On July 21, the opening ceremony of CHANGeUP Ground, a startup incubation center in POSTECH for fostering venture companies, took place along with a symposium entitled “Three years of citizen-directed entrepreneurship of POSCO becomes a path to future management”.
At the symposium held earlier that day, there were presentations on various research analyzing the value and performance of corporate employee management ideology. In the afternoon, the opening ceremony was held with the attendance of Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, Gyeonsangbuk-do Governor Lee Chul-woo, and POSCO Chairman Choi Jung-woo. Prime Minister Kim said, “Pohang has the only industrial-academic-venture ecosystem in Korea with excellent research facilities centered on POSTECH. I hope the Pohang CHANGeUP Ground will become the Korean version of Silicon Valley.”
The CHANGeUP Ground consists of eight floors, from the basement to the seventh floor, with a total area of 28,000 square meters.
The entrance to the second floor consists of futuristic artworks. The artworks of high-tech video art and devices present the idea of future-leading startups and the latest technologies they build on. On the wall of the Varying Venue (lobby), a large media gallery, which is 8.5 meters wide and 9.0 meters long, adds a sense of openness and depth to the space.
The theme of the second floor is “Business + Society”. The second floor consists of Varying Venue, an event hall, the POS Archive, and a gallery. This is a place not only startups and POSTECH members, but also for Pohang citizens to enjoy. Varying Venue and the event hall provide an environment where academic conferences, seminars, and citizen-participating events can be held. It is expected to serve as a place for startups to communicate with citizens and promote their technology. 
The third and fourth floors are where technology and people can be connected under the theme of “people”. The Maker Space on the third floor has advanced equipment that allows members of POSTECH and startups to freely design and engineer. It consists of a wood/metal/ceramic fabrication room, a robot shop, a 3D printer fabrication room, CNC, and a laser cutting machine room.
The Social Culture Data Science Research Institute on the fourth floor supports the creation of new knowledge on humans and society by analyzing Big Data on social phenomena. On the fourth floor, there is also a studio for producing video content to promote companies using video platforms such as YouTube. Following the new trends for marketing and delivering information, scientists and engineers can communicate with people on the fourth floor. CHANGeUP Ground also has a music lounge, a play zone, and rest areas, allowing residents and visitors to relax and arrange meetings freely. These spaces show a balanced harmony between work and rest, the theme pursued by startup companies.
From the fifth to seventh floors, designed with the theme of “business”, there are offices and conference rooms where various companies reside. As most startups moving in are technology-based, laboratories and research institutes are well equipped.
The CHANGeUP Ground will be a creative space where students, members of POSTECH, and startups will present and realize various ideas. Outstanding startups and talented people will emerge and lead the future of CHANGeUP Ground.