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On September 16th and 17th, European Ulalabs partners and regional stakeholders converged in the vibrant city of Linköping for a breakout session titled, “Exploring the Role of Living Labs for Urban Sustainability Innovation,” as part of the Future Now Forum. This gathering also included a transnational coordination meeting, marking a significant milestone in our collaborative journey. Meeting in Linköping: A Beacon of Innovation Linköping, the host city for our meeting, is a beacon of innovation and sustainability. Recently awarded the European Capital of Innovation Award 2023 in the category of European Rising Innovative City, Linköping is a place where world-leading research and groundbreaking innovations are shaping a better future. The city’s university, municipality, civil society, and business community work hand-in-hand to turn innovative ideas into reality. With a population of 166,700, Linköping is Sweden’s fifth-largest city and is on a mission to become a carbon-neutral municipality. Future Visioning Workshop: Imagining the Distributed Living Lab As part of our Ulalabs project transnational meeting on Monday, September 16, we held a Future Visioning Workshop led by the DesignLab at the University of Twente. This workshop applied responsible futuring methodologies and creative exercises to collaboratively envision a shared future for the Distributed Living Lab (Lab of Labs). The DesignLab’s approach to responsible futuring is rooted in design thinking and addresses societal challenges from a societal perspective rather than a technological one. This methodology emphasizes trans-disciplinary practices, responsible design, and social involvement to drive societal impact. It encourages stakeholders to break disciplinary boundaries and become agents of societal change, using moral imagination to generate potential solutions. Imagining the Future – Dynamic, Collaborative Environment Our discussions focused on the principles and premises that should underpin the future Distributed Living Lab across various regions. A central theme in our vision for the Distributed Living Lab is inclusivity and equality. We imagined a future where anyone can participate without boundaries, ensuring that all voices can be heard and valued. This vision promotes a bottom-up approach, empowering society to take the lead in shaping the living lab environment. We explored the potential for living labs to become central hubs of innovation, led by citizens and balancing – or even disrupting – power dynamics. This vision includes creating new frameworks for living lab practices that are more accessible and less dominated by established institutions, as well as providing sustainable funding, linking people with resources, with the aim to overcome resource constraints and ensure the continuity of projects over time. By fostering a shared sense of ownership and responsibility, we can ensure that living labs remain inclusive and equitable. While virtual interactions are valuable and create new opportunities, throughout the discussions, we emphasized the importance of physical connections and face-to-face interactions. Building strong, tangible connections between different living labs and their participants can enhance collaboration and innovation. When playing with the design and model of the imagined Distributed Living Lab, using the symbol of the “babel fish,” we emphasized that communication across diverse actors is crucial, pointing to the need to facilitate not just language translation but also the translation of values and decision-making reasons. Our visions include integrating various types of nature and non-human beings as stakeholders, recognizing the interconnectedness of all life forms. Finally, given the accelerating pace of societal and environmental changes, we recognized the potential role and capacity of the living labs to respond and propose co-created solutions to those. In the afternoon, we also had a chance to visit Ebbepark district that provides a testbed for a variety of research projects, including the Climate Neutral Linköping 2030 project (see more below). Ulalabs Break-Out Session: Living Labs and Testbeds as Innovation Spaces for Sustainability Transformations
On Tuesday, September 17, as part of the Future Now Forum, we organized a break-out session titled “Exploring the Role of Living Labs for Urban Sustainability Innovation.” We had the opportunity to learn about the role and experiences with living labs and experimentation spaces from HUB B30 (Spain), Enschede (The Netherlands), Nordic Edge (Norway), and Ebbepark (Linköping, Sweden). We heard from Angela Rijnhart on the transformation and the innovative ecosystem of the city of Enschede and the region of Twente, showcasing its different initiatives, such as Circular Textile Lab and ChallengeLab Twente. We have learned about the different spaces where the municipality and Design Lab/University of Twente are connecting scientific knowledge about citizen science and practical experiences on participation processes and creating learning communities to work together on a social and sustainable city. Torrill Steinback from Nordic Edge, running Norway’s innovation clusters for smart city technology and AgriTech, and Innovation Centre ‘Innoasis,’ stressed the importance of cross-sectoral cooperation and shared various agile piloting (Kvikktest) projects in which sites or neighbourhoods are used as testbeds for innovation and green transition solutions, partnering with the University of Stavanger. Sergio Martínez shared the HUB30 experience in Catalonia, particularly the Vallès Labs Network, which provides spaces for participation and co-creation in which new models of open, transformative, and user-based innovation are promoted, supporting local agents in delivering transformative actions while implementing the methodology of Shared Agendas. These, supported by the RIS3CAT Strategy, aim to develop viable alternatives to unsustainable dominant practices and accelerate transitions towards a socioeconomic model aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among the others, Sergio showcased the example of the development of the Shared Agenda to promote economic and sustainable transformation towards the goal of zero waste in the territory of the Mollet-Cerdanyola axis. With the presentation of Sara Malmgren, we had the opportunity to learn more about the experiences of Ebbepark, a recently constructed new central city district in Linköping, built and living environment that can be tested on a 1:1 scale, a physical test environment in a living district, a real-world laboratory, where new ideas and solutions from both business and academia are tested, verified, and potentially brought to market to promote social and environmental sustainability. Following the presentations, we had group discussions to identify key strategies and components, as well as the enablers and barriers for the work of Living Labs and Testbeds as innovation spaces for sustainability transformations. Among some of the enablers, participants stressed the potential opportunities that come from combining intersectionality and interdisciplinarity in the living labs, as well as the importance of facilitation roles and communication in the co-creation processes, aiming to reach the natural and inclusive engagement of all parts. Cultural differences and cooperation were also named as very strong enablers, recognising also the importance and opportunities that a potential future European Distributed Living lab could provide. Participants acknowledged the interdependency and interconnectedness of different elements, noting that these can be both enablers and barriers, pointing out the example of funding (both material and immaterial) that could allow for a long-term perspective.
The inputs and insights gathered during the session will be analyzed in detail and will feed into the final publication of the work package focusing on the research on the status quo and perception of living labs and different experimental spaces, identifying the major challenges and success factors for the development of distributed learning communities and the strategies and approaches to foster Higher Education Institutes - community engagement that exist in each region and on a distributed level. The report will be published in the upcoming weeks.

In this blog article, Associate Professor Anders Riel Müller from University of Stavanger explores the research undertaken to develop a comprehensive shared definition of learning communities as part of the Work Package 3 activity concluded in the last quarter of 2024. The research compiled in the presented report (see below), will contribute to the upcoming publication, "Learning Communities Roadmap," foreseen for release later this year. In the article below, Professor Müller shares the key findings and reflections from this research, offering valuable insights into the dynamics and essential characteristics of effective learning communities. As the project progresses, we will continue to develop the learning methodologies and tools, adapting them to the needs and interests of our members. The challenges of urbanisation put cities in a critical position for successfully addressing the 2030 Agenda, emphasising the interlinked roles of citizens, civil society, business, planners and decision makers in sustainability transformation processes, initiatives, and solutions (Juhola et al., 2020; Köhler et al., 2019; Linnér & Wibeck, 2019). The European Union has set ambitious targets for climate neutrality through initiatives such as the EU mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, the mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, The New European Bauhaus and the 2021 – 2027 Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme. These initiatives come with significant funding, yet there is an explicit expectation and belief that in order for EU to reach its ambitions, interregional collaboration, knowledge sharing, and upscaling is essential. In the past EU Horizon Europe 2020 programme that ran from 2014-2020, urban sustainability was put on the top of the agenda through large-scale initiatives such as the Smart Cities and Communities Lighthouse projects. According to the EU website Smart Cities Marketplace website project portfolio more than 100 total projects, 47 lighthouse cities, and 166 fellow cities have been involved receiving more than 900 million EUR in EU funding and a total of 1,4 billion EUR project budgets. A central aspect of the programme was the expectation that the solutions developed, and experiences gained, should lead to upscaling and replication across Europe. Note these two words of upscaling and replication…They tell us something about how the EU envisioned that a solution developed or an experience gained should lead to the rapid and large scale adoption across Europe in the same way that a software program or hardware infrastructure can be rapidly diffused. This expectation however has proven difficult to realize- Cities do not operate as a computer system with almost infinite scalability (Mattern, 2021). Cities operate in diverse national, regional, and local contexts, with different populations, economies, infrastructures and administrative systems and cultures (Clark, 2020) that make aspirations of replication and rapid scaling difficult. ULALABS is an intervention that seeks to contribute to the acceleration of urban sustainability transformation not through strategies of replication and knowledge sharing, but by fostering transformative learning through Mutual Learning Communities across different living labs and experimentation spaces. Learning Learning is distinct from knowledge transfer, knowledge exchange, information transfer/exchange, and replicability. Whereas these terms indicate an almost seamless transfer and exchange of knowledge and information, we argue that this is the crux of the problem – that information, knowledge, experiences, and practices cannot move seamlessly from one context to another. Therefore, this project is particularly interested in developing methods and tools that enable information, knowledge, experiences, and practices to be shared and subsequently adapted and applied in new contexts (Joan Batalla-Bejerano et al., 2023). Transformative Learning We draw on theories of transformative learning by Jack Mezirow (1991, 2009). Mezirow's transformative learning theory emphasizes the importance of changing one's meaning perspectives through critical reflection. Transformative learning occurs when individuals face new situations that challenge their prior assumptions, leading to changes in interpretations and perspectives. Mezirow highlights that adult learning differs from children's learning, focusing on how adults reinterpret new knowledge by relating it to their own experiences. This process is not about the quantity of information received but how meaning is made in relation to personal experiences. Transformative learning challenges the traditional sender-receiver model of knowledge transfer, advocating for a communicative and reflexive learning environment. For transformative learning to occur, both the sending and receiving of information must be a collective exercise involving critical reflection. The goal is not merely to share information but to interpret and reinterpret it to transform practices. The transformative learning framework illustrates how information, knowledge, and experiences are processed through critical reflections, moving from specific to generalizable and abstract contexts, and then applied in new specific contexts. This process is akin to translation, where meaning must be conveyed effectively across different contexts. The role of ULALABS is to facilitate these learning processes by developing methods that engage community members and encourage critical thinking to transform practice. Distributed Learning Communties The ULALABS project will seek to facilitate transformative learning through mutual learning communities. Wilson (1998) describes Distributed Learning Communities (DLCs) as decentralized groups that interact enough to form stable communities, supported by communication technologies. The term 'distributed' distinguishes these groups from traditional, centralized learning environments, indicating that members are not all located in the same geographical area and that control, decision-making, and agenda-setting are shared among group members rather than managed by an external authority. Transformative communication and learning are key, with both senders and receivers of messages being changed by their interactions. DLCs are characterized by distributed control, commitment to generating and sharing new knowledge, flexible and negotiated learning activities, autonomous community members, high levels of dialogue and collaboration, and a shared goal or project. Figure 1 - the distributional aspect of the ULALABS Learning Communities The proposed Distributed Mutual Learning Communities (DMLCs) for transformative learning emphasize a dialogical and communicative approach. These communities focus on mutual identification of relevant information, knowledge, and experiences between different living labs, facilitating a reflexive communicative activity. The process involves de-contextualizing and abstracting information to make it relevant in new contexts, allowing practitioners to implement new practices and repeat the learning loop. To visualize the Learning Community concept, it is essential to identify suitable learning spaces, both physical and virtual, where diverse community learning activities can occur. Any space can potentially be a learning space, and it is crucial to reconsider what qualifies as such in an urban context. Figure 34 provides an overview of potential learning and experimentation arenas for the community. Moving forward: The successful implementation of Mutual Learning Communities (MLCs) for Transformative Learning between living labs and experimentation spaces to accelerate urban sustainability transformations involves several key aspects. Developing distributed learning methodologies is crucial for sharing and adapting information, knowledge, experiences, and practices across diverse contexts. This approach addresses the challenge of replicating methodologies and tools in varied cultural and geographic settings. The ULALABS project emphasizes fostering transformative learning through interpersonal and interregional learning communities, leveraging existing living labs' networks and experimental capacities. By focusing on cross-case learning and the interplay between technological, social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental factors, the project aims to enhance urban transformation capacities and generate innovative solutions in an emergent distributed manner. The ULALABS project also highlights the need for joint reflection and re-contextualization of experiences learned from local experiments. This process involves scientific experts and local practitioners collaboratively analyzing results and setting up new experiments, ensuring comprehensive learning that includes both successes and failures. A transformative focus is maintained by incorporating sustainability and social inclusion goals into the central learning agenda while respecting local interests. The learning network structure is designed to be flat, promoting mutual and joint learning among all partners. Equalizing local experimentation capacities through in-person advice and support tools facilitates effective knowledge transfer and application. These strategies collectively aim to build a cross-European virtual living lab, enabling the scaling and adaptation of innovative solutions to accelerate urban sustainability transformations. By focusing on these aspects, the ULALABS project aims to create a collaborative network that promotes mutual learning, joint problem-solving, and innovation, ultimately accelerating urban sustainability transformations. As the project progresses, we will continue to develop the learning methodologies and tools, adapting them to the needs and interests of our members. Currently, regional workshops are being organized across the ULALABS partner regions to further map local ecosystems and identify potential Learning Community members. These workshops serve as a critical step in engaging local stakeholders and urban actors who will later take part in the pilot activities. Through these interactions, we aim to identify shared urban challenges within each region’s ecosystem, focusing on urban sustainability transformations and collaborative opportunities to address them. If you are interested in becoming part of the ULALABS Learning Community, you can reach out to the project coordinators in each of the four regions for more information. References Clark, J. (2020). Uneven Innovation: The Work of Smart Cities (p. 328 Pages). Columbia University Press. Joan Batalla-Bejerano, Campo, G. del, Palau, F., Serra, A., Vilariño, F., & Villa-Arrieta, N. (2023). Tr@nsnet Living Lab Model: A Living Lab Model to accelerate the ecological transition (p. 132). Université Toulouse III. https://www.irit.fr/TRANSNET/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FinalProduct-ULL-Model-Tr@nsnet-Funseam.pdf Juhola, S., Seppälä, A., & Klein, J. (2020). Participatory experimentation on a climate street. Environmental Policy and Governance, 30(6), 373–384. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.1900 Köhler, J., Geels, F. W., Kern, F., Markard, J., Onsongo, E., Wieczorek, A., Alkemade, F., Avelino, F., Bergek, A., Boons, F., Fünfschilling, L., Hess, D., Holtz, G., Hyysalo, S., Jenkins, K., Kivimaa, P., Martiskainen, M., McMeekin, A., Mühlemeier, M. S., … Wells, P. (2019). An agenda for sustainability transitions research: State of the art and future directions. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 31, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2019.01.004 Linnér, B.-O., & Wibeck, V. (2019). Sustainability Transformations: Agents and Drivers across Societies (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108766975 Mattern, S. C. (2021). A city is not a computer: Other urban intelligences. Princeton University Press. Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning (1st ed). Jossey-Bass. Mezirow, J. (Ed.). (2009). Transformative learning in practice: Insights from community, workplace, and higher education. Jossey-Bass. Wilson, B. (1998). Distributed Learning Communities: An Alternative to Designed Instructional Systems. Annual Research Proceedings of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, 17. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brent-Wilson-6/publication/243771280_Distributed_learning_communities_an_alternative_to_designed_instructional_systems/links/56def55708aec8c022cf33fb/Distributed-learning-communities-an-alternative-to-designed-instructional-systems.pdf

On Wednesday, 11 February, ULALABS hosted the open webinar “Cities for All: Inclusive Co-creation, Participation and Urban Design”, organised within the framework of the Distributed Learning Pilot. The session brought together academics, practitioners and urban innovation actors to reflect on how inclusivity can be meaningfully embedded in urban co-creation and design processes. The webinar was introduced by Konstantinos Kourkoutas (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona / ULALABS coordinator), who contextualised the session and discussion within the broader ULALABS project and scpecifically the pilot phase which the project entered this year. Exploring inclusivity in urban design The session started featuring diverse perspectives from academia and practice: Mafalda Madureira (University of Twente) addressed the role of inclusiveness in planning processes, highlighting the importance of creating institutional conditions and methodologies that enable meaningful participation, particularly for marginalized groups. She also reflected on the use of ICTs in participatory planning and the risks of “false participation” when digital tools are not institutionally embedded. Kristiane Marie Lindland (University of Stavanger / NORCE) presented the case of Svankevika, illustrating how bottom-up approaches such as the Utopian Future Workshop can mobilize local stakeholders to co-create alternative urban visions. Evelina Faliagka (URBANA, Athens) shared practical experiences in inclusive co-creation, focusing on gender-sensitive urban planning, intergenerational participation and community-based design and their involvement in local and european projects such as Elaborator and GreenInCities. Sara Ortiz Escalante (Col·lectiu Punt 6, Barcelona) contributed insights on feminist urbanism and participatory methodologies, reinforcing the need to integrate lived experiences and everyday care perspectives into urban Planning. Sara also provided examples of methodological guides that Punt6 has developed over the years and their 20 year experience. Key reflections from the debate Following the individual presentation, the roundtable debate, moderated by Begonya Saez (UAB), explored the concept of inclusivity with the participants not as a neutral concept, but as a transformative and political practice. A central theme was the importance of bridging academia, practice, public administration and citizens to ensure that participation processes are structurally embedded in decision-making frameworks rather than remaining symbolic and trapped into existinting power-structures. This perspective was also reflected in the participant-generated definitions of “inclusivity” collected during the session. Participant-generated definitions of “inclusivity” collected during the session. Publications and project framework The webinar also highlighted key ULALABS publications that provide the conceptual and practical foundations for this work: Emerging Lab of Labs – Practices and Experiences of European Urban Experimentation Spaces Transformative Mutual Learning Communities Roadmap – Learning(s) from the ULALABS Experience) These publications outline the theoretical framework of the distributed “Lab of Labs” model and capture lessons learned from ULALABS’ implementation across partner regions. A podcast with the Roadmap co-authors will also be released soon. Next Pilot Activity The next webinar in the series, “Tech for All: Emerging Technologies for Inclusive Urban Transformation”, will take place on 3 March (11:30–13:00 CET, online). The session will explore how AI, VR, GIS, IoT testbeds and advanced fabrication technologies are reshaping collaborative urban design and experimentation processes. Register here: https://forms.office.com/e/u3XyuAJUP3 You can consult the presentation from the webinar here:

On February 26 and March 17, 2026, Linköping University Sustainability Transformations and ULALABS hosted two roundtable discussions with researchers and students from two of Linköping University’s campuses. The aim was to explore how Linköping University’s campus environments could evolve as arenas for experimentation where research, education, and societal collaboration intersect through exploration, interdisciplinarity, and co-creation.
Reflections on Previous and Ongoing Initiatives The roundtables began with a recap of lessons learned from the experimentation arenas that were presented in the ULALABS webinar “The University Campus as an Experimentation Arena” held on January 29 (will soon be available as a podcast and a part of the ULALABS learning toolkit) as well as reflections on previous experiences among the participants. Participants emphasised that many promising initiatives are already taking place across Linköping University’s campuses, though often in parallel rather than in coordinated ways. One example was the greenhouse gas measurements carried out in the ponds at Campus Valla, where the controlled environment enabled unique studies that would have been difficult to conduct elsewhere. Another example was sensor-deployment across campuses to measure air quality and using apps to collect campus-users experiences of air quality. The Importance of Student Engagement Across both roundtables, the role of students emerged as one of the central themes. Participants highlighted that long-term and meaningful student engagement is essential for developing vibrant experimentation environments on campus. At the same time, challenges remain in ensuring that student involvement is supported by clear structures, incentives, and resources. Suggestions for strengthening student participation included yearlong, interdisciplinary courses with practical and experimental components, high-profile, cross-faculty projects where students work on real-world challenges, seed funding enabling students to initiate their own projects and build leadership and project management skills, and clear pathways for student influence and a sense of ownership within the experimentation arena. Experimentation Within University Structures A key topic in the discussions was the tension between the exploratory nature of experimentation, characterised by uncertainty, flexibility, and informality, and the formal, bureaucratic structures of universities, which often rely on predictability and established procedures. To support a more experimental approach on campus, participants indicated a need for dedicated administrative support, clear contact points, and infrastructure that can accommodate both rapid iterations and uncertainty. Participants underlined that experimentation is not only about data collection or technical tests. It also involves building relationships, fostering curiosity, creating reflective spaces, and opening room for conversations about deeper cultural and behavioural shifts. Experimentation can include practices such as observation, meditation, and reflection, as well as hands-on interventions. Campus as a Societal Experimentation Environment Participants envisioned a future experimentation arena serving as a central gateway for collaboration, an accessible entry point where external stakeholders, students, and researchers can connect. Such an arena could increase visibility of ongoing projects and needs, facilitate matchmaking across disciplinary and organisational boundaries, offer “in-residence” opportunities and knowledge exchange and strengthen local, national, and international collaboration. The Path Forward The roundtable discussions revealed strong interest in further developing Linköping University’s campuses as experimentation arenas. To achieve this, supportive structures are needed to enable interdisciplinary meeting spaces, student-driven and student-inclusive initiatives, room for uncertainty, trial and error, and reflection, coordination and visibility across projects and actors. These roundtables were important steps of the ongoing journey for the development of the Linköping University campuses as experimentation arenas and an important part of the ULALABS Cross Case Learning Pilot “How can we prepare and open up urban spaces for experimentation & innovation, and how can we transform a University Campus into an experimentation and collaboration arena?”. Several events will be held during the spring to further develop a roadmap for a Linköping University experimentation arena and to further explore urban and campus experimentation arenas as spaces for inclusive and sustainable development and innovation.

From November 6-8, 2024, the ECIU Challenge-based Learning Event took place at UAB. The event brought together close to 30 professors and researchers from ECIU member universities, including Dublin City University (Ireland), University of Stavanger (Norway), Lodz University of Technology (Poland), Tampere University (Finland), Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona (Spain), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (France), Hamburg University of Technology (Germany), University of Aveiro (Portugal), University of Trento (Italy) and Kaunas University of Technology (Lithuania).The training, titled “Challenge-based Learning, Enhanced by Virtual Reality,” aimed to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange through hands-on prototyping and virtual tools. It focused on building capacities in the integration of Agile methods in learning and teaching, advanced strategies for creating interactive digital learning resources, and the use of digital technologies to improve learner interaction. These themes and tools were well-aligned with our project approach. Moreover, given that the event involved the ECIU educational community, it was a unique opportunity to engage with the potential end-users of the future Distributed Lab and gather their needs and ideas. On Wednesday, 6th of November, Konstantinos Kourkoutas from UAB presented the objectives of our ULALABS project, the work done so far, and our approach and considerations regarding the Mutual Learning Communities and Strategies for Engagement. He then posed the following challenge to the group:
“How can we design a hybrid, distributed, and inclusive learning space that meets the evolving needs of the ECIU, fostering innovative collaboration, problem-solving, and knowledge generation, through a shared teaching and experimentation environment?” Over the next few days, four groups composed of professors and researchers from different ECIU universities tackled this challenge. They learned about various virtual reality tools and how to use them to propose solutions. On the final day, Friday 8th of November, the groups pitched their proposals and models, providing valuable inputs and food for thoughts. While each group proposed unique solutions, focusing on different aspects of the challenge, their ideas were complementary and showcased a high level of creative thinking, system change, and design thinking. The groups emphasized the importance of creating open, safe, and inspirational spaces that foster transversal skills, transdisciplinary collaborations, and co-creation. They explored various strategies to ensure inclusiveness, aiming to engage a diverse range of stakeholders from both the academic community and beyond. This approach not only aims to bring research closer to non-researchers but also to create a more integrated and collaborative learning environment. The proposals highlighted the potential of hybrid, distributed, and inclusive learning spaces to meet the evolving needs of the ECIU community. By leveraging virtual reality tools and innovative teaching methods, the groups demonstrated how such spaces could enhance problem-solving, knowledge generation, and collaborative efforts. We will analyze the inputs from these groups and share our findings with the ULALABS community. These insights will be invaluable as we are co-creating our future vision with the community and continue to develop and refine our strategies for creating effective and engaging learning environments.

Thank you to the organizers of the event for incorporating the ULALABS challenge in the workshop and to all the participants for their great work and sharing with us the valuable inputs and vision for the future distributed Lab of Labs.

The first output from WP2 is out! The document "ECIU POSITION PAPER ON LIVING LABS AND EXPERIMENTATION SPACES" is a result of the Workshop organized during the SMART-er Research Conference in Barcelona in Oct 2023. It includes some initial work done with the ECIU community with the objective to try to connect the results from the seed project with the initial WP of the ULALABS projects and activities. Check out the full document in the following link: LINK

After one year (May '22 - May '23) the SMART-er seed project Urban Transformation Collaboratory has reached its end. The work done during this year will continue during the ULALABS project during the next three years.

As part of our Work Package 2, we are currently finalizing the in-depth interviews and analysis of selected living labs, testbeds, sandboxes, and other experimentation spaces in the four regions of our project and beyond. This research will contribute to our final publication on the Status Quo Report and Best Practices Catalogue. Here are only some examples of the labs we have interviewed so far:
Sandbox Urbano de València: A City-Wide Innovation Laboratory The Sandbox Urbano de València is a pioneering initiative in the European Union, transforming the entire city into an innovation laboratory. This urban sandbox aims to provide a real-world setting for testing projects that can offer innovative solutions and positively impact the city’s economic, social, and environmental development. The ordinance regulating the sandbox was recently enacted in September this year. Key differentiators of the Sandbox Urbano de València include the concept of the entire city as a large urban laboratory, strong public-private collaboration, and the city’s role as a facilitator of innovation. To this end, Valencia with this initiative wants to create a one-stop shop for the innovation ecosystem to simplify and streamline processes, addressing a long-standing demand from businesses and researchers. MolletLab: Integrating Maker Spaces and City Labs for Urban Solutions MolletLab emerged in mid-2022 in response to local and territorial political demands. It integrates a Maker Space and a City Lab or Living Lab, focusing on urban experimentation and addressing municipal challenges. Located in the city center, MolletLab works with diverse groups, from people with disabilities to the general public, aiming to democratize access to its resources. The lab operates with two main approaches: EspaiMaker, centered on technical production and experimentation, and City Lab, addressing social challenges like loneliness. The lab is supported by the Economic development, Open government and Innovation departments, with the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) as a key partner.
Testbed Ebbepark: Real-World Testing in Linköping, Sweden Testbed Ebbepark is located in the central neighbourhood Ebbepark in Linköping in the southern part of Sweden. The testbed is run by three municipal companies (Sankt Kors, Stångåstaden, and Lejonfastigheter) who own, manage and operate the buildings in the neighbourhood. The testbed is open to research and development projects, making it possible to test solutions, systems and products related to schools, care, businesses and housing in a real-world environment that is the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood is a newly developed area that is still under construction and the testbed has a focus on urban planning and sustainable urban development, from technical, environmental and social perspectives. Fusilli Living Lab: Transforming Urban Food Systems in Tampere, Finland The Fusilli Living Lab in Tampere, Finland, is a collaborative project involving the city of Tampere, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, the vocational school AhlmanEdu, and the non-profit company EcoFellows. The lab focuses on transforming urban food systems towards sustainability and is operating at all stages of the food system: governance, production, distribution, consumption, and waste. The Living Lab uses the city, and the facilities of the partners, as a lab for carrying out several projects related to sustainable urban food systems. Besides these projects, their goal is also to influence local policy and disseminate information for more sustainable urban food systems at a regional and national level.
Stay tuned for our final publication , where we will share comprehensive insights and valuable findings from these innovative spaces and analyse the cross-case opportunities for our Distributed Lab of labs and Learning community!

On April 10, Konstantinos Kourkoutas, Coordinator of the ULALABS project, took part in the first in-person meeting of the new Erasmus+ sister project CEETNOVA, hosted at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. CEETNOVA project aims to strengthen knowledge valorisation (KV) across Europe by training "KV Ambassadors"—individuals who act as bridges between academia, industry, and society to turn research into real-world impact. Like ULALABS, CEETNOVA brings together a consortium of ECIU member universities: University of Stavanger (coordinator), Kaunas University of Technology, University of Trento, Linköping University, and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Notably, three of these—UAB, University of Stavanger, and Linköping University—are also partners in ULALABS. During the event, Konstantinos shared the experience from the UAB Smart Campus Living Lab, as well as the UAB Open Labs and the local and regional initiatives developed through co-creation and participatory processes, with a special emphasis of the experience and insights into the use of challenge-based methodology—placing real local challenges at the center of learning and innovation, with the aim to empower students, researchers, and stakeholders to co-design the solutions. The meeting contributed to mutual learning about the two projects, seeking the potential synergies between ULALABS and CEETNOVA, both of which are Erasmus+ projects rooted in the ECIU University alliance, aligning the efforts and reinforcing members and ECIU’s commitment to transformative education, research, and societal engagement through innovative, challenge-driven approaches. You can learn about the CEETNOVA project here.

The ULALABS project, running until the end of 2026, seeks to establish a network of open innovation labs across four European universities, all members of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU). The initiative aims to foster transformative innovation policies through collaborative learning communities and shared agendas. The project's overall objective is to define a theoretical and practical framework for implementing and operating a European distributed Living Lab focused on urban challenges and climate change. This "Lab of Labs" is envisioned as a shared and interconnected R+D+I infrastructure among HEI partners, promoting transformative innovation policies and practices within and among European regions through open and collaborative Learning Communities and Shared Agendas. Below we share the Ulalalabs project first-year milestones. Key Milestones Publication of the First Position Paper:In its inaugural year, the project published its first position paper, which began co-creating the vision of a future Lab of Labs. This paper, a collaborative effort involving research and learning across the four regions and partner universities, included contributions from regional stakeholders. Work Package 2 (WP2) Achievements: Publication: The project released a comprehensive report titled "The Emerging Lab of Labs: Practices and Experiences of European Urban Experimentation Spaces."This publication, resulting from extensive baseline research, includes a literature review and findings from regional ecosystems on urban experimentation spaces. It highlights key insights from 12 case studies of diverse urban experimentation spaces across ECIU partner regions. This report provides insights into promising practices, structures, and experiences of urban experimentation spaces, their role in accelerating sustainable innovation, and their function as arenas for collaborative learning. Future Vision Development: The team co-created a shared vision for a distributed Living Lab, engaging various contexts and stakeholders. The operational vision of the ULALABS project is to articulate the diverse urban experimentation spaces emerging in the different ECIU partner regions into a distributed Living Lab centered around a vibrant learning community, focusing on sustainable urban transformations. Such a “meta-lab” can tackle shared challenges within the ECIU ecosystem in a coordinated manner, reinforcing the R+D+I infrastructures and capacities of the ECIU university and augmenting its overall impact. In the long term, the project aims to create a hybrid Distributed Living Lab aligned with the ECIU vision, focusing on urban sustainability transformations. This lab will facilitate transformative learning through non-traditional, challenge-based methodologies, fostering interconnections between existing labs and other experimentation spaces. [Read the full Future vision report] Work Package 3 (WP3) Developments:
Mutual Learning Communities: The project developed the concept of Mutual Learning Communities, emphasizing transformative learning and moving beyond conventional approaches that focus on information sharing and knowledge dissemination. The report argues for a deeper focus on learning, particularly on how to apply the results of living lab activities in new contexts and settings. By introducing concepts from adult and professional learning theories, such as Transformative Learning and Mutual Learning Communities, the project explores new pathways to scale living lab experiences. The emphasis is on understanding how knowledge and information are processed both cognitively and socially, enabling their application across different contexts. The activities of WP3 aim to consolidate these concepts and develop a shared base definition, providing the theoretical and methodological foundation for the Learning Communities Roadmap.
Local Mapping and Insights: Initial local mapping for the ULALABS learning community has advanced, providing valuable insights for cross-case learning. Work Package 4 (WP4) Developments:
Learning Toolkit Syllabus: WP4, particularly Activity 1 (A1), addresses shared challenges by creating a structured Learning Toolkit Syllabus. This syllabus equips learners with skills to tackle urban challenges, emphasizing social entrepreneurship and environmental responsibility. The first structure of the syllabus has been completed and will be tested and further developed with stakeholders and partners involved in the ULALABS pilots and learning community. The syllabus supports the transfer of local knowledge by providing a structured learning approach adaptable to diverse contexts, enabling the scaling and replication of solutions. It develops essential skills, fostering transdisciplinary collaboration, transformative learning, and problem-solving while emphasizing communication and conflict resolution. In summary, A1 of WP4 plays a critical role in advancing the ULALABS project's goals. Co-developing a Learning Toolkit Syllabus in consultation with the learning community facilitates knowledge transfer, empowers societal stakeholders, and promotes transformative innovation through a distributed Living Lab model.
Upcoming Events To share the results of the first year and the mentioned publications, the ULALABS project is organizing a webinar on Friday, 31st January. You can still register for the event [here].

On May 13, 2026, stakeholders, including a mix of researchers, local area managers and practitioners, gathered at NORCE for the first workshop of the Stavanger pilot for the ULALABS Distributed Learning DL1– two Workshop Series: Urban Spaces and University Campuses – Stavanger Pilot. The workshop focuses on Ullandhaug - a unique and evolving campus that brings together the University of Stavanger, the Innovation Park, and the new University Hospital. Despite its strategic importance, Ullandhaug has developed incrementally over decades without a coherent master plan. Today, it is experienced as a fragmented landscape of buildings, parking lots, and disconnected green pockets, with underdeveloped qualities such as walkability, identity, meeting places, and spatial coherence. Yet this fragmentation also presents an opportunity. With ongoing construction and future expansion, Ullandhaug stands at a critical moment: how can it become a future-oriented campus that supports learning, innovation, collaboration, and well-being? Method: The Utopian Future Workshop
Workshop 1 marked the Critique Phase of the Utopian Future Workshop method. In this first stage, participants were invited to reflect critically on the current state of the campus—highlighting what undermines belonging, comfort, navigation, sustainability, and social interaction. Using the Urban Belonging app, participants identified gaps and tensions, as well as what they risk losing if current activity patterns in the area persist. This phase proved essential for surfacing shared concerns and setting the stage for co-creating solutions in later workshops. From Critique to Utopian Visions While rooted in critique, the workshop also sparked rich discussions about desirable futures. Participants articulated a set of utopian aspirations for Ullandhaug - visions that challenge the current status quo and reimagine the campus as a vibrant, inclusive, and connected district.
Key ideas included: Opening up the ground floors of buildings to the public realm, making activities visible and inviting interaction. Extending campus life beyond 16:00, creating a district that remains active in the evenings. Strengthening connections to nature, particularly towards neighbouring nature areas like Sørmarka and the Botanical garden. Expanding access to shared spaces, such as a 24-hour library and similar facilities across the Knowledge Park. Regulating the area as a “district centre” to facilitate mixed uses and attract new services to strengthen activity and foster identity. Improving communication, for example, through a shared information channel across institutions located in the area. Encouraging collective activities, from morning runs to festivals and seasonal events. Supporting student life, including more nightlife and social opportunities as Ullandhaug grows into a true university town. Integrating water elements, such as a canal along the bus route, for both ecological and spatial quality. Designing inclusive amenities, including recreational spaces for hospital patients, playgrounds, and childcare facilities. Activating the main street as a linear park connecting a series of multifunctional public spaces. Looking Ahead Workshop 1 revealed both the challenges and the immense potential of Ullandhaug. By critically examining the present and daring to imagine utopian alternatives, participants laid the groundwork for a more coherent, lively, and inclusive campus. Workshop 2, Exploring Realisation Possibilities (May 27th), will build on these insights—transforming critique and vision into actionable strategies for Ullandhaug’s future.

How can cities move beyond isolated pilot projects and create long-term urban transformation? This question guided the ULALABS Third Multiplier event “From Urban Experimentation to Transformation — Insights from ULALABS”, held on 6 May in Stavanger, organised by the University of Stavanger (UiS) and part of the Nordic Edge Expo events in Stavanger, 5-6 of May. The hybrid session brought together researchers, municipalities, innovation organisations and local stakeholders to exchange experiences on urban experimentation, participation and collaborative governance across European cities. Opening the event, Todor Kesarovski (University of Stavanger) introduced the ULALABS framework and the project’s ambition to build a distributed European “Lab of Labs” model connecting learning communities and experimentation spaces across regional ecosystems. He highlighted the importance of understanding not only how pilots generate knowledge, but also how experiences can be adapted and shared between different local contexts. Javier Martínez (University of Twente) presented the ULALABS Learning Toolkits (access and explore here), practical resources designed to support challenge-based learning and experimentation processes in the pilots implementation. Their presentation explored collaborative methodologies combining AI-supported co-design, virtual reality and the “Responsible Futuring” approach, highlighting the importance of integrating inclusion, empathy and multiple perspectives into urban innovation processes. These toolkits aim not only to share knowledge generated, but also to create exchange and reflection between cities, practitioners and communities. The event highlighted a central question for the project: how can experimentation become a long-term driver of systemic urban transformation rather than remaining isolated pilot projects? Speakers’ presentations
To answer this question, the session combined methodological reflections with practical examples from organisations – ULALABS stakeholders- working with experimentation in real urban environments.
Ulrika Johansson (Linköping Science Park) shared the inspiring experience of the Swedish city’s “testbed voucher” model, which enables SMEs to test climate-oriented solutions together with municipalities and municipal companies in real urban environments. She emphasised that one of the key values of the initiative is helping companies access real urban environments and connect with the right public actors. She also stressed that the real value of experimentation often lies not only in funding, but in trust-building, matchmaking, and opening institutional doors for collaboration. Her presentation included examples such as AI-supported parking analysis using drone imagery and renewable energy solutions tested in municipal water infrastructure. The examples demonstrated how experimentation can accelerate both innovation and learning. See more in the presentation from the event.
Odd Vinje (Nordic Edge, Stavanger) reflected on the relationship between experimentation, governance and participation through experiences developed in Stavanger. Drawing from agile pilot projects and co-creation public participation forums (see here for more details), he stressed the importance of connecting strategic planning with operational practice inside municipalities. He argued that urban transformation requires breaking down silos between departments, citizens, academia and private actors. By showing the examples from Stavanger from NEB-STAR project, his intervention focused on trust-building, long-term collaboration and creating spaces where citizens, public servants and organisations can work together continuously rather than through fragmented initiatives. Get to know more in Odd’s presentation below. Learning outcomes and key reflections
Before moving to the the moderated debate, participants engaged in an interactive exercise to gather public views on key ideas, principles, and enabling conditions for urban experimentation: Participants engaged in an interactive exercise via WOOCLAP. Participants reflected on resources and/or skills needed to adapt the shared ideas in their context. WOOCLAP collaborative tool. The discussion further explored recurring challenges in urban experimentation across European cities, including organisational silos, how to avoid “pilot fatigue”, how to ensure participation processes genuinely influence decision-making, political continuity and the challenges of transforming successful pilots into long-term practices. Participants stressed that experimentation should not only be understood as a way to test technologies, but also as a process for collective learning, relationship-building and institutional change.Testbeds and pilots were framed not as isolated projects, but as learning infrastructures that help cities navigate uncertainty, complexity and rapid societal transitions.
Several key themes emerged throughout the session:
experimentation as a way to reduce risk while enabling innovation; the importance of inclusive and cross-sector collaboration; trust and long-term relationships as critical infrastructure for transformation; the need to connect strategic ambitions with operational realities; the need for stronger feedback loops between experimentation, policy-making and daily practice and the importance of adapting methods to local contexts rather than simply replicating solutions.
The event concluded with a shared reflection that urban transformation is not driven by isolated technologies or projects alone, but by people, relationships, and collective learning processes that help cities continuously adapt and evolve. Shared examples and discussion demonstrated how urban experimentation can support more collaborative, inclusive and sustainable approaches to urban transformation. Publications and project framework
To further explore the topics discussed during the session, we invite you to consult the Mutual Learning Communities Roadmap — available in several languages and focused on how learning communities can support knowledge exchange and collaboration across ecosystems — together with The Emerging Lab of Labs, which presents practices and experiences from European urban experimentation spaces, among the others including Linköping Science Park, Ebbepark, Nordic Edge, Pedersgata living lab. You can consult the presentations from the event here.