CoSpaces is proud to announce the successful funding of the NextGen Incubator, a new three-year student entrepreneurship program set to launch in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct in 2025.
The NextGen Student Incubator will support entrepreneurial pathways for students and young innovators on the Gold Coast, tailored to bridge the gap between formal education and real-world entrepreneurship.
The project has been successfully funded by the Queensland Government through Advance Queensland’s Regional Enablers Program (REP) to run from 2025 to 2028.
The NextGen Student Incubator will be delivered in collaboration with Griffith University, leveraging the University’s extensive student network and world-class facilities at Griffith Innovation Centre.
With an annual program, the incubator will offer hands-on workshops, coaching, a pre-accelerator program, 1:1 mentoring, and networking opportunities with industry leaders and investors. Participants will also gain access to events such as pitch nights, hackathons, and expert panels.
CoSpaces CEO, Ben Howe said the team had identified a strong need for a program of this kind on the Gold Coast.
“Our partnership with Griffith University and the support from Advance Queensland will ensure that the next generation of entrepreneurs have the support they need to commercialise their ideas and create new businesses in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct.”
“The incubator will not only benefit young people and students, but a number of other regional stakeholders including startups, academia and the ecosystem organisations,”
“By accelerating student and youth pathways into entrepreneurship, the incubator will foster collaboration between students and industry, provide mentorship to bring innovative new products to commercialisation stage, and accelerate the regional adoption of entrepreneurship on the Gold Coast.”
CoSpaces has demonstrated a strong track record over the past 10 years in delivering impactful services and activities to the Queensland innovation ecosystem, including the management of Cohort Innovation Space (Gold Coast) and The Precinct (Brisbane), the Queensland AI Hub (Queensland-wide), and LX Health (National).
Annually, CoSpaces delivers over 50 innovation activities, including educational workshops, meetups, hackathons, accelerator programs, pre-accelerators, summits, and peer-learning programs.
For more information, contact Program Coordinator Georgia Wyllie at georgia@cospaces.com
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