IASP Inspiring Solutions 2026 finalists announced

Inspiring Solutions is IASP's knowledge-sharing programme designed to highlight innovative ideas and exemplary practices in science parks, innovation districts and areas of innovation globally. This programme amplifies the impact of their work on supporting businesses and communities. 

More than 40 entries from 19 countries were received, showcasing a wide range of bright ideas from around the world. Our expert panel has selected 10 outstanding finalists from Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Greece, Peru, Poland, South Korea, Thailand, and Türkiye. 

Now, it is up to IASP members to vote for their top three solutions. The main contacts from each member organisation will soon receive an email with a personalised link through which to vote.  

The winners will be revealed during a special ceremony at the 43rd IASP World Conference in France.  

Here are the 10 finalists (listed alphabetically by organisation): 

Bilişim Vadisi, Türkiye & The Athens Startup Business Incubator (THEA), Greece - Greece–Türkiye Hackathon 2024-2025 

The Greece-Türkiye Hackathon is a cross-border innovation programme bringing together young people from Greece and Türkiye to co-develop solutions for smart cities and the green transition. Using a hybrid format and mixed-nationality teams, it turns shared regional challenges into collaborative, scalable innovation outcomes. 

Gyeonggi Business & Science Accelerator, South Korea - Startup Platform Pangyo: A Dynamic Ecosystem for Global Scale-up 

Startups frequently encounter scaling barriers, including resource constraints, restricted validation opportunities, and limited access to global markets. Pangyo Techno Valley addresses these challenges by providing full-cycle support from incubation to global expansion, connecting startups, corporations, and researchers through acceleration, investment networking, testbeds, and commercialisation support within an integrated innovation ecosystem. 

INPACTAS/UFAM, Peru - Cross-Border Trinational Incubation 9X: Amazon Innovation Microcosm 

A trinational cross-incubation system co-creating bioeconomy ventures across the Amazon triple frontier of Brazil, Colombia and Peru. By integrating quadruple helix governance, ancestral knowledge and trinational mentorship, it transforms historically neglected border territories into replicable innovation microcosms, connecting universities, governments, companies and indigenous communities through shared incubation, mobility and market access. 

JOIST Innovation Park, Greece - JOIST Future TechBox: A Compact Experiential Innovation Hub That Converts Footfall into Revenue 

The JOIST Future TechBox is a compact, 10 m² physical-digital innovation module that combines high-touch demonstrations with a guided web platform to diagnose business needs, recommend tailored services, capture leads and enable immediate actions. Designed as a sales and affiliate engine, the TechBox links local physical traffic to JOIST's digital ecosystem, turning curiosity into measurable commercial value for both hosts and JOIST. 

Prince of Songkla University Science Park, Thailand - Designing Bridges: Connecting Research, Art, Culture and People 

Much high-value research remains locked in laboratories due to technical complexity. PSU Science Park established the Innovation Design Center to bridge research and everyday life through design, transforming knowledge into products, communication, and media. Evolving into cultural design, the centre now integrates identity and co-creation to deliver meaningful, market-ready impact. 

RMIT University, Australia - Regenerative Futures Challenge 

Led by RMIT University and delivered with partners across the Melbourne Innovation District, the Regenerative Futures Challenge is a place-based programme aligned to RMIT's Living Plan, enabling communities, researchers and industry to co-design and test solutions in an urban precinct operating as a living lab for inclusive and regenerative city innovation. 

Ruta N, Colombia - Generación Tech 

Generación Tech acts from basic education as a response to a strategic challenge: building early vocations to sustain the district's science, technology and innovation ecosystem. It promotes the development of STEAM skills and scientific thinking in teachers and students alike. 

Science and Technology Park in Opole, Poland - eXperience OpenCloud: A Digital Launchpad for Regional Innovation 

eXperience OpenCloud leverages the park's Rated-3 Data Centre to provide startups with access to high-performance virtual machines and sovereign storage. From software development to large-scale data hosting, it empowers local companies to compete at scale using premium-grade cloud infrastructure at accessible cost. 

Shenzhen Times High-Tech Park Co., Ltd., China - Weiguang Life Science Park: Creating a Green Model and Innovative Solutions for the Biopharmaceutical Industrial Park 

Weiguang Life Science Park integrates production, living, and ecological elements to create China's first biopharmaceutical industry park centred on synthetic biology achievement-transformation. It features 30% green coverage, a 1,000-ton-per-day wastewater facility, smart waste systems, and comprehensive environmental management to establish Shenzhen's leading environmental protection model. 

UFRJ Science Park, Brazil - UFRJ Science Park Living Lab 

The UFRJ Science Park Living Lab transforms the park into a real-world innovation platform where startups, researchers and companies test and validate solutions in real conditions. By accelerating technological maturity and connecting university, industry and territory, it turns experimentation into impact, learning and ecosystem transformation. 

Full details of their innovative ideas and implementations can be found at www.iaspinspiringsolutions.com and on the accompanying YouTube playlist.   

Join us at the 43rd IASP World Conference to discover who the three winners are!