LIVING LABS AND INNOVATIVE TRAINING METHODS
Living labs and innovative training methods
One of the major priorities of INVEST is to work towards becoming a driver of development in the European region as well as responding to current global challenges outlined within The United Nations sustainable development goals. A number of scholars have defined living labs as learning environments (physical regions or virtual realities) for collaboration, collective innovation development and knowledge co-creation as well as a testbeds for products, services, systems and solutions in real-life settings. The living lab is considered a multidisciplinary phenomenon with a number of characteristics including real-life environments, different stakeholder roles, contexts, challenges, main outcomes, and sustainability. More recently, Living Labs are defined in terms of learning and power differences, advocating for sustainability transitions (Loorback et al, 2017; Mierlo & Beers, 2020; McCrory et al, 2020)
Are you seeking more information on living labs and their characteristics? Are you curious on how you can make use of living labs as learning platforms to address complex societal challenges? Are you interested in exploring how you can make use of living labs for Different learning activities? if yes then make sure to follow our training on living labs and innovative training methods.
To whom
This training programme is meant for INVEST university lecturers and researchers.
How
During the training on living labs and innovative training methods a combination of reading materials, assignments and webinars will be used for your learning purposes.
Reading material to introduce the topic of living labs and the pedagogical process in living labs will be uploaded. There will also be material on how to make use of living labs in preparing learning material and activities for students (including assignments, projects and thesis)
Reading materials
1.What are Living Labs?
Schedule: 3rd March 2023 at 2-4 pm EET / 1-3 pm CET
Target groups: This training programme is meant for INVEST university lecturers and researchers.
Webinar recording: please register here to see the recording
Partnerships of knowledge institutes, private companies, citizens, NGOs, and governmental organizations in a Living Lab configuration present innovative form of transdisciplinary collaboration. The INVEST Alliance envisions sustainable futures and aims to make use of a Living Lab approach to work in regional innovative platforms. Living Labs as open and end-user oriented processes are in the spotlights and require attention.
This webinar looks at the conceptualization of Living Labs and will discuss the aspects of definition, interpretation and expectations of Living Lab approaches. The webinar will address the position paper authored by the INVEST4EXCELLENCE partners.
Presenters:
Dr. Loes Witteveen and Dr. Jan Fliervoet
Research group Communication, Participation & Social Ecological Learning (CoPSEL)
Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences
Reference
Witteveen, L., Fliervoet, J., Eweg, R., Arabska, E., Van der Maas, P., Lazarov, A., Latrellis, O., Bania, A., Lančarič, D. & Puhakka-Tarvainen, H. (2022) The transition towards regional sustainable futures: a position paper on exploring a transdisciplinary view on the INVEST living lab approach. Report from INVEST4EXCELLENCE project (101035815). 25 pages.
2. Design principles and quality criteria for Living Labs: Transitions towards sustainable regions
Schedule: 21st March 2023 at 2-4 pm EET / 1-3 pm CET
Target groups: This training programme is meant for INVEST university lecturers and researchers.
Webinar recording: please register here to see the recording
Presenters:
Dr. Rik Eweg and Dr. Annelies Heijmans
Professorship Regional Transitions towards Circular Agriculture
Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences
The goal of INVEST Living Labs is to contribute to meaningful developments in specific regions. We consider regions as integrated systems, with a natural and a societal dimension. Systems changes are described as ‘transitions’. There exist different approaches to transitions coming from different disciplinary backgrounds and bringing different types of insights and methods: a social-technical approach, a social-institutional approach and a socio-ecological approach. INVEST takes sustainability as an overarching theme which brings the three different approaches together. By using the Sustainable Development Goals as a compass, the SDG’s can guide the direction of the developments. The webinar will present transition theory related to Living Labs and the how SDGs can be used as a compass to guide sustainability.
References
• Heijmans A. and Eweg, R. (2023) Transformative research and education in Living Labs using SDGs as a compass. (submitted to International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education).
• Loorbach, D. Frantzeskaki, N., Avelino, F. (2017), “Sustainability transitions research: transforming science and practice for societal change”, Annual review of Environment and Resources, Vol. 42, pp. 599-626. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-environ-102014-021340
3. Integrating living labs in pedagogy of Higher education : Contemporary transition competences
Schedule: 30th March 2023 at 2-4 pm EET / 1-3 pm CET
Target groups: This training programme is meant for INVEST university lecturers and researchers.
Webinar recording: please register here to see the recording
Presenters:
Dr. Loes Witteveen and Dr. Jan Fliervoet
Research group Communication, Participation & Social Ecological Learning (CoPSEL)
Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences
Collaborative configurations of higher education institutes, farmers, entrepreneurs, regional governments, and other regional stakeholders in a Living Lab approach are assumed to address the interests and values of each of them in an action-oriented vision on regional transitions. In this webinar we aim to unravel the origin of the ambitions and the reality of ‘happy end’ or ‘fairy tale’ expectations regarding Living Labs. We will reflect on design principles as published in a 2016 study and contemporary insights on the performance of Living Labs. We will present our recent studies (in print) in connection to educational or pedagogical cultures and its relation to competences of public engagement and participation.
Reference
Witteveen, L., Eweg, R., Smits, S. & Voskamp-Harkema, W. (2016) Design principles for Living Lab’s aiming at sustainable development. The role of higher education in Living Lab’s. Paper presented at Competence 2016. Wageningen
4. Living Labs for developing sustainability and transition competences: Making an impact with INVEST-Living Labs
Schedule: 18th April 2023 at 2-4 pm EET / 1-3 pm CET
Target groups: This training programme is meant for INVEST university lecturers and researchers.
Webinar recording: n/a
Presenters:
Dr. Rik Eweg and Dr. Annelies Heijmans
Professorship Regional Transitions towards Circular Agriculture
Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences
After all the theory, it is time to put the INVEST Living Labs into action! In the INVEST4EXCELLENCE project, Transition pathways will be developed as a method to facilitate the discussions between scholars, governments and practitioners and initiate a common regional development process.
In this webinar we will discuss the INVEST Living Labs and how research and education can be connected to create value for practitioners in the Living Labs. Participants in the webinar are invited to share their thoughts and to provide input for the development of a common approach.
References
• Geels, F.W., Schot, J. (2003) Typology of sociotechnical transition pathways. Research Policy
Volume 36, Issue 3, April 2007, Pages 399-417 doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2007.01.003
• INVEST WP 3 Deliverable 3.17 Regional Living Labs.
• WP 3 Deliverable 3.19 Knowledge Agenda’s Regional Living Labs.