TU Dublin Living Lab

The TU Dublin Living Lab is a way of thinking about and interacting with our environment. It enables the TU Dublin community of students and staff, and stakeholders from across society to engage with a particular process of innovation to achieve sustainability goals. It lies at the centre of TU Dublin's sustainable campus plans. 

Living Labs operate in many sectors and places and can address a wide range of subject areas - from culture and creativity to energy and emerging technologies. They can be a mechanism for transformation, enabling stakeholders to navigate complex systems and to more successfully innovate and implement change.

The European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) describes living labs as:

...open innovation ecosystems in real-life environments based on a systematic user co-creation approach that integrates research and innovation activities in communities and/or multi-stakeholder environments, placing citizens and/or end-users at the centre of the innovation process.

How can I interact with the TU Dublin Living Lab?

• Research & Innovation: Attend a Living Labs in Research & Innovation Workshop delivered in collaboration with People Development as part of the Researcher Development programme.
• Education: If you are interested in Learning in a Living Lab please contact Sustainability@TUDublin.ie 
• Operations: If you have an innovative idea you would like to develop or would like to convene students, staff and subject area specialists around a sustainability challenge please contact Sustainability@TUDublin.ie 

How can I interact with the TU Dublin Living Lab?

To animate the TU Dublin Living Lab, Green-Campus project ideas can be developed and implemented as living lab projects where relevant and feasible. The following living lab characteristics can be incorporated into project design:

• Real-world experimentation
• Multi-stakeholder participation
• Active end-user or campus community involvement - these can be the first adopters of the idea.
• Systematic co-creation - engaging stakeholders through all project phases. An iterative approach to innovation e.g., through prototyping or agile piloting.
• Multiple methods and tools – allowing the idea to be thoroughly explored and enabling a range of stakeholders to contribute.

Working in this way can enhance the replicability and scalability of project ideas and increase their impact. Any idea or intervention to improve campus sustainability can fit into this approach.

Download Living Lab worksheets:

Living Lab Ecosystem

Living Lab Innovation Lifecycle