wider entrepreneurial and small business statistics across Europe and the U.S. 3  The overwhelming majority of co-workers now work in the field of creative industries and new media. Most of them are web developers or programmers, although the boundary between job descriptions is fluid and many co-workers specialize in more than one specific field.  Every ninth respondent is a graphic designer or web designer. Just as many are active as consultants focusing on the creative industries. The fourth-largest industry is PR and marketing. It’s worth mentioning that journalists, writers, architects and artists are also present in co-working spaces.  The majority use their workspace to carry out short-term projects. Co-working is open towards the academic environment The number of co-workers worldwide has risen dramatically over the past ten years. Coworkers in Czech and Slovak Republic share approximately 10 spaces, for example in Prague, Brno, Písek, Ostrava and Bratislava. Co-working centers can exist in various forms. The majority are private initiatives. For membership in the center is to be paid some form of fee (daily, weekly, monthly and year below). However, there are centers which have no charge, their activities are supported by various public and private authorities. In the academic environment, the co-working center concept is actually a kind of business incubator, which develops students' ability and practical skills focused on real business. The philosophy of coworking is open towards the campus, although in Central Europe is not yet too many examples. One of the first initiatives of this kind is planning to start the Faculty of Mass Media Communications, University of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava The aim is to create space for the development of entrepreneurial skills, thoughts and ideas of students. Already during his/her studies will be able to try a real business, gain new contacts, acquire soft skills etc. Benefits of this approach for students:  Students working in co-working center will be able during their study lay the foundations for its future business and verify their business ideas and concepts in practice.  Precious asset is intercourse with a realistic business environment, acquiring new business contacts and experience.  Transfer of business practice requirements directly into the design curriculum. Through the concept can be directly measured students' knowledge acquired in an incubator (very similar to the real experience of practice).  The concept will provide important data for feedback and verification of students' entrepreneurial skills. References DeBARE, I. Shared work spaces a wave of the future. In: San Francisco Chronicle [online]. 2008 [cit.2011 04.04]. Available at http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/18/MN7CV2JFE.DTL#ixzz1LDDbnAVA 4 FOST, D. They're Working on Their Own, Just Side by Side. In: The New York Times [online]. 2008 [cit.2011 04.04]. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/business/businessspecial2/20cowork.html?_r=1&ex=13 61250000&en=dbd589ebb73df147&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&oref=slogin KING, C. First Global Coworking Survey. Lafayette : Emergent Research, 2011. Available at http://www.emergentresearch.com/ KWIATKOWSKI, A., BUCZYNSKI, B. Coworking: How freelancers escape the coffee shop office and tales of community from independents around the world. Fort Collins: Cohere, LLC, 2011 THOMPSON, E. A new twist on work culture. In: Prague Post [online]. 2010 [cit.2011 04.04]. Available at http://www.praguepost.com/print/4266-a-new-twist-on-work-culture.html CONTACT: Mgr. Norbert Vrabec, PhD. Faculty of Mass Media Communications, University of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava Nám. J. Herdu 2, 91701 Trnava nvrabec@gmail.com 5 View publication stats