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The magazine issue that we present today was originally developed for the Erasmus+ funded partner’s project Restart+ Communities (RESTART+). Within the framework of community development and regeneration, RESTART+ strives to create innovative learning tools and resources which equip leaders of community groups, public authorities and educational institutions with the knowledge and skills needed to adopt a transformative approach to community reactivation.
What is in this issue?
RESTART+ third issue walks you through the developments within the project and the results from RESTART+ regional alliances on how to build sustainable communities (p.2). The first part of the issue has the goal to inspire communities and their development. Following on the RESTART+ projects updates, the magazine introduces you to the cornerstone of the project – a set of open resources and a course on Community rejuvenation, consisting of 6 modules for self-paced learning and training others! (p.4). Additionally, the issue draws to your attention the extensive video cases repository on the project Youtube channel – check it out and explore incredible stories of community rejuvenation!
Furthermore, the magazin you will hear the voices from our alliances. Margaret Larkin from Donegal Local Development Company discusses how COVID-19 impacted the delivery of support to community (p. 8) while Mirela Nechita, an entrepreneur from Falticeni, Suceava county, discusses how to bring tourism to a small community.
As the pre-requisite of the RESTART+ project, we recognise that helping the community to reach new peaks involves initiative from a variety of local stakeholders and their close interaction with each other. With this in mind, the issue presents the stories from Remining-Lowex, a research, development and demonstration project aiming to repurpose old industrial sites for community use (p.14) and AGROKLUB, a development that helps farmers in Adriatic region stay connected (p. 16).
We hope the selection of the articles in this issue of our magazine will motivate you to bring new practices to your own community!
On November 25th, 2020, the European Commission (EC), the executive body of the European Union (EU), presented its first regulation proposal: the EU ‘Data Governance Act’ to foster data-sharing mechanisms across the EU. If the proposal will get the approval of both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, the two legislative branches of the bloc, it will become the first piece of legislation that underpins a real European data strategy.
The
EU policy envisions the creation of a single market for the handling of data,
where both public and private organisations can share and make use of
trustworthy information. More specifically, the EC regulation wants to make
sure of the full exploitation of the data that is generated within the EU and
that nonetheless is not used widely due to national (Member States) data
protection regulations of intellectual property, or sensitive information.
Moreover,
to concretely facilitate information sharing, the EC will launch several ‘data
spaces’ (with a total investment of €2 billion), which will include health,
environment, energy, agriculture, mobility, finance, manufacturing, public
administration, and skills. These, as argued by the Commission, will guarantee
an improved flow of information amongst EU Member States.
With this premise, particular attention needs to be put on universities, which must take an increasingly predominant role as knowledge generators within our societies. Universities indeed have the potential to be the leaders of innovation in our cities through their research activities, and by further connecting their research to local issues.
In addition, the EU has also created an economically favourable environment both for universities and businesses to cooperate. Firstly, the EC has recently launched its ‘Recovery plan for Europe’, which, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, will allow unprecedented investments of over € 1.8 trillion in the EU for the years to come. Interesting to notice that the Commission and its Member States have agreed to invest a substantial part of this capital in research for innovation – which will be mostly directed to universities – and for climate and digital transition – which will be mostly aimed at businesses.
Secondly,
the EU has also agreed on a plan to make its economy greener and more
sustainable, namely the EU Green Deal, that entails another package of over €
100 billion for the period 2021-2027, mainly intended for the industry and
those businesses that want to undergo a transition to environmentally-friendly
technologies.
Photo by Min An from Pexels
It is needless to say, that the EU has put a solid basis for universities and city stakeholders to cooperate, both through the regulation proposal of a ‘Data Governance Act’ to create a single market for data and the EC’s investments in research, digital and green transition for the European economy. This will give the opportunity both to businesses and universities to gain momentum in their activities, and cooperation between the two can lead to unprecedented outcomes. Now, it is up to them to live up to the challenge of making our cities greener, more liveable, and technological, and to take advantage of the favourable legal and economic environment. Times could not be better!
20Creathon is managed by the University of Twente, and offers students
the opportunity to combine the skills gained in their course with the expertise
provided by representatives of academia, industry and government bodies. This
creative exchange is created around the social implications of digital
technology, encouraging students to become responsible innovators and embrace
the principles of sustainability and social justice.
As well as an economic prize for the winning team, 20Creathon offers the
opportunity for the most robust ideas to be integrated in the entrepreneurial
ecosystem. The combination of lectures, creative workshops and collaborative
activities creates an experience that aims to maximize students’ ingenuity, and
to introduce experts from industry and governance to fresh ideas to resolve
current urban challenges.
20Creathon focuses on how the digitalization of society, innovation in
IT services and the development of data collection and management solutions can
help public authorities deliver sustainable growth. The organization highlights
the social component of the creative process, encouraging students and other
stakeholders to reflect on the impact that their creations can have not only on
the municipality but on the society that they represent.
The project is structured around weekend challenges celebrated at the
university premises. Prior to the event, members of 20Creathon propose a series
of questions to representatives of ‘Challenge providers’ i.e. local or regional
authorities and/or businesses. These initial ideas are discussed based on
existing priorities for public bodies, and potential impact that might arise
from the event. A variety of groups from different universities attend the
weekend event. With the assistance of researchers, representatives of the
municipality and the business community, the proposal of digital solutions is
shaped on the basis of potential applicability and societal benefit.
The main objective is to explore the application of open data and
digitalization to modern issues, and the potential to establish clear
collaboration and enhance synergy between business, education and government.
IMPACTS
The concept of 20Creathon is a reflection of the commitment of UTwente
to the delivery of programmes that encourage entrepreneurial and creative
skills within its community. It aims to redefine the role of students within
the educational community, engaging in collaborative events designed around the
application of digital solutions for existing societal challenges.
Some of these project impacts are:
Develop the entrepreneurial spirit of
participants
Expose students and young professionals to
the benefits of knowledge transfer, creating opportunities for future
cooperation
High level of engagement by students,
exposing them to high pressure environments and allowing them to create
solutions that can be further developed
Students improve their group working and
communication skills
Bridging the gap between technology and
governance
Public servants understand the potential
of digital solutions to achieve inclusive growth, improving performance and
reach within their daily activities
Businesses and academics identify specific
needs of the public sector, and enhance the potential applicability of their
solutions by government agencies and policy-makers
The structure, consistency, and multi-stakeholder collaboration demonstrated through the 20Creathon program allows for its success and transferability.
Remining-Lowex was a research, development and demonstration project, co-funded by the European Union’s 6th Framework Programme (FP6) CONCERTO II, which intended to use locally available, low-temperature geothermal energy from abandoned mines as energy source for heating and cooling of buildings. The project ran between June 2007 and June 2014, and involved two participating communities and demonstration sites, Heerlen (the Netherlands) and Zagorje ob Savi (Slovenia), and two associated communities with observer status, Czeladz (Poland) and Bourgas (Bulgaria).
Remining-Lowex aimed to link new developments to degraded industry areas
by using abandoned mines as a renewable source of energy and revitalizing the
community – also by embracing their heritage. An innovative communication
strategy demonstrated that it is possible to take into account community
emotions, including past, forgotten hardships and other socio-economic issues
of the mine-workers’ communities, to envisage an increased quality of life and
social welfare. Here, we focus in more detail on the Slovenian demonstration
case of the otherwise large-scale project.
Zagorje ob Savi – Creating Alternative Energy Futures
Zagorje ob Savi is a town in the Central Sava Valley in central Slovenia and the seat of the municipality of the same name. Today, the Zagorje ob Savi municipality is home to about 17.000 residents, while its recent history, as well as everyday life and culture, were shaped by what was once the deepest brown coal mine in Europe (262 meters below sea level). The deposits of coal were discovered in 1755, boosting the region’s economic development and remaining the area’s main economic activity until 1995, when the last mines were closed. A renewed vision of Zagorje ob Savi’s future was needed to transform it from a former industrial mining city into a liveable and sustainable European city. Among other actions, this included switching to alternative and environmentally friendlier energy sources.
The Remining-Lowex project was part of that change. The three key
clusters of project activities included construction and energy refurbishment
of public and private buildings, training, and demonstration of advanced
technical solutions in practice. Within the project, a number of public
buildings were renovated, including the local kindergarten, municipal
headquarters, and the cultural centre. In addition, over 50 percent of
multi-apartment buildings in the town of Zagorje were refurbished and the
community energy systems were expanded and modernised. Training on low exergy
technologies and utilization of renewable energy sources (RES) was prepared and
carried out for businesses, students and pupils, with the aim of expanding the
understanding of RES, rational use of energy, and low exergy technologies. The
project team also designed a mobile research unit OELA – a low-energy
self-sufficient mobile unit for demonstration of new concepts of low exergy
technologies on the basis of renewable sources, and use of mine water for
heating and cooling of residential or public buildings. The unit serves to
carry out regular events related to renewable energy and energy efficiency, and
as a demonstration and training facility. The presented technological
innovations are associated with the culture of mining, at the same time
transcending it to show and promote sustainable energy systems. The interiors
as well as the envelope of the unit mimic a mining shaft and are adapted to
mining architecture, thereby integrating the local mining heritage into its
concept and design. OLEA also demonstrates the transition between a black,
carbon-based history and a green sustainable future in the municipality and
wider region.
The Key to
Success: Multi-stakeholder and Multi-disciplinary R&D
A number
of key stakeholders were directly engaged in the project activities, including
the students and academic staff of the University of Ljubljana (Faculty of
mechanical engineering, Laboratory for sustainable buildings and environmental
technologies), the district heating utility, housing company, Zagorje ob Savi
municipality council, industry representatives, NGOs, and of course the municipality
residents.
Each
contributed with their specific expertise and context. Local council and public
services had access to local inhabitants and knowledge of specific local
challenges regarding, for instance, the environment, energy, or the existing building
fund. The council is also the local policy-maker with a level of authority,
which proved crucial in ensuring a smooth delivery of the project and creating
impact. Academic partners contributed with research, studies, and proposed
solutions to the identified challenges that were in the focus of the project,
such as sustainable energy and low exergy technologies. The University of
Ljubljana students were also involved in research and development activities:
they participated in all phases of the project, from planning, to research,
measurements, design of solutions, or acquiring offers from technology
providers. The students carried out field research as part of their lab
assignments and were regularly present at the demonstration site. Industry
partners, on the other hand, had the capacity to implement the developed
solutions in practice as innovative demonstration cases.
The key result of the REMINING project is the demonstration of retrofitting buildings and building new urban areas within old mining communities, while climatizing these buildings with locally available low-valued energy resources by an integrated design approach, based on low energy principles. Derived specific results are the improvement of spatial planning, environmental effects, and economic performance of the area by providing affordable sustainable energy supply to the new development and integral approach of (urban) development, by using attractive design and low energy costs as magnets for new businesses, and to keep existing and attract new residents to the area.
This blog article is written with reference to a good practice case study report prepared as part of the Erasmus+ University City Action Lab (UCITYLAB) Project.
Demola is a co-creation programme between students and external
organizations to deliver challenge-oriented ideas. It was created in 2008
within the innovation ecosystem of Tampere, Finland, thanks to the
collaboration of municipality, local universities and the private sector.
Building on a question or concept brought forward by the organization,
Demola makes use of its extensive network of universities to select a
multidisciplinary team of students that will complement the company’s current
expertise.
Demola offers the externalization of facilitation functions to access a
larger collaborative network. Present in 17 countries and with over 50
universities being part of the framework, it can benefit organizations by
delivering highly effective co-creative projects with multidisciplinary groups
that improve the quality of the research. For students, it allows them to
experience high pressured environments, with the added recognition in the form
of university credits.
Demola embraces the need for multidisciplinary approaches for the
educational community as well as public and private enterprises. Evolving
around the concept of global megatrends, Demola reckons no organization can
succeed without connected thinking. One of the priorities for Demola is to
provide a co-creative ecosystem that is fair and reasonable for students. In
order to achieve that, proposals from the challenges belong to the team, with
the possibility for organizations to invest in the development of those
concepts. The succession of feedback and internal assessment culminated in the
development of New Factory in 2012, which operates as a hub for open innovation
activity and Demola’s local co-creation centre.
OBJECTIVES AND IMPACTS
The structure designed by the Demola team presents clear roles of
students and organizations through the process. The nature of this framework
protects the engagement of students and enhances the impact of their input in
the project. By encouraging this equality in the dynamics within the group,
Demola creates an environment that optimizes outcome via lack of hierarchy.
For example, enterprises have the opportunity to purchase exclusive
usage rights to the results of the project. This distribution of ownership
reinforces the direct relationship between students and organizations, with
Demola providing a framework to regulate their negotiation for the usage of
intellectual property.
The Demola program is a unique and innovative initiative connecting students
with organizations in order to find creative solutions through collaborative
partnerships. Some of the program objectives are:
Offer professional facilitation for
companies to participate in co-creative activities, encouraging existing
employees of public and private enterprises to experiment through co-creation
with university students.
Develop a wider understanding of complex
urban challenges, exposing the municipality to different perspectives and
diversifying their approach through innovative thinking.
Offer a structure for students to access
development opportunities outside the standard channels offered by their
institutions, including new work methods and a different range of professional
expertise, in order to cultivate skillsets that will equip them for their
future career.
Provide a platform that connects the
interests of companies and universities, allowing employees of enterprises to
grow their skills while enhancing the teaching activities of the HEI.
Demola’s approach to collaboration sets itself apart thanks to the priority given to the relationship between students and organizations. This direct communication facilitates a greater focus on the specific challenge proposed by the partner. The Demola Alliance and its international reach allows companies to access a much larger pool of talent. The externalization of facilitation services provides a homogeneous co-creative process, optimized to the expectations of municipalities and businesses. The multifaceted, supportive, and expansive ecosystem created can be a valuable reference point for similar initiatives in the future.
The Masters of Regional and Urban Strategy (Stratégies territoriales et
urbaines, STU) prepares students for professional practice in the field of
urban policy and governance. A key component of year 1 is the module ‘Projet
collectif’, in which students are exposed to real life scenarios. The module
runs from October until June and provides an opportunity for students to engage
with a variety of stakeholders in order to develop suitable proposals. Topics
focus on the implementation of sustainability principles, public participation
and social cohesion, in order to complement the theoretical content of the
Master’s programme.
The STU Masters programme is a combination of theoretical background and
exposure to professional practice. The group project module exemplifies that
plurality of inputs, and challenges students to complete a research project
that fulfils not only the academic requirements of their course, but also the
expectations of professional practitioners.
The programme puts students into groups of four based on their interests
and diverse backgrounds from their undergraduate studies. The topics of
interest are submitted by the local stakeholders and are then chosen after an
internal evaluation. A mentor is then chosen to overview each of the projects.
This individual can be a representative of the university, industry or
municipality, and the selection is based on their area of expertise and the
proposed methodologies. An example of topics treated during the 2018-2019 year
were:
Use of numerical data for the optimization
of urban regeneration projects
Change of dynamics for municipalities and
regions within the renewable energy markets through the use of urban policy
State of public participation in
medium-to-large sized settlements
Students must attend scheduled sessions while also developing their line
of investigation, collecting and analysing data, and defining proposals.
Students must also allocate extra time in order to complete their in-depth
research. This includes the arrangement of interviews with specialist
practitioners, communication with stakeholders, field trips for data collection
and observation, and assessment sessions with members of the municipality. At
the end of their second semester, students must submit an extensive report that
summarises their findings, research methodology and proposals, as well as make
a public presentation of their concept.
DEVELOPED SKILLS AND COMPETENCES
This interdisciplinary approach gives students an opportunity to gain first-hand
experience, build a network, receive expert feedback, expand their research
skills, and pursue a Master’s degree. The design of the programme combines the
traditional research structure with guidance and methodology suggested by
representatives of the municipality and other practitioners. There were several
noted impacts from this programme, which varied based on the stakeholder
engaged.
For the Urban School and Sciences Po University:
A more robust connection between the
theoretical background explained during the course and the reality of
professional practice
For the students:
A set of soft skills that will facilitate
their transition into the professional career
Increased technical capabilities in the
use of professional software such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and
statistical analysis
Potential employment opportunities for
postgraduates
For the local community:
A good quality document that can inform
future lines of investigation for municipalities
A new dimension for the municipality, with
up to date information and relevant use of the available data
Potential recruitment considerations to
strengthen the capabilities of the department
Innovative ideas and research paths instigating
a conversation within the government agencies to implement change within their
structure
Consideration of the allocation of
resources to pursue solutions that were explored by student groups
The structure of the group project for their urban studies courses are
already being replicated by other universities. The basic framework is easy to
transfer to other contexts. However, the success of the project requires the
accumulation of an extensive network of practitioners and collaborators. This
one year module built into a larger Master’s programme can be a valuable
reference point for similar initiatives in the future.
Since 1995,
the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) has been offering an experiential
interdisciplinary learning format that has become part of university core
curriculum that all undergraduates complete in order to graduate. The
Interprofessional Projects Program (IPRO) prepares IIT undergraduate students
for the practical challenges they will face in a changing workplace by
emulating a cross-functional team environment.
Founded in
1890, IIT is a private, Ph.D.-granting research university that awards degrees
in engineering, the sciences, architecture, law, design, psychology,
humanities, and business. A strategic direction for IIT was established in 1994:
in the face of competitive and financial weaknesses, reinvestments in the
campus location and reinvention of the curriculum were initiated in order to
support the distinctiveness of the undergraduate curriculum and attract
students. The distinctiveness and resulting enhanced competitiveness of IIT
undergraduate programs were enhanced by introducing the IPRO course as a new university-business collaboration initiative. It began
as a pilot programme in 1995 and became a regular part of the undergraduate
curriculum in 1999. The IPRO concept was inspired by feedback from companies
like Boeing and from accreditation agencies who felt that engineering graduates
generally needed greater university experience in teamwork and communication in
order to be attractive candidates for corporate positions. In addition to the
emphasis on teamwork and communication, the introduction of user-centred design
thinking helped advance the program. With 20-200 students from various
disciplines involved in the program per semester in the pilot phase, IPROs grew
and developed to become an IIT general education requirement that now involves
on the order of 100 Teams and 600 students participating each semester.
Semester-long projects based on contemporary
open-ended problem-solving opportunities
IPRO course
offers students experience in tackling a semester-long open-ended challenge as
part of an interdisciplinary team. Project topics reflect the diversity of the
workplace, offering a wide range of choices for students to apply knowledge
from their disciplines. An important aspect of the IPRO Program is the
involvement of workplace organizations that identify viable “real world”
complex topics, and provide financial support and professional advice to IPRO
teams throughout the semester. Approximately one-third of IPRO projects are
financially-sponsored, with additional projects benefitting from informal
collaboration with a range of business, non-profit, entrepreneurial and public
sector organizations. The current (Spring 2020) IPRO model allows students to
choose from two IPRO options.
In the IPRO
Themed Workshop, the sponsor organization offers a challenge and then 50 to
100 students (divided into small interdisciplinary teams of 3 to 5 students)
spend the semester developing either a working prototype or a rigorous research
paper based on the challenge. The Spring 2020 topic areas include: Energy &
Environmental Innovation, Frontiers of Technological Innovation, Public Safety
Innovation, Urban Livability Innovation with a focus on water, STEM Education
and Community, and Digital Service Design Workshop.
The Special
Projects follow the “classic” IPRO format that has a single problem to
explore through an integrated team approach with students organized in task
groups that work toward a common goal – a rigorous research and development
project. A small group of students (between 10 to 15) from various disciplines
appropriate to the topic work closely with the faculty on all aspects of the
project. In Spring 2020 semester, the projects include: Developing Remote
Telescope for Use with IBM Watson Technology, NASA+SAElectric Vehicle Design,
Designing for Nicaragua, Electrical & Energy Efficiency – Strategies for
Sustainability, Power Over Ethernet: Lighting Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities and
Capabilities Analysis, Engineering Life in the Service of Humanity: The IGEM
Competition, Plastic Waste Mitigation, and Consulting Unplugged.
To provide an example of the students’ projects, a collection of IPRO students’ posters is available on IPRO website that demonstrates the topics addressed by IPRO teams. As water is covering over 70% of the earth and being essential to life, water is a topic that continues to be of interest to many industries and disciplines – particularly in the realm of innovation and design. Over the years IPRO projects have focused on water through a variety of contemporary lenses: accessibility, quality, health, transport, farming, urban planning, disaster mitigation and sustainability. Other examples of IPRO projects include e.g. architecture, humanities and engineering students collaborating on low-cost shelter solutions; or chemistry, business and law students working together to develop best practices in CO2-reducing technologies.
IPRO Requirements that Satisfy Accreditation and
Develop Future Leaders
IPRO course
has several learning objectives that are addressed in the process of grappling
with a complex open-ended problem that requires collaboration by students from
multiple disciplines:
• Teamwork: How to be an effective member of an interdisciplinary
team, adding the expertise of your discipline and working on topics broader
than your major field.
• Communication: How to effectively communicate the technical and
non-technical aspects of a project to key stakeholders.
• Logically correct reasoning: The ability to generate a
hypothesis using inductive logic (leveraging creativity and design methods),
and then prove/disprove it using deductive logic (leveraging prototyping and scientific
thinking).
• Project management: Deliver a desired, planned outcome with
time and resource constraints.
• Ethics: How to act ethically when conducting research, working
in teams, and creating solutions.
IPRO teamwork
activitiestypically progress through five phases, from project definition,
to research & analysis, concept development, prototyping
& testing, and conveying the work. The teaching and learning process
involves a number of activities and deliverables. For instance, IPRO teams are
strongly encouraged to create a basic project plan that captures a team’s
collective view about the organization and goals of the team, tasks and
assignments, schedule and deliverables for the project, and a forecast of
budget needs. IPRO teams are then required to present a midterm presentation
about their project with at least three external professionals knowledgeable
about the project topic to provide feedback to the students on their project. They
are also required to create an exhibit for the IPRO Day event. This generally
involves creating and printing posters as well as prototypes, videos and other
means of communicating the story of a project and its outcomes or results. The
teams give a final presentation about their projectandmay
create a final report or other document that captures a team’s project work in
a professional manner for distribution to sponsors, community partners and
other stakeholders. The students also participate in the course evaluation
process through a survey, which contributes to the assessment of the achievement
of the IPRO learning goals and provide feedback to the IPRO Program that can
lead to improvements in the experience. The students are graded on the quality
and level of effort each team member demonstrates, the participation and
functioning of the students as members of a team, and the overall performance
of the team, which includes its effectiveness in collaboration, and achieving
the project goals, deliverables and outcomes in a quality fashion.
At the end of
the semester, IPRO teams participate in the IPRO Day event by showcasing their
semester-long project. Professionals from the Chicago area, including a
consistently large proportion of IIT alumni, serve as judges or are invited as
guests to visit exhibits and offer IPRO teams an opportunity to share their
methods and project outcomes. IPRO teams are organized by themes, with the
top-ranked teams recognized at the IPRO Day closing ceremony.
IPRO impacts
The
establishment of the IPRO course and its evolution over nearly 25 years has
significantly improved the ability of IIT to attract students because it has
been a sustainable, distinctive approach to experiential education that
prepares students for the way that they will work in teams and on projects. The
IPRO course has also had a significant impact on how IIT alumni engage with the
university by offering topics for IPRO teams, sponsoring IPRO projects, serving
as mentors and IPRO instructors. Engaging alumni in a sustainable fashion is a
challenge all universities face, and the IPRO course offers a terrific way for
alumni to remain involved and become inspired to support the university
financially as well. IPRO has offered a significant platform for faculty to
crystallize their ideas for research projects that can lead to external
funding, as well as encourage students to participate in research in areas of
faculty interest. It has also offered opportunities to faculty members to
develop their coaching skills and to collaborate with faculty from other
university departments.
IPRO has also created an impact on student employment and workplace validation,strengthening the resumes of IIT students seeking internships and career
positions, and provided strong “talking points” in interviews with recruiters
that underscore the practical IPRO experience they have gained and the unique
user-centred design methods they have learned, which sets them apart from the
competition for positions in industry and government. IIT students and
graduatesare differentiated by their readiness and ability to manoeuvre
in a complex work environment—skills that cannot be learned in a classroom
alone. IPRO offers an environment to help students develop the discipline,
leadership, and communication skills to succeed within a multidisciplinary
group.
Since 1995, hundreds of organizations have participated in IPRO as sponsors and collaborators, including corporations of all sizes, entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations (museums, community organizations, etc.), government agencies, industry associations, philanthropic foundations, etc. Within IPRO, they become acquainted with students to identify recruiting prospects, they build relationships with research faculty, challenge a multidisciplinary team with a real and complex problem, and support the needs of non-profit community partners.
This blog article is written with reference to a good practice case study report prepared as part of the Erasmus+ University City Action Lab (UCITYLAB) Project.
ITS FACTORY COMMUNITY SEEKS SOLUTIONS FOR MOBILITY CHALLENGES THROUGH
CLOSE CO-OPERATION OF THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS
ITS Factory is a public-private
collaborative platform that aims to maximise synergies to develop innovative
solutions in the field of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). Reflecting the
complexity of modern urban challenges, the ecosystem facilitates communication
between the public sector, academia and businesses.
The development of solutions through the ITS structure creates a two-way
exchange, from which developers and researchers gain access to the available
data from public sources, and the region benefits from the production of the
latest concepts in urban mobility. For the student community, this
collaborative environment creates an opportunity to gain exposure to the
iterative process that informs technological creativity, and to become more
aware of the social component that is attached to the development of solutions
for the modern urban environment.
Modern mobility solutions, and the application of technology, relies
heavily in the collection, storage and distribution of data. There is an
increasing awareness of the potential for open data to unlock unlimited
solutions to deliver the promise of smart communities and sustainable urban
ecosystems. The main objective of the initiative is to generate a collaborative
community specialized in the delivery of intelligent transport solutions. By
attracting as many stakeholders as possible, ITS Factory aims to make Tampere
an international pole in the field of mobility innovation.
Together with the constantly expanding network of private actors, there
are several institutions within public governance and education that
participate in a more permanent role to provide infrastructure, data, and
financial support. The different
partners are allowed to develop their own ideas and execute specific projects
within the realm of ITS. Some of the core activities include:
ITS Factory
development
Commercialization
and marketing activities
Facilitation for
developers
Testing
facilities
Interaction with
end-user
The integration of ITS Factory within the Business Tampere structure
allowed for a more streamlined co-creation process, resulting in the following impacts
from this collaboration:
Commercialization of products and services
Creation of new research and development
opportunities
Development of industry standards for the
creation, exchange and management of data
Access to innovative transport solutions
for the City of Tampere, the Tampere Region, and the citizenship
Associated societal impacts, including a
more efficient transport network, reduction in emissions, optimization of
costs, road safety, accessibility and public health
In order to reach the highest levels of innovation and co-production,
ITS Factory aimed to create an ecosystem in which all stakeholders felt free to
engage in research, collaboration and development of concepts. The flexibility
of the creative model allows for extensive adaptability to the needs of
developers and researchers. Due to the wide range of projects that can be
integrated in the ITS ecosystem, the structure offers the possibility to
benefit from the platform, including access to public data and real-life
testing, to any type of venture. This perspective on stakeholder engagement, as
well as the model developed, can be a valuable reference point for similar
initiatives in the future.
CREATIVE DESIGN SEMESTER AND UNISTARTAPP GIVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR
STUDENTS TO ACQUIRE THE FEATURES BY EMPLOYERS OF TODAY
The Warsaw Design Factory, located in the Warsaw University of
Technology, aims to build an innovative university in order to develop skills
in their students. With this initiative, the university aims to develop
professional skills that are missing in formal university curricula; improve
the interdisciplinarity achieved through multifaceted teams with students from
different areas; but also improve the competences of their academic staff.
The Creative Design Semester is an additional semester targeted to 1st
and 2nd degree students from various faculties of the Warsaw
University of Technology to prepared them to the business world. One of the
most important projects implemented jointly with the authorities of several
cities in Poland was UniStartApp. This project combined the academic education,
giving their participants ETCS points for this project, while remaining consistent
with the startup creation methodology.
The UniStartApp was run through some defined stages and milestones
assigned to each one of them: from the application idea, through competitor
analysis, identification of user requirements, creation of the final product
vision, together with supporting business model, requirement specification,
summary of business-system analysis and final programming workshop. This project begun in the early 2016 and was
concluded in November of the same year, with the Gala event at Warsaw
University of Technology, attended by all the project partners as well the
representatives from the Ministries of Development and of Digitization, the
Office of Electronic Communications, venture capital organizations, tech
companies and the Polish Agency for Entrepreneurship Development.
DEVELOPED SKILLS AND COMPETENCES
Interdisciplinary teams, composed of students from the faculties of
management, finance and IT worked on the concept and prototype of an
application in line with the idea of smart city. Qualified experts have
supervised the group’s activities, leading to the creation of applications aiming
at helping job seeking activities, organizing events, improving urban
infrastructure, among others.
The UniStartApp project was a unique and innovative initiative preparing students to be the entrepreneurs of the future. Some of these competencies were:
Interdisciplinary communication within
teams (particularly between programmers and not tech participants)
Learn how to work virtually with teams,
improving cooperation capacity in a virtual environment – competency highly
expected in a digitalized business environment
Widening horizons
T-shape people, which means that each
student learned skills outside their training area
Entrepreneurship education
Traditional university structures are, yet, not ready for
interdisciplinary and interorganizational cooperation that are at the core of
future startup leaders’ formation process. Ecosystems like the one tested
within UniStartApp project, can be a valuable reference point for similar initiatives
in the future.
The design process of an open, collaborative and innovation lab is not just a methodological issue. On the contrary, the design process in itself can set a relevant precedent for future collaborative practices in the lab. The stakeholders that will be involved, the kind of relationships established among them, or the topics opened to public debate may have an impact on how the labs will function in the future. In the following article, we expose how the design process of UAB Open Labs, that took place from January to December 2018, was carried out.
Multi-stakeholder participative approach
The UAB Open Labs follow the trail of predecessor innovation spaces/labs such as makerspaces / fab labs and living labs and adopts their main aim: providing an open space for designing, prototyping and testing collaboratively. Therefore, participation and collaboration lay in the core of the UAB Open Labs fundamental principles. Precisely for that reason the design process of the UAB Open Labs was conceived and carried out in line with these principles, deploying a multi-stakeholder participatory approach and by implicating the final user in the design from the early beginning of the process. As described in a previous article, since 2013 the UAB had already setup four thematic strategic research communities (COREs) that had activated and engaged a great part of the academic community and thus could serve as the base for the co-creation process. The existence of these communities provided two identifiable advantages: i) a recognition and identification of needs and capacities of faculties and research groups based on the functioning of the COREs the previous years ii) an acquainted community that could be invited, engaged and make participant in this new endeavour that they would ultimately be the beneficiaries of.
A third factor to take into consideration was the existence of the UAB Smart Campus Living Lab (member of EnoLL since 2014) that had been functioning for some years already on an experimental basis. The creation of the Open Labs was ideated precisely as a pragmatic step for the further development of the Smart Campus Living Lab, where they the Open Labs would serve as the operating branch of the Campus Living Lab, reinforcing its stature and capacities, and increasing its potential impact as an innovation and technology transfer tool while at the same time helping to impulse even further the collaboration potential within the COREs and the university community as a whole.
The first step in any participatory process is answering who should be invited to participate. In this regard, it should be noted that UAB Open Labs have some relevant differences with other labs that should be taken into account when answering this question. Unlike other open labs, UAB Open Labs are located inside a university campus; not in a neighbourhood nor in any other “real life” setting, so the community at stake was very specific and of high educational level. Nonetheless, UAB Open Labs are not located inside the academic traditional closed labs scheme and proposed to go beyond that. These characteristics make UAB Open Labs a particular case situated in between universities and cities. In other words, UAB Open Labs are bringing academic labs and open labs together; establishing a new mixed space between them and defining a new way of doing things in an academic setting. This peculiarity determined which actors could get involved in its design process. In any open lab the Quadruple Helix principle establishes that companies, public administration, academia and citizens should be brought together to seek solutions for the urban challenges that concern them. Nevertheless, UAB Open Labs set up a quite more complex scenario, where any stakeholder linked to the university can become a possible user, as well as anyone outside university borders.
Therefore, the whole university community together with near local and regional administrations, citizens and other universities were called to participate in the design process; enabling multiple and diverse actors (students, professors, researchers, librarians, neighbours, etc.) to work together. After this wide call, at the end of the design process, approximately 137 people were involved,most of them from the UAB community but also relevant external participants. As the attendance data shows, the entangled map of stakeholders was a challenge itself, adding complexity to the process, but at the same time presented a great opportunity to work with and for the special diversity and talent present within the campus community.
Co-creation and collaborative methodologies
As was exposed in previous paragraphs, in line with Open Lab’s approach
and aims, the design process was based on participative methodologies. It was conducted throughout three different stages, which had different
aims and targets.
The first stage (January – March 2018) consisted of three co-design sessions, where the whole net of stakeholders where invited to participate. Each workshop had a concept that guided the objectives and participative techniques: “sympathy”, “inspiration” and “prototyping”. That is, during these workshops, stakeholders shared their interests and get to know each other. Moreover, the workshops allowed to collect suggestions to define the functions, aims, governance and spaces of the labs. Additionally, during this phase specialized visits to relevant Labs in the territory were realised with the academic community.
After these workshops, in the subsequent phase (May – December 2018) two commissions/ working – action groups were created in order to bring the ideas and suggestions collected to reality. These commissions aimed to define clearly the characteristics of the future labs and advance with operational steps to make them reality. The First Commission worked on the regulations, governance, community and virtual platform; and the Second Commission oversaw the infrastructures, tools and machines, spaces and furniture. Both Commissions met periodically to plan and draw all the labs characteristics. Although the call was also open to the whole community, the Commissions were formed by stakeholders more closely related with the UAB Open Labs organization. The loss of participation during a co-design long process is one of the main challenges that this kind of experiences must face. Even so, it should be noted that a massive participation may hinder the decision-making process.
Finally, once the design was almost closed, two last co-creation meetings were celebrated to draw the physic composition of the labs (furniture, lights and other features). Both meetings took place in the space where the labs will be located, which facilitated the ideation exercise. In this case, the attendants were almost entirely from the university community.
Towards a conceptualization of the UAB Open Labs model
One of the singularities of the UAB Open Labs
is precisely the starting point that we have just described: to a large extent,
these Labs have been configured as a result of a participatory process of co-creation that was opened to the entire
university community and which also involved other agents of the territory,
both public and private. So, these labs, which are open spaces for co-design
and co-creation, have been themselves co-designed and co-created; it is,
itself, a singularity.
To what extent the future practices performed at
the UAB Open Labs will be influenced by this singularity, or how the governance
of the Labs will be impacted by the transversality and horizontality with
which, from the beginning, the Labs were conceptualized, are just some of the
many questions that still remain to be answered.
In fact, the first two physical spaces of the UAB Open Labs (Design Lab and Digital Lab) were inaugurated in November 2019 but the Lab model in itself is supposed to remain open, to accommodate non-traditional or singular ideas of value that could be incorporated. However, it is possible to identify two more characteristics that, together with the singularity mentioned earlier, are drawing a singular model of an Open Lab which will be more clearly defined during the functioning of the Labs from now on:
The first characteristic is that the UAB Open Labs have re-appropriated some conceptualizations that initially came from makerspaces and other manufacturing / tech community spaces. The Labs are conceptualized as open spaces for testing and prototyping, where innovation is fostered through co-creation and co-design practices which turn around the “ideas” and the “doing”. And, more specifically, “Doing-It-With-Others” (DIWO), since the starting point is that the potential of “making” is amplified when people meet with other people in spaces provided with helpful technologies to materialize projects but, above all, where people meet other people to collaborate, design and create together. Thus, on one hand, these spaces promote innovation based on co-creation and co-design practices (Anderson, 2012). And on the other hand, these practices turn around the concept of “doing”: manipulating, testing, experimenting and prototyping. In this sense, the prototype forms the base of the maker culture, as it is “doing” and “manipulating” how different attempts are given to answer the questions that people ask themselves (Corsín, 2014). The construction of significance around the object, then, goes beyond its consideration as a simple “good” or “product” (Dougherty, 2012), since the object´s creation process in itself has agency and value.
The second characteristic is that, conceptually, the UAB Open Labs model falls close to the description that Lhoste and Barbier (2016) placed on FabLabs when they analyzed them from the point of view of Oldenburg’s “third spaces” (1997): “a singular form of collective and distributed open innovation“, a new form of social organization in which the socio-technical practices performed are related to cooperation, collaborative generation of knowledge and collective innovation. As in the Labs studied by these authors, the UAB Open Labs accordingly try to generate symbolic open spaces that favor sociability, sharing and collaboration. For that reason, the physical locations of the LABs were chosen based on criteria such as visibility, proximity to flows and accessibility.
Contributions of the model
As it was mentioned in the beginning, the point of departure for the UAB Open Labs was the thematic research communities (COREs) that had already been articulated within the university community and the context of the Smart Campus Living Lab. While the thematic communities (COREs) ensured that a wide co-designand a co-creation participatory process could take place ,the Smart Campus Living Lab provided the base requirements and an operative frame for the Open Labs, as well as a testbed for the produced solutions. And, as we also stated, there is a clear transition from DIY (Do-It-Yourself) to DIWO (Do-It-With-Others) in the configuration and launching of the UAB Open Labs. Perhaps, as could be understood from the text of Lhoste and Barbier, one of the contributions of Open Labs to innovation could be found just in these two aspects: i) how the Lab has been put in place and ii) how these conditions related to participation, collaboration and collective encounter, have been maintained. If so, the conceptual model of UAB Open Labs could notably contribute to achieve new comprehension of how Open Labs could contribute to social innovation and related processes, especially with relation to academic environments and communities.
Article written in collaboration with the research group Barcelona Science and Technology Studies Group (STS-b)
WEB
Open Labs
https://www.uab.cat/open-labs/
Barcelona Science and
Technology Studies Group
https://barcelonasts.wordpress.com/
REFERENCES
Anderson, C. (2012). Makers: The
New Industrial Revolution. London: Random House Business Books.
Corsín (2014). Introduction:
The prototype: more than many and less than one. Journal of Cultural Economy
7 (4), 381-398
Dougherty, D. (2012). The maker movement. Innovations, 7(3), 11–14.
Lhoste, É. & Barbier, M. (2016). FabLabs: L’institutionnalisation de
Tiers-Lieux du « soft hacking ». Revue d’anthropologie
des connaissances, vol. 10, 1(1), 43-69.
Oldenburg, R. (1997). The great good place: cafés, coffee shops,
community centers, beauty parlors, general stores, bars, hangouts, and how they
get you through the day. New York, Marlowe & Company.
Degraded industrial regions – such as Zasavje in Slovenia with its former coal mines – are faced with social, economic and environmental challenges, such as unemployment, pollution and brain drain. To prosper, these areas need fresh ideas, bold visions and industrial restructuring, developed in partnership with local industry, community and citizens. The RUARDI project was a university-industry collaboration project involving an interdisciplinary student research team. It was conducted over a period of five months in 2015 and implemented within the Creative Path to Knowledgeprogramme of the Public Scholarship, Development, Disability, and Maintenance Fund of the Republic of Slovenia.
RUARDI established cross-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder cooperation between different Faculties and research institutes of the University of Ljubljana, the city of Zagorje ob Savi (Slovenia), its local industry representatives (company Aereform), and local communities. The key aim was to conduct an interdisciplinary study which would provide recommendations for enlargement, optimization and integration of the existing city airport into the local industrial environment, community and everyday life of citizens. The long-term vision was to establish an aeronautic entrepreneurial hub for high-tech innovation and multiplication of regional social-economic development.
Aeroclub Zagorje ob Savi
SMALL RESEARCH PROJECTS THAT BRING VALUABLE EXPERIENCE
The Creative Path to Knowledge programme, supported by the Slovenian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports and the European Social Fund, enhances cooperation between higher education institutions and industry, businesses, or other non-academic organisations in short-term research & development projects. The participating students thus get the opportunity to work on real-life challenges, gaining practical experience, additional knowledge, as well as competences and skills that are increasingly important for entering the job market.
The current programme (2016-2020) value is 10.625.000,00 EUR and aims to involve at least 2700 undergraduate and graduate students, as well as 1400 non-academic experts. The programme co-finances projects that are carried out in groups of 4 to 8 students co-mentored by academic and industry/non-academic mentors, and encourages the exchange of knowledge, experience and good practices. The projects can last from 3 to 5 months. University and non-academic partners have to apply for funding – if successful, the academic mentors recruit a team of students to work on the project.
REVITALISING A DEGRADED URBAN AREA
Zasavje is one of the most affected Slovenian regions – in the time of economic crisis, the unemployment rate in the region has grown considerably. Traditional industrial sectors are labour intensive and characterized by high levels of manual work and low levels of automation. In the past years, the production was globally moving to areas with cheaper labour force. These events have further aggravated the economic situation in Zasavje, causing serious economic problems, i.e. low standard of living, low income, dependence on the social welfare system, long-term unemployment etc. These kinds of areas can benefit by introducing positive visions and by enhancing new solutions and development strategies incorporating local heritage and involving their citizens as co-creators.
Air mobility and aeronautic industry can present key integrators and drivers having positive effects on the development of environment, region, local community and entrepreneurship. The RUARDI project aimed to provide a holistic solution of expanding and integrating the existing city airport into the local community’s everyday life. Three non-academic mentors from industry and research (Aereform and IRI UL), four academic mentors (University of Ljubljana), and eight students from four different Faculties within the University of Ljubljana (Faculty of civil engineering, Faculty of architecture, Faculty of social sciences and Faculty of mathematics and physics) commenced work on the RUARDI project in January 2015.
The core of the project was the students’ research and
development of solutions. Among other activities, the project team had to identify the relevant stakeholders and actors within
the local community, develop the concept and mapping, conduct research and
analysis, evaluate results and provide development recommendations, disseminate
results and participate in multi-stakeholder meetings. During this process, the
students acquired new competences and an elaborate vision of the airfield,
while the collaboration between industry and university partners supported the
exchange of knowledge and best practices. The interdisciplinary study resulted in a detailed,
153 pages long study report, written by the participating students and their
academic and industry mentors, and has provided concrete recommendations that
were later included in the city’s development strategy.
DEVELOPING SKILLS AND COMPETENCES
The learning outcomes were assessed for each student individually by the involved academic mentors, based on the activities undertaken by the student within the project and their performance. The individual assessments had to be included in the final project report, required by the funding programme. One of the most important outcomes of the collaborative project were the skills and competences developed by the involved students, including creative thinking; solving practical challenges with the solutions being feasible technically, socially, as well as financially; communication across disciplines and stakeholder groups; ability to set, formulate and implement a research process that has clear objectives and performance indicators; as well as organizational competences of working in an interdisciplinary team.
This blog article is written with reference to a good practice case study report prepared as part of the Erasmus+ University City Action Lab (UCITYLAB) Project.
MATOSINHOS LIVING LAB AIMS AT CREATING SMART, ZERO-CARBON EMISSIONS, RESILIENT, ACCESSIBLE, PARTICIPATORY AND CONNECTED NEIGHBOURHOOD
Matosinhos is a coastal city in the district of Porto. The living lab is located in a central area of the city surrounding the City Hall, where the main public services are centred, composed by several points with distinct physical, economic and social characteristics. It is an initiative of Municipality of Matosinhos, CEiiA (Centre of Engineering and Product Development), Porto Polytechnic, Metro do Porto, Efacec, among others. The overall objective of is to create a smart neighbourhood, as a low carbon space, resilient, accessible, participated and connected. It aims at testing technological solutions for low-carbon, energy efficient and reducing pollutant emissions. It acts in areas such as mobility and transport, buildings, environmental innovation and the promotion of circular economy, to decarbonize the city.
It is a project of co-creation and open innovation of products, services, software, hardware and low-carbon urban interventions, where municipalities, knowledge centres, companies, entrepreneurs and citizens interact.
Real context tests are performed for challenges like parking management, bike sharing, electrification of the fleet, traffic monitoring.
A CITIZEN-ENGAGEMENT EXPERIENCE
Matosinhos is preparing to become a living experience of what may be the cities of the future regarding the carbon intensity of daily activities. The citizens will be engaged in the creation and experimentation of cleaner and more intelligent technologies. The project also aims to promote entrepreneurship and the development of low-carbon business solutions.
In this sense, the role of the University was to develop a methodology to assess the impacts on the citizens. Indeed, the Polytechnics of Porto has created a technological tool to monitor social impact on two levels: customer perception of the use of the technologies offered by the living lab and the appropriation of the concept of “citizen centre” by them. This tool will be based on the use of the OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) cube, analysing the 3 perspectives presented of the BSC (Balanced SoreCard): customers’ perspective, learning perspective and economic-financial perspective.
MATOSINHOS LIVING LAB GOES BEYOND THE DECARBONIZATION OF THE CITY
Besides decarbonizing the city, the project’s goals include decreasing energy consumption, providing a test-bed for solutions that can be scaled to the whole city, to other cities and eventually to other countries, having a more comfortable and sustainable mobility, and promoting the use of renewable energies.
Several activities are being performed in order to achieve those goals, namely:
Development, testing and experimentation of innovative and integrated technological solutions, in real context, intersecting mobility, energy, buildings and connectivity
Promotion of strong user involvement, with the co-creation of solution
Evaluation of social adoption of these solutions
Measurement and evaluation of carbon emissions in real time powered by mobi.me (CEiiA’s mobility management platform)
Intelligent traffic monitoring in Matosinhos using radars and sensors
Placement in buses stops of real-time information monitors, managed by mobi.me, displaying the time, the atmospheric temperature and the waiting time for the incoming buses
Therefore, the project, apart from reducing the carbon emissions, intends to provide more quality in public spaces, more energetic efficiency, better life quality inside public building, improvement of road safety, increasing connectivity between citizen and all agents, and promotion entrepreneurship and new businesses creation related to low carbon solutions (development of new products and services). How? With auto sustainable lamps that measure carbon emissions, with pavement that reduces vehicle speed without drivers’ intervention, with a bike sharing system connected to the public transport system with a real time measurement of CO2 emissions spared, with an autonomous robot to support urban cleaning, among other activities and tools.
This blog article is written with reference to a good practice case study report prepared as part of the Erasmus+ University City Action Lab (UCITYLAB) Project.
MAIN PARTNERS
Featured picture retrieved from https://www.cm-matosinhos.pt/
An initiative by the Chalmers University of Technology, Challenge Lab is a collaborative project that aims to reinforce students and the university as active part within local and regional ecosystems. It exists around the facilitation of direct conversation amongst stakeholders that, led by the students’ initiative, intend to identify contemporary issues and potential points of leverage for future action. This multidisciplinary cooperation tries to introduce systemic change in the university structure, bridging the gap between education and utilization.
Linked to their Master Thesis, participating in the Lab does not entail extra credits for its participants. Instead, it offers students the opportunity to develop their understanding of the complexity of societal challenges, applying their own vision for a sustainable future and engaging with industry, academics and municipalities to navigate the intricacies of their topic, and strengthen the accuracy of their line of questioning. Priority is given to the adequate definition of the issue, over the potential delivery of specific solutions.
Challenge Lab appeared in 2013 as a response to the resistance of societal actors to deeply engage in the conversation to solve modern urban issues. Inspired by a water management project completed in Barcelona, Prof. John Holmberg proposed the creation of an independent body within the university to promote the development of concepts in pursuit of sustainable development. This autonomy from the traditional university structure aims to combine expertise from a variety of disciplines in order to tackle complex issues such as urban mobility, waste production, housing or clean energy. One of the unique characteristics of Challenge Lab is the introduction of students as neutral, unthreatening intermediaries to drive the conversation, with the hope that business, industry, researchers and municipalities would play a more active role without the need to protect their own financial or intellectual stake. Innovation is enhanced by strict criteria of multidisciplinary research, where pairs of students allocated to specific topics are always from different academic backgrounds. This diversity aims to reflect the complexity of urban challenges, encouraging students to develop a collaborative mindset.
HOW IS THE MASTER’S THESIS COMPONENT STRUCTURED?
The Master Thesis Lab complements the standard Master Thesis module, and offers a co-creative environment for students to deliver a research project with real life impact. Each thesis is completed in pairs, accepted by the departments of Architecture and Civil Engineering; Engineering for Sustainable Development; Mechanical, Automation, Naval and Industrial Design Engineering; and Technology and Learning. It is also accepted by the Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law. This joint research method is considered to increase the quality of the thesis.
The semester prior to the beginning of the programme, students are introduced to fundamental sustainability principles, encouraging their own understanding of the topic and exposing them to concepts that will inform their thesis. This course, called ‘Leadership for sustainability transitions’, is part of the department of Space, Earth and Environment, and its completion increases the probability for students to be accepted to the Master Thesis Lab. Access to the programme is via open application in September-October, including a motivation statement.
After screening and a series of interviews, acceptance of candidates aims for a diverse range of students, with different background and with a flexible approach to modern urban issues.
HIGH IMPACT AND RECOGNITION OF THE PROGRAMME
The development of the Master Thesis Lab allows students to tackle modern issues while considering a wider range of perspectives. Thanks to the implementation of multidisciplinary approaches, and the focus on systems innovation, students develop a deeper understanding of the complexity of social challenges allowing for more inclusive and comprehensive research. This holistic model, and the iterative process with academics and practitioners help students deliver research that is relevant and with high level of applicability. Despite the focus of Challenge Lab being centred around the conversation between stakeholders, the consistent engagement of businesses and municipality creates an opportunity for the outcome of research projects to be developed and implemented.
With regards to the dialogue between researchers, industry and municipality, the more casual debate led by students facilitates an increase in the engagement by external stakeholders. Not being subject to the formal requirements of institutionalized exchange, representatives of businesses and governing bodies perceive the Lab as a place to discuss modern issues, support the student community and access an innovative source of ideas.
Challenge Lab received the Green Gown Award 2016, in the category of Student Engagement for Europe. These awards are organized by the Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability (GUPES), and supported by United Nations Environment Programme and the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC).
This blog article has been produced as part of the Challenge Lab Case Study Report of the UCITYLAB Project Case Study Collection.
The Ghent Urban Academy of the Ghent University, Belgium has been working on to unite all urban stakeholders, including academics, researchers, and students as knowledge generators, along with non-academic actors to support the development of an ecologically sustainable and socially just city of Ghent. This noble cause is underpinned with a solid purpose to create a collective learning platform for various stakeholders to tackle wicked sustainability issues.
How did it all start?
The Ghent Urban Academy has had several
triggers to launch itself as we know it, over the past years. The first trigger
has appeared in form of a think tank, called Transition UGent that was launched
in 2012 to ideate and articulate the concept of a sustainable university. The
other trigger closely followed and revealed itself as the Platform for The
Sustainable City of Ghent that allowedacademics to do
interdisciplinary research on the topic. This platform failed because a consultancy
logic became dominant and we were not able to address sustainability issues as
complex or wicked problems. The Ghent Urban Academy was launched in 2017 to
explore and address sustainability issues of the city and the university (as
living lab) attracting students and educators to participate its main
activities.
What does the academy offer?
The Urban Academy activities are multi-faced.
It provides ‘urban academy sessions’ in the form of open seminars and workshops
that gather urban civil servants and society actors as well as external
knowledge partners. These sessions are primarily held to identify burning
issues of the city/university that can later be translated into viable research
questions for students to deal with.
The Urban Academy also offers a
2-semester elective course Sustainable Cities to students studying at
Ghent University. The core themes of the course are redefined on a yearly
basis. For example, the intake of 2018-19 was exploring the urban food
issues to later develop an urban food policy brief.
Naturally, the Urban Academy offers ‘master
thesis workshops’ on complex sustainability issues. Via these workshops, the
Urban Academy is trying to promote the idea of interdisciplinarity and
transdisciplinarity by inviting academic staff from different faculties together
with non-academic stakeholders to diversify the vector of the research at
hand.
Cui bono?
Undoubtedly, students are the immediate beneficiaries of what the Urban Academy offers, especially in terms of educational services and research. For Ghent University at large, the Urban Academy serves as a sustainability vision and initiative generator that works on breaking down the university vision into actionable steps of strategy implementation. Ghent University educators, who are facing pedagogical challenges in the light of daunting sustainability issues, get support with the implementation and conceptualization of the sustainability education in their work. Naturally, the city of Ghent is an ultimate beneficiary of all the endeavors taken by the Urban Academy to advance the wellbeing of the city of Ghent residents.
This blog article has been produced as part of the Ghent Urban Academy Case Study Report of the UCITYLAB Project Case Study Collection.
The dismal statistics indicates that almost half of Amsterdam adults feel lonely. The data collected by the municipal heath service GGD states that it comes down to 300 thousand lonely people in the Dutch capital, 80 thousand of whom feel extremely lonely. The tendency has stricken the elderly population as well. To alleviate the problem, the Urban Vitality Programme, one of the Research programmes of Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) has joined forces with Het AMSTELhuis, a residential facility for senior citizens, and launched ‘The AMSTELhuis’ Living Lab project in 2015. The project made social inclusion of elderly people, along with their activities and nutrition, a cornerstone of the Urban Vitality Programme and het Amstelhuis’ cooperative efforts.
Amsterdam: combatting loneliness and becoming an age-friendly city
Amsterdam is perceived to be one of the most inspiring and inclusive cities in Europe. Every year, it welcomes more and more expats from all over the world. Yet, the ever-rising population does not promote better socialization. Loneliness is getting recognized as a public health threat, and the city invests 1 million euros per year for tackling the issue of loneliness among its citizens. Apart from that, in 2015, Amsterdam joined the WHO Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities to advance the well-being of elderly citizens through a number of programmes. With the AMSTELhuis project as a part of the Urban Vitality Programme, AUAS shares, a common ambition to organize the space for elderly citizens so that they can live an independent life that is meaningful and enriched with a variety of informal social activities.
The activities carried out in the AMSTELhuis within the Urban Vitality research programme are majorly framed into students’ projects. The ongoing projects and research programmes are centred around three main themes: vitality, healthy nutrition and social inclusion.
Exercise Therapy students give weekly lessons in fall prevention. Prior that, a study on fall prediction was performed. The purpose of both activities is to predict falls, what will allow for a quicker action of the support staff in the future and make elderly people feel more confident in terms of their postural stability.
Healthy nutrition for the seniors is a frequent subject in research and advice. As part of the AUAS Food Lab, Nutrition & Dietetics students carry out research on the subject as well. Together with the residents’ club of the Amstelhuis, the Food Lab organises tasting events when residents can try sustainable vegetarian food. What is more, the Food Lab runs a project on marketing the Amstelhuis restaurant and making it more attractive for elderly people living in the neighbourhood.
For supporting Amstelhuis residents’ well-being, it is important they have a solid social network of co-residents, family and friends. The research done by Occupational Therapy students shows that some new residents find it difficult to connect with others when moving into the Amstelhuis. Students and researchers are trying to see what assistance is needed to help and strengthen the social network of new residents upon their arrival and further on.
The projects are being carried out with the support from the AMSTELhuis administration and supervised by the university researchers who guide and collaborate with their students in interdisciplinary teams.
Living Lab: why a success?
Efficient collaboration of the AUAS and the AMSTELhuis is ensured by several factors. First, both vision and ambition are shared and supported by the management, employees of the AMSTELhuis along with the researchers and students from AUAS. All involved parties have a common understanding that the AMSTELhuis residents, their comfort and safety are of primary concern. As confided by Ellen Budde, senior project manager of the AMSTELhuis Living Lab, a significantly important component of the programme success is related to the willingness to learn together and speak to one another respecting each other’s views, as well as to practice new behaviour expressed by all involved stakeholders, including residents themselves, their families, carers, etc. Undoubtfully, clear leadership and steering mechanisms bring more structure to the management processes. And the crowning element of the programme success is, undeniably, the applicability of the research results that improve the well-being of the AMSTELhuis residents.
Photo by Matthias Zomer from Pexels
This article has previously been published at uiin.org.
“Hub b30” is an open innovation network created to promote the collaboration, economic development and social cohesion of the territory in which the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) is located.
The B30 territory is made up of 23 municipalities in a valley that is crossed by the AP7 (B30) highway that connects the different municipalities, with an area of 485km² and has more than one million inhabitants. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it represents the main industrial agglomeration of Catalonia and Spain with almost 30,000 companies (providing occupation for almost 400,000 workers (1) located within its area.
In this sense, approximately 50 kilometers of the highway axis called B30 structure a territory of a great demographic, economic and social relevance.
In this territory a series of very singular circumstances come together that explains why it is internationally known as an innovative region (2). Not only does it have a high intensity of companies, but also a high presence of scientific-technical institutions. It hosts one of the most advanced light laboratories in the world, the Alba Synchrotron, as well as two major public universities: the UAB and the UPC. These capacities include research centers of the CSIC and IRTA; the UAB Research Park and the ESADE Creapolis business school. The possibilities of contribution of territory B30 to a socioeconomic development of Catalonia based on the knowledge economy are extraordinary precisely because of the potential for transfer of knowledge and technology that it integrates.
In this context, the strategy of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona is to play a role as a node of metropolitan knowledge. The consolidation of this paper depends, among other things, on the ability of the University to functionally integrate into the territory of which it is a part. But linking the university with the rest of the actors is not an easy task in the context of the metropolitan area of Barcelona, characteristic of its variable geographies and changing boundaries in a reality that adopts urban models in the form of a network (3).
Born from the municipal partnership ÀmbitB30, initiative Hub b30 helps UAB
to be linked locally and understands the logic of the various actors in the
territory that hosts it. The systematic interaction it maintains, likewise,
helps to determine the role of the university in the territorial network of
centers and sub-centers to which it belongs.
The Hub
b30 contributes to the UAB understanding the logic of the various actors in the
B30 territory, to which it is linked, and to determine the role of the
university in a complex network of companies, entities, centers and subcentres.
Born in 2018, the Hub B30 is conceived as a co-creation and co-creation
ecosystem inspired by the 4 propellers, where companies, research and
innovation agents, local administrations and citizens of the B30 have their
place. It offers contacts, experts, resources and services to public and
private organizations to help them detect and solve challenges in an efficient,
innovative and competitive manner. It promotes access to knowledge about
markets, financing, technology and patents; to equipment and
scientific-technical infrastructures; to advisors in innovation and entrepreneurship;
to research staff; and specialized training among others.
One of the first activities organized to promote
interaction and collaboration among local stakeholder and boost knowledge transfer
to the territory are the Hubb30 Innovation Brunches. These events are opportunities
for networking between researchers, companies, entities and users and
articulate collaborations around specific topics that combine technologies and
diverse sectors.
In each of the announcements, a practical case of collaboration between
diverse agents is presented to the public and in order to demonstrate
successful examples of technological, social, product, process, marketing and
business model innovations.
To date, the following twelve Innovation Brunches
have been celebrated:
– Sensory at the Health Service – Intelligent mobility solutions – Smart Waste Management: Industrial Symbiosis – New Pàckaging solutions for fresh foods – Digitization and Exploitation of Data in the Public Sector – Neuromarketing for Commerce – Product Innovation in Cosmetics – Big Data for the Healthcare Sector – Smart Food – Microbial Resistance – Circular Water – Gamification and Heritage
On each one of the topics, the UAB Research Park has produced an associated technological surveillance report that integrates a vision of trends and innovation around the thematic, as well as a related patent analysis. The various reports produced so far are available and can be consulted at the following URL: https://hubb30.cat/en/innovation-brunchs. The 12 Technological Surveillance Reports of the Hub b30 Innovation Brunch can also be found at https://hubb30.cat/en/innovation-brunchs.
As in these sessions, the most disruptive technologies, trends and experts
in the field are exposed, they generate a lot of interest among the business,
social RDI and social fabric of the B30 territory. Consequently, they
contribute to generating interactions that in the medium-longer term could
become consolidated cooperation in research and innovation projects. The
available data (4) confirm positive feedback from the participants that make up
the quadruple propeller of field B30. They indicate that 68% of participants
appreciate their satisfaction and efficiency between 3 and 4 points out of a
total of 4.
The logic of Innovation Brunch is “top-down”, in the sense that the proposed topics take into account the characteristics of the territory and its opportunities for research, development and innovation from a strategic viewpoint. Since 2019 however and in order to complement the action of Hubb30 with a “bottom-up” logic, differentz events were organized “on demand” by and with the agents of the territory, the Innovation Mornings. The objective of this second typology of events is to work on problems, challenges and solutions utilizing Design thinking methodologies. This line of work has been initiated this year with the following two themes:
– Mental Health and Employment – Business training needs
In essence, the Hub30 initiative is still young, but step by step recognition is being obtained both locally and supralocal and international level. Probably one of the most interesting success indicators of a hub is the quality and volume of the actors that have adhered to it or participated in the diverse activities.
Having reached the interest of RDI agents and local administrations for Hub b30, the company/industry membership phase is now underway.
Since the Hubb30 was initially created and impulsed by the Universitat
Autònoma de Barcelona, the UAB Research Park, Eurecat and the B30 Area
Association to promote innovation, further key RDI actors in the territory also
decided to adhere to the HUB (UPC, Sincrotró Alba, ESADE Creapolis ) and the
key local administrations (County Council, Innovation Agency of Catalonia ACCIÓ
). In 2020 it is expected to continue growing and to gain more diversity and
efficiency with the adherence of the representatives of companies and industry of
the territory B30 to the HUB.
Sources:
Associació Àmbit B30
(2015) Estratègies per a una millora en
la competitivitat de la indústria a l’àmbit B30.
AMB (2018) Estratègia territorial de l’Àmbit B30 per
al desenvolupament econòmic inclusiu i sostenible.
Arcos(2019) Universidad, territorio y desarrollo local.
Un análisis de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.
Santander was
chosen to become Europe’s test bed for a sensor-based smart city. The Spanish
city is embedded with more than 12,000 sensors to help the government operate
as efficiently as possible.
The gathering
of data collected by the sensors will lead to significant improvements in how
city infrastructure is used and to a better understanding of urban issues. This
unique experimental facility will be sufficiently large, open and flexible to
enable its scaling-up around the world.
The University
of Cantabria has coordinated the technical deployment of the infrastructure and
services, being responsible for technically guiding the digital transformation.
On the one
hand, the research community gets benefit from deploying such a unique
infrastructure which allows true field experiments while, on the other hand,
different applications serving citizens’ needs will be deployed – typical applications
and services for a smart city, including experimental advanced research on IoT
(Internet of Things) technologies and realistic assessment of users’
acceptability tests.
Since 2010, 12,500
sensors have been measuring the amount of trash in containers, the number of
parking spaces available, and the size of crowds on the sidewalks. Besides, sensors
were also installed in vehicles, such as police cars and taxicabs, measuring
air pollution levels and traffic conditions.
The data from
these sensors flows to banks of computers that analyse the real-time
information and give city officials the big picture, allowing them to adjust
the amount of energy they use, the number of trash pickups needed in a given
week or the amount of water to sprinkle on the lawns of city parks.
To attract the
widest interest and demonstrate the usefulness of the SmartSantander platform,
a key aspect is the inclusion of a wide set of applications. Application areas have
been selected based on their high potential impact on the citizens as well as
to exhibit the diversity, dynamics and scale that are essential in advanced
protocol solutions and will be able to be evaluated through the platform. Thus,
the platform will be attractive for all the stakeholders, e.g. industries,
communities of users, etc. that are willing to use the experimental facility
for deploying and assessing new services and applications, and Internet
researchers to validate their cutting-edge technologies, including protocols,
algorithms, radio interfaces, etc.
A scalable,
heterogeneous and trustable large-scale real-world experimental facility
The main goals
of the SmartSantander are to be a test bed for a sensor-based smart city, to
lead to a better understanding of urban issues, to fuel the use of the
Experimentation Facility among the scientific community, end users and service
providers in order to reduce the technical and societal barriers that prevent
the IoT concept to become an everyday reality, to develop new applications by
users of various types, to validate approaches to the architectural model of
the IOT, to evaluate social acceptance of IoT technologies and services and to
develop a data market place, according to the Digital Single Market principles.
Some of the
activities performed are environmental monitoring, outdoor parking management
and driver guidance, parks and gardens precision irrigation, augmented reality,
participatory sensing and joint R&D (university & industry cooperation).
The ultimate impact is to improve the city efficiency using the real data
driven from the sensors.
Awards and
recognition
Awards received by the initiative include:
Computerworld & Cio Iberoamericano 2012
ENERTIC 2015
Future Internet Award
Gobierno Abierto
Google Ciudad Digital
Impuls@ TIC
Innovación +Sostenibilidad+Red
Innovation Hub 2017: Premio a la Innovación
Transformadora
Premio “Ciudad de la Ciencia y la Innovación”
Premio Ciudadanos 2015
RFID & Wireless IoT tomorrow’ 2017: Modelo innovador en la
aplicación de la tecnología a los servicios urbanos
The collaborative efforts of
the scientific world and the society have taken place in various areas of human
life. The collaboration has proven to be more sustainable in case it happens at
the interface of different scientific fields and including different
stakeholders. The Utrecht Co-challenge course recognizes the importance of
all-inclusiveness, and offers an opportune ground for students, governmental bodies and the corporate
world to tackle the issues and see to the demands of today’s society. Launched
in 2014 by Prof. dr. Harold van Rijen and ing. Michele Gerbrands, the
Utrecht Co-challenge is an elective course open for talented youth of the University of Utrecht, HU University of
Applied Sciences. It allows the participants to engage in
fast-paced, information-rich, and collaborative forms of learning and
application of skills to deliver solutions for the client organization.
What’s in the plan?
The
goal of the course is to personally and professionally prepare participants for
the world of work, with its emphasis on the development of relevant skills,
including pitching, networking, intercultural communication, creativity, giving
and receiving feedback, and business modelling. With this goal in mind, the
organisation team, speakers and coaches of the program create a safe and
inspiring learning environment where the participants learn to work in an
interdisciplinary team and solve a real-world problem in co-creation with
professionals from the educational and corporate world. More to that, the
learners also get a chance to extend their professional network and brand
themselves.
Though
the programme is officially launched at the University
Medical Center Utrecht
(UMCU), to achieve an interdisciplinary approach to team building and knowledge
generation, it is also open for students of all backgrounds from Utrecht
University and HU University of Applied Sciences. The problems that students
need to solve are not in the biomedical domain, but an opportunity for them to
prepare themselves to the world of work personally and professionally. Such
inclusion lets the participants work with their peers who come from various
backgrounds.
What’s the Co-challenge about?
On average, 20-25 students attend the Co-challenge course every year, working in groups of five. The program is run in two weeks that are filled with a wide range of activities.
In
the first week, the Co-challenge starts with a plenary workshop where participants
get acquainted with their peers and form teams. After a series of inspirational
sessions and workshops the teams analyse the identified problem and prepare an
interview with the client. During the analysis process, students are supported
by mentors, e.g. in case of the mental pressure problem, a student-psychologist
shares his knowledge on the issue, a researcher shares the latest insights from
an academic perspective, and an entrepreneur tells more on how to cope with
mental pressure. The workshops prepare students to practice certain skills to
develop a concept such as techniques to investigate the problem and create
several creative solutions. In the mid-week, the teams pitch their concept at a
networking event and receive feedback. The first week is wrapped up with
student teams peer-reviewing each other.
The
agenda of the second week is filled with workshops on intercultural
communication and business modelling. The teams finalise shaping their working concept
and create a team/individual elevator pitch that is video-recorded for the
client. The activity is supervised by a coach who guides teams in preparing and
delivering their pitch. Then they present the final concept to the client and a
jury. The jury includes companies’ CEOs, municipality representatives, students
who have started their own business, professors, and the clients of the
projects. In the end, the teams draw up an advisory report for the client, and
he can choose one or multiple projects for his use.
A new challenge is on the horizon?
Yes,
it is! The new challenge of 2019 is about to identify interventions to prevent the
impact of mental pressures experienced by the students who study in Utrecht as the
city is one of the major student hubs in the Netherlands. Nationally, several
studies about experienced performance pressure and experienced stress among
students have been published and revealed unfavourable results that call to
action. Thus, the goal of the Co-challenge 2019 is to understand and relieve
some of the pressure before it leads to mental and physical problems. Provisionally,
the stress levels can be tuned down by creating awareness, shaping a safe study
environment, educating teachers and counsellors, and improving the types of targeted
outreach. Hopefully, the Co-challenge 2019 will show more ways on how to tackle
the problem.
Master Program in
Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health & Life Sciences
(further MPA) is a two-year interdisciplinary program taught at the VU
University, Amsterdam. Like many other Master programs, it requires students to
undertake internships, and submit a Master thesis upon the program completion.
MPA seeks to instil multi perspective thinking into a new generation of
researchers, policy makers and entrepreneurs who are willing to pursue their careers
in the field of health and life sciences. The programme hosts around 110
students every year, and the courses are taught in English.
To provide context, the MPA is taught at the Athena Institute, Faculty
of Science, VU University Amsterdam,
Athena’s research focuses on the interface between science and
technology (in the field of health and life sciences) and society. Athena’s
mission is to realise excellence in transdisciplinary research on innovation
and communication in the health and life sciences, with a specific focus on
processes of social inclusion and diversity. The reason behind the development
of MPA is in the complexity of societal problems that also require complex
solutions with an application of rigorous scientific principles. Such solutions
have to be based on the integrated knowledge from numerous scientific
disciplines and cooperation between a wide variety of stakeholders in society –
starting from the government, industry and societal organizations to ultimate
consumers.
The Master programme comprises the compulsory courses, electives (linked
to specialization), science courses, and two internships. In total, students
are expected to complete 120 ECTS within 2 years. Students can choose among the
five specializations: Health & Life Sciences-based Management and
Entrepreneurship; Health & Life Sciences-based Policy; Health & Life
Sciences-based Policy; International Public Health; and Community-based Health
Technologies. The purpose of the two internships is to get students exposed to
work experiences in multi-stakeholder organisations and they learn to apply the
core elements of the programme in a real-world setting.
Quality employment
after graduation
The programme is successful in broadening the outlook of students and
facilitating their development into multi-stakeholder problem-solvers in order
to address complex societal issues. After the programme students have the
knowledge, attitudes and skills to analyse complex societal issues, formulate
and implement strategies to deal with them and to effectively cooperate and
communicate both with societal actors and with researchers from different
disciplines. Another important element for success is the structure of the MPA
program that combines classroom learning with two practical experiences via
internships that allow plenty of opportunities for the students for growth, and
integration into the professional network. In addition, the enabling nature of
the local policies, fostering collaborative innovation, and consideration of
the innovation in health sciences as a priority, coupled with the institutional
culture that fosters interdisciplinary research can be considered as two major
supporting mechanisms for the successful implementation of the programme.
The programme thus has a strong impact on the employability of its
students, which also contributes to the fostering of innovation in the regional
health sector. According to the MPA programme representatives, the 95% of the
students find employment within the first year of graduation. The professional
field strongly appreciates with the quality of MPA students and graduates.
Students find their way to the job market, and of the last two cohorts of
students (n=189) only six alumni do not have a formal position.
Over the years MPA established itself as a robust and mature programme.
It has a sustainable number of students, it fulfils the expectations and
learning requirements, the teaching team is well established, highly motivated
and the prospect for graduates is very promising.
This blog
article is written with reference to the MPA Masters good practice case study
report prepared as part of the Erasmus+ University City Action Lab (UCITYLAB)
Project.
The UCITYLAB Project consortium greets the autumn season with a new issue of its biannual e-zine, dedicated to highlight project outputs and further explore the university-city engagement landscape in Europe.
Since our last publication in April, great progress has been made from the finalisation of the case study reports, to the development of the first draft of the UCITYLAB Challenge Teaching Toolkit. The project partners have also initiated conversations with their urban stakeholders to set up their regional networks, and ensure commitment during the time of pilot implementation of the teaching toolkit.
This issue of the UCITYLAB e-zine hosts a collection of articles developed from the good practice case study reports, featuring examples of university-city collaborations from Finland, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, and Australia, as well as an international collaborative initiative between the Municipality of Valencia in Spain and the Western Sydney University in Australia. Our selection of articles does not only give insights into the nature of the collaborations, but also provides a sneak peek into the type of activities and impact of the efforts made so far.
Our first impressions into the cases are that the type of collaborations and stakeholder constellations are diverse depending on their targets. The types of engagement range from urban policy research, facilitation of user engagement to public service innovation, and a graduate study programme to the development and testing of technologies for smart cities.
While our selection of articles represents only a fraction of our case study collection, we trust they will give you new perspectives into understanding the current landscape of the university-city collaboration.
The Exchange at Knowledge Market was an interdisciplinary living lab and a research partnership between
and RMIT University in Melbourne and Lendlease, an international
property and infrastructure group. For a period of 18 months, a team of
designers, social scientists and students were embedded at Victoria Harbour in the
Docklands, a major urban regeneration project at the edge of Melbourne’s
central district, leading a series of design studios, research projects and
public engagement activities. The area presented specific challenges:
Melbourne’s Docklands had long suffered a poor reputation as a place to visit,
especially in the evenings and on the weekends, when it was perceived as
lacking liveliness and character. Lendlease had been running the Knowledge
Market as a dedicated learning hub for Melbourne’s growing knowledge sector,
connecting the precinct’s residents, workers and visitors with ideas and experiences.
Activating Victoria Harbour
The Exchange at Knowledge Market project (henceforth: The Exchange)
began in 2017 with the goal to activate Victoria Harbour. Industry partner
Lendlease wanted to draw people to the area, give them a reason to visit and
explore: they wanted to enliven the precinct in ways that extended beyond the
existing retail and restaurant outlets. Victoria Harbour is furthermore
characterised by its distinctive built form which houses corporate headquarters
and high-rise apartment complexes. These forms of contemporary architecture are
defined by the creation of complete interior environments that provide a range
of amenities within the building itself. This sets up a clearly defined barrier
between the activities of the occupants within the buildings and their
engagement with the surrounding street life.
The team from RMIT University saw a valuable opportunity to offer a
unique, real-world learning experience for their students. It also wanted to
bring design and ethnographic research about this area of Melbourne directly
into design studio teaching that responded to the Victoria Harbour precinct. Located
in an 80m2 shopfront facing a local park, The Exchange was envisioned as an
attempt to draw people to Victoria Harbour by creating more activity at
different times of day and night. It took a unique approach to activating the
urban area, combining design ethnographic research with talks, public events,
and design studios focusing on designing urban futures that were based in the
everyday lived experiences of people occupying the area.
Design Ethnographic Research Informing Living Lab Activities
A series of linked design ethnographicresearchprojects
focused on the view and aspirations of the local community, with particular
attention to how they made use of and understood their relationship with its
buildings and places. In this way, the team were able to consider propositions
for intervention or change that worked with what people were already doing or
what they valued, rather than trying to impose completely new ways of behaving
or unfamiliar understandings of the city. Ethnographic research then informed
the design of all activities delivered at The Exchange, which were thus based
in the concrete lived experiences of people in Victoria Harbour.
The activities included a full year of RMIT student design studios that
investigated and designed for urban futures, using Victoria Harbour as a living
lab for their work: this meant taking the learning and teaching process outside
of the University lecture halls. Public
workshops, forums and other events engaged directly with the community, and
that brought a range of experts to speak on some of the challenges facing cities
today. Through the public lecture series, prominent design practitioners shared
their insights with an audience made up of students, residents and professional
practitioners, while the exhibition program, associated with various Melbourne
festivals, attracted diverse crowds to The Exchange and brought their unique
outlook to ideas concerning the development of the city.
Collaborating across Sectors and Disciplinary Boundaries
As it developed, The Exchange took shape as an adaptable venue that
could cater for a multitude of events: the program of activities clearly demonstrated
what is possible when the activation of an urban area grows from the specific
conditions of a place without overly strict constraints. To allow for an
organic, bottom-up development and growth of the living lab, the project team developed
an embedded and site-specific model, where the research, teaching, and design
studios were taken outside of academia and students and researches were able to
immerse themselves in the precinct and understand it as “insiders”. The project
also took an inherently interdisciplinary approach, relying on close
collaboration amongst project leaders with disciplinary strengths in design,
creative practice and social science, which led to a creative and
innovation-oriented working culture. The Exchange also differed from more
conventional ways of conducting ‘commissioned’ research, which often includes
outcomes determined from the beginning of a contractual relationship. Because
the project’s suite of outcomes were not all entirely predictable, the
university and industry partners had to rely on the development of trust and a
strong spirit of collaboration.
The concluding event at the Exchange took place
in June 2019, with the launch of the project’s book The Exchange at Knowledge Market: An
Urban Living Lab
(Ross McLeod, Shanti Sumartojo, Charles Anderson, Natasha Sutila, Sean Hogan,
2019) and short film The Exchange at Knowledge Market(Sirap Motion Lab) in June 2019. These outputs explain the project’s
living lab model for others to adopt and take forward.
This blog article is written with reference to a good practice case
study report prepared as part of the Erasmus+ University City Action Lab
(UCITYLAB) Project and with reference to the project’s recently published book The Exchange at Konwledge Market: An
Urban Living Lab(Ross McLeod, Shanti
Sumartojo, Charles Anderson, Natasha Sutila, Sean Hogan, 2019).
La Marina Living Lab is an urban laboratory, which seeks to engage citizens in the transformation of “La Marina de Valencia”: the historic harbour of the city of Valencia. The Lab is based on a user-oriented process, in which public space is adjusted to the preferences of those who work, study and play in La Marina. Furthermore, it follows a multi-stakeholder approach, counting on the support of research organisations, public administrations, civic associations as well as the private sector.
La Marina is managed
by Consorcio València 2007 (CV07) – a
public institution, formed as an alliance between the Government of Spain, the
Regional Government of Valencia and Valencia City Council.
La Marina Living Lab does not have its own physical
building or laboratory. It is rather an initiative of co-creation and co-design
in which CV07 commits to letting the entire urban space of Valencia´s harbour
be used as a testbed for trying out new innovative projects. La Marina Living Lab is a vast and ambitious
project fuelled by the conviction that bringing all relevant stakeholders on
board is the only way public spaces can be designed in a way that truly work
for everybody.
A huge
example of university-city collaboration
La Marina was
born in collaboration with Western Sydney University (WSU), which had an
important role in the formulation of the its theoretical backbone.
The Polytechnic
University of Valencia also helped in the development of the sustainability
strategy.
Several other
educational institutions have also collaborated with La Marina. Rice School
of Architecture developed a workshop in which 9 students designed solutions
to activate old buildings from the south area of La Marina. Escuela de
Empresarios launched “Marina Challenge” to develop a strategy for La Marina
focused on 3 areas: nautical; leisure, culture and tourism; innovation,
technology and entrepreneurship. The faculty of biological sciences of
Valencia University also established a project in which students developed
ideas to improve the accessibility and use of the space. Polytechnic of
Valencia hosted a workshop in which La Marina has been involved, discussing
with 3 foreign students the possible and sustainable use for the Base Alinghi
de la America’s Cup. This University has also contributed to the ideas’
exchange between La Marina and universities from Vietnam.
Besides, La
Marina has recently realized collaborations with the Scientific Park of the
University of Valencia and the Faculty of Geography and History of
Valencia University.
La Marina
has a new vision for the future whereby both tradition and inventiveness drive
the transformation of the economy
The main goals
of the Living Lab can be described as converting La Marina into the city’s
engine for economic development through innovation, promote economic activation
of the space, creating a sustainable, inclusive and dynamic public space, and foster
citizen appropriation.
The activities
performed include events, brainstorming activities, training sessions, leisure
activities, workshops and projects, often with the collaboration of
universities from the city and beyond.
The project
attempts to respond to various challenges
First of all,
at the urban level, La Marina aspires to reactivate economically an abandoned
public space with a big potential for social use. It is recognized that such
impact will not be limited to La Marina itself but will be expanded to the
seaside area and its adjacent neighbourhoods, which were largely overlooked in
past decades.
Secondly, La
Marina aspires to create a “new story” and re-brand a “new and modern Valencia”
as a differentiation to the previous vision defined by short-sighted
construction projects, economic overspend and international events. So, this
new vision will be oriented towards people, innovation and creativity.
Thirdly, La
Marina seeks non-speculative development. Instead of the model dominated by
large-scale investment of capital and infrastructure, the new model proposed is
based on values – inclusivity, open public space, and activities or initiatives
for all citizens. Hence, the project aims to strengthen the connection between neighbourhood
associations, and the cultural and artistic vibe, as well as other social
entities, in a participative and open way.
Partners
Consorcio València 2007
Western
Sydney University (WSU)
Municipality of Valencia
This blog article is written with reference to the La Marina Living Lab Good Practice Case Study Report prepared as part of the Erasmus+ University City Action Lab (UCITYLAB) Project.
Featured picture retrieved from https://www.lamarinadevalencia.com/
Porto has been witnessing a remarkable shift in its business profile:
its innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem has been able to create
innovative companies with high employability rates. Porto can now be considered
an aggregator of innovation and entrepreneurship. In this ecosystem,
collaborative initiatives become even more important, especially when they
gather the elements of the quadruple helix.
Therefore, the emergence of the Porto Living Lab was a natural outcome of this new context we are living in and a result of a long-term partnership between the Academia and the Municipality.
Context
In October 2012, the University of Porto kicked-off the Future Cities project (a European-funded project) to expand the Center of Competence for Future Cities of the University of Porto. The goals were to unlock the full potential of interdisciplinary research in urban technologies, and to strength knowledge transfer activities in close cooperation with local and global industrial partners. Hence, the Center of Competence for Future Cities serves as an agile collaboration platform for a critical mass of scientists and engineers based at various schools of the University of Porto.
In 2013 Porto Digital, the Municipality of Porto and the University of
Porto joined efforts towards the creation of the Porto Living Lab. Porto
Digital is a private non-profit association, aiming at promoting ICT projects
within the context of the city of Porto and its metropolitan area.
Porto Living lab strongly
contributed to turning the city of Porto into a smart city and to raising its
national and international awareness in the smart cities’ domains
This living lab has allowed urban-scale experimentation and testing by
the R&D community, has enabled a free Wi-Fi service to be provided to the
public bus users in the city of Porto, engaged with end-users, and has empowered
a local start-up company to scale-up to global markets: Veniam.
Project Goals
Porto Living Lab aims to turn the city of Porto into a lab for urban
sciences and technologies for smarter cities, by providing different test beds
with a wide range of sensors and communication infrastructures. It, indeed,
comprises a network of wireless sensing and communication nodes that is
interoperable with the city’s optical fiber and Wi-Fi networks.
The living lab is creating the conditions for present and future
research and development using advanced technologies for data collection
through mobile platforms, wireless communication and large-scale information
processing.
It enables the development of research in areas such as sustainability,
mobility, urban planning and information and communication technology.
Having city-scale digital communication infrastructures, knowledge and
technologies on advanced sensing and communication technologies and political
will available, Porto Living Lab performs multidisciplinary research and
development, deployment of advanced sensing and communication technologies,
technology and proof-of-concept testing and demonstration at a city-scale,
technology transfer from academia to business, new services exploitation and
end-user engagement.
Impacts
Porto Living Lab was instrumental in placing,
not only the University of Porto, but also the city of Porto on the map of
smart cities in Europe and worldwide. The project has proven the viability of a
city-scale mesh network of connected vehicles that become part of the city
infrastructure to expand wireless coverage for a wide range of smart city
applications. In addition, Porto Living Lab led to the creation and growth of a
university spin-off company, which is successfully translating the results of
the basic and applied research into products, services, qualified jobs and
export opportunities.
This blog article is written with reference to the Porto Living Lab Good Practice Case Study Report prepared as part of the Erasmus+ University City Action Lab (UCITYLAB) Project.
The potential of Living Labs as research tools have been of interest for the UAB since 2014 when the university actively joined the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) and got further exposure to the wide variety of application and experiences initiated on a European and International level. This exposure fortified the initial faith that living labs could provide the adequate platforms for setting up local ecosystems of innovation around thematic axes and for implementing the strategic vision of the university with respect to its territorial mission and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) policies. The case of the Library Living Lab is a demonstrative example of how collaboration among different societal agents can produce initiatives rich in innovation and potential social impact.
In trying to describe what the Library Living Lab really is, it can be described essentially as a space of experiences. It is a place where one can explore how technology transforms the way we enjoy and experience culture and cultural content in general. This question is addressed within the frame of open social innovation, where the Public Library provides the context of a meeting point for diverse users with different perspectives. In this sense, the Library Living Lab sought to transform a library space into a place in which all the stakeholders, and most-importantly the end-users, the Library users, are invited and encouraged to participate in the definition and design cycle of new services and of an innovative experience. The outcome is a laboratory where it is possible to co-design prototypes of new tools and services, but also a social innovation laboratory where active research and observation is carried out on the dynamics and processes that lead to such innovation to take place. In the specific case of the Library Living Lab, there are two fundamental pillars, namely: i) The exploration of technology as a disruptive factor that makes possible new experiences and adds transformative value to existing services. ii) An on-going research on the role of public space in contemporary society, as a stage for open innovation where all citizens are potential actors.
A new
model of inter-institutional collaboration with all relevant stakeholders
The launch of the Library Living Lab has involved the definition of its own dynamics around a permanent working group, in which several mechanisms of inter-institutional collaboration have been deployed. The aim of the working group was the alignment of all these various objectives for the definition of the master lines of work. The group was gathered during three years in bimonthly meetings and its first task, and perhaps the most important one, was the definition of a common language between all institutions, by learning to talk between all members, fixing terminology and procedures, and defining a new field of common knowledge. The Permanent Working Group (Figure 1) has been the engine of the specific definition of the project, and it brought together representatives of the five participating institutions, each one with different roles, plans of action and objectives and interests in participating:
City of Sant Cugat del Vallès: The City of Sant Cugat del Vallès won a new
innovative space for its residents, a meeting place and a space where cultural
projects with the participation of all the social segments of the city can
occur. It allows the city government to experiment and advance on the design of
new models of governance with a special focus on citizen participation.
Provincial Council of Barcelona (Manager of the Network of Libraries): The LLL endows the Library Network of
Provincial Council of Barcelona with a testbed to locate and identify the challenges that
arise on a day-to-day basis, to explore fitted solutions, to test prototype proposals
and to propose answers and solutions, all by-with-and-for the users. The
scalability of the solutions produced is guaranteed by transferring the validated
ones obtained in the LLL to the rest of the libraries of the network.
Universitat
Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB):
The LLL serves as a physical extension of the university to its adjacent territory. The Universitat
Autònoma de Barcelona implements through the LLL
its own policy of RRI in the territory, and at the same time provides its
scientific community with a space to work with citizen science.
Computer Vision Center (CVC-UAB): (Research Center) The Computer Vision Centre gets a
place of experimentation and validation of technologies with a high added
value, and an implementation space for rapid technology transfer to society
though fast prototyping.
Association of Neighbours of Volpelleres: Are the final recipients of
services and the instigators of the initiative. The Association achieves a
strong revitalization and dynamization of the neighbourhood, a collection of
innovative activities, and a place to enjoy culture through the latest
technological tools.
The transformative value of the Living Lab within a public library
The existence of the Living Lab enriches the day-to-day activity of the
library. The continued presence of people with various profiles -scientists,
artists, entrepreneurs, … all of them also “new” library users-
provide novel entry points of knowledge and potential opportunities for
multidisciplinary interchange among all participants, starting by the library
users and finishing with the professionals who provide the services. On the
other hand, there is a direct impact in terms of inclusion: the new range of
experiences broadens the scope of the library users, even by attracting people
who otherwise would not visit the library, and by increasing the possibility of
user interaction and active participation in joint projects with diverse and
qualified profiles.
At an institutional level, the articulation of a genuine innovation
ecosystem helps to effectively advocate the role of public spaces (such as a
Public Library) as an open meeting place for all societal stakeholders. This
fosters the attraction of small and larger companies to the public and cultural
sphere and promotes their participation in public-led initiatives. On another
level, the local library expands its area of action and activity and this
allows multiple projects of not only local but also regional and international
reach to occur within its premises. The library is thus transformed into a
place where many things can happen, not as a result of abstract improvisation
but because of a collaborative work and open and flexible models of
organization.
One example of how the LLL experience has served as inspiration, and a
catalyst at the same time, for new initiatives to emerge is the recent initiative
promoted by the UAB named “ISC2:
BiblioLab of social innovation and citizen participation”. In this case, the
UAB, the CVC-UAB and three public libraries from towns within the campus’ vicinity
(Vapor Badia in Sabadell, the Cerdanyola Main Library and the Miquel Batllori
Library in Sant Cugat) have come together to launch this project, with the
objective of adapting public libraries to the cultural and social changes
brought about digital social innovation, thus favouring the creation of
collaborative and participative environments open to everyone (Labs ISC2). The project is part of the
Barcelona Provincial Council’s initiative BiblioLabs, which seeks to promote
the role of libraries as drivers of social transformations. The pilot programme
will be applied with a first initiative involving secondary school students and
how to incorporate concepts of responsible research and innovation (RRI) into
their research projects, a subject around which many transformation processes
can be conducted through the library labs. Later, other initiatives such as
encouraging a vocation of science and digital skills in young people will also
be offered with the aim of transforming libraries into spaces which foster
learning, science, innovation and technology.
Future Challenges
The Library Living Lab implementation approach has also permitted us to identify
and highlight some of the most relevant near-future challenges arising in the
context such innovation endeavours. These challenges serve as a starting point
for a reflexion on the “Library of the Future” and they have been selected to
be part of the white book for the main directives on Future Public Libraries of
the Barcelona Provincial Council:
The Library of Living Lab was a result of citizen initiative. It will be
important to implement social adequate monitoring tools to identify such kind
of initiatives, and to accompany them with dynamic policy instruments. The
current processes of public administrations are not adapted to the flexibility
needed and it is necessary to develop new methodologies of inter-disciplinary and
inter-institutional character, with an obligatory citizen participation and
this needs to be revised / updated.
In the medium term, the design of public spaces should be tackled as
community projects: social actors must be able to participate in the design
process in order to make it their own. Participation in the process of defining
spaces not only guarantees a technical optimization based on a good design, but
also fundamentally integrates a project space within the community.
New paradigms of collaboration among all actors of society necessarily
imply the need for specific models of economic sustainability. Novel
instruments for co-financing /patronage / sponsorship in the quadruple helix
scheme must be investigated to enable quick response at the budgetary action
level for innovation projects.
Citizen participation in innovation processes opens up many questions
related to the management of intellectual property rights and the potential exploitation
of emerging innovations. These issues can only be solved, given its high
complexities and peculiarities, on a case-to-case base. We must therefore
identify monitoring and protection mechanisms of the innovation outcomes, which
must play a paramount role in the innovation processes.
In short, one of the key challenges for innovation spaces such as the Library Living Lab is to facilitate an efficient way for citizens to have a direct contribution in the processes of defining and implementing new services and activities. This added value can only be achieved through the participation of all stakeholders, and through the meticulous definition of processes and effective policy-making. In the upcoming future technology will undeniably play a very strong role as an enabling and disruptive factor, so it lays upon society -and respective mechanisms of individual and inter-institutional collaboration- to face successfully the most significant societal challenges that will be emerging in the following years. Only in this way, the society will be able to obtain a positive transformative socio-economic impact from the innovative contributions arising from collaborative innovation processes such as the ones proposed by the Library Living Lab and the emerging technological paradigm.
This blog article is written with reference to the Library Living Lab Good Practice Case Study Report prepared as part of the Erasmus+ University City Action Lab (UCITYLAB) Project.
In the World Happiness Report 2019, Finland has topped
the ranking as the happiest country in the world for the second time in a row. Among
various reasons presented in the report, government clearly holds the key to their citizens’ wellbeing. The
city of Turku recognizes its responsibility, and, in its current city
strategy, Turku 2029,
identifies sustainable promotion of its residents’ wellbeing and
competitiveness as its primary goal. To achieve the goal, a joint effort of
academia representatives and city officials in supporting the Turku Urban Research Program stands
out as an effective mechanism to back up the city strategy. The Research
Program positions itself as a knowledge brokerage partnership seeking to
facilitate research-based policy advice.
What’s it all about?
The
Turku Urban Research Program is a flexible network of city officials and
universities, i.e. University
of Turku and Åbo Akademi University,
guided by a steering committee and managed by a jointly-appointed research
director (a ‘knowledge broker’). The Research Program was launched to tackle
urban challenges, make good use of emerging opportunities as well as support
the City of Turku in implementing but also constantly critically reviewing its
strategy. The City of Turku believes that the city’s growth should be based on
an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable foundation.
The Research Program supports the City’s
developmental attempts in the following areas:
competitiveness
(conditions and factors of economic success, increasing attractiveness,
collaboration with other cities and institutions, etc.);
welfare
& wellbeing (living conditions, social inclusion, integration of
immigrants, etc.);
sustainable
development (land use & planning, housing, transport, climate change,
etc.);
good
governance (public services, local democracy enhancement, etc.).
All
in all, research co-operation supports knowledge-based management of the
municipality’s development initiatives in all strategic fields.
What is actually being done?
The Research Programme provides grants to
research projects that meet both the city’s and the universities’ needs.
Projects are either initiated through funding competitions or assigned directly.
In the open funding competitions, applicants
have to pass two rounds. During the first round, their projects are reviewed by
a panel of representatives from the universities, the city administration and
other potential funders. The projects are assessed against scientific merit, applicability,
originality of their contributions, etc. In the second round, the applicants
are expected to present their final research plan having incorporated the
feedback received from the reviewers. For each winning project, the City of
Turku nominates a steering group that gets supported by the research director with
fostering information exchange.
In 2018, the programme distributed €600.000
research funding through a funding competition. The topics of the granted
projects were housing choices, intergenerational social exclusion, transnational
networks of Turku as a university town (1640–1828), temporary uses supporting
innovation in science park setting, novel urban services enabled by 5G
networks, and urban climate policy.
In case of a direct assignment, the
knowledge broker helps practitioners to define a reasonable assignment and
negotiate the details with the researchers. When an individual/team has an
initiative to share, applicants are welcome to approach the research director
with their proposal that gets evaluated on its fit for the needs of the city.
In addition, the Research Program holds annual
competitions with 10 grants for Master theses in Urban Research, available for students
studying at the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University.
What are the interim results?
The Research Program has been in place
since 2009, and it has been renewed for the third cycle (2019-2023). The impact,
generated by the Research Program, primarily concerns research and policy
advice. By 2019, more than 100 research projects – all done in co-operation
with the municipality – have been funded or co-funded by the Research Program. City
administration applies the research results to improve their decision-making
and strengthen the impact of their development initiatives. The Research
Program has considerably strengthened co-operation between the city
administration and universities.
The Research Program has had an effect on education as well. It has served as a trigger to create Urban Studies Minor (seminars and courses of 25-35 ECTS) offered to students at the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. The seminars and courses are expected to stimulate students to specialize in urban research within their majors.
This blog article is written with reference to the Turku Urban Research Good Practice Case Study Report prepared as part of the Erasmus+ University City Action Lab (UCITYLAB) Project.
We are delighted to introduce you the first e-zine issue of our Erasmus+ project UniverCity Action Lab (UCITYLAB), the joint initiative of a European consortium of higher education institutions – Porto Business School, University of Ljubljana, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Institut Mines-Télécom – and UIIN to foster university- city collaborations to tackle urban challenges.
What is in?
Our first issue aims to highlight the motivations and the vision of the project, as well as shedding light into the institutional motivations of the partner organisations in joining this change initiative. The issue is also enriched with input from our supported Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliance projects WEXHE & PEOPLE, recent reports and upcoming events relevant to the theme, presented for your attention.
The selected articles from our partner institutions reflect urgency in action, in addressing pressing societal challenges with novel ways of urban engagement, including forming of local stakeholder communities and setting-up relevant educational activities. Universities are called for adopting interdisciplinary models of teaching and research, and incorporating problem-based learning experiences in their curriculum that will require involvement of the city actors to co-create solutions.
While the consortium commits to the common goals of the project, our articles show our partner institutions have their local and organisational priorities to achieve over the course of their collaboration as well. These unique elements are stated as e.g. increasing of awareness among the academics on the complexity of technological and societal change, innovation in service and product development with inclusion of citizens, development of new business models in accordance with the potential new solutions, and formation of sub-thematic urban research groups.
We wish you all a pleasant reading and plenty of inspiration for your own university- city collaboration initiatives.
As much as the cities are considered to be the engines of European economy with extensive job opportunities, and the educated population they attract, they are also places where the social and environmental challenges are concentrated, including mobility, sustainable land and energy use, inclusion of migrants, digital transformation and poverty.
Without doubt, universities hold great potential to act as
key actors in fostering dialogue among regional stakeholders to initiate and
sustain joint actions towards creation of smart and sustainable cities. In
that, the 2017 renewed Agenda on Higher Education has made clear references to
the responsibilities of the HEIs, such as being ‘civic’ and ‘entrepreneurial’,
contributing to both social and economic advancements in their regions. This
transformation is particularly necessary, given the lack of student exposure to
real-life challenges in traditional settings, and skills mismatches experienced
upon graduation, with what is demanded by both modern industry and the society.
However, despite efforts, direct links between universities
and cities are still weak. Urban engagement is not an inherent component of HE
systems, nor are they a part of ongoing academic programs. HEIs lack relevant
strategies, tools, resources, and knowledge to apply to engage in city initiatives.
This is largely due to the alignment of universities with national policies and
funding frameworks, and their increasing efforts for international recognition,
rather than adopting a ‘Glocalised’ approach to external engagement. Part of
the problem for this weak interconnection between universities and regional
authorities can also be attributed to failure in understanding the underlying
logics that drive each other’s activities.
Why is the HEI
involvement in urban development vital?
Given the significant number of European initiatives
supported under the umbrella of Urban Agenda, and Smart and Sustainable Cities,
it is crucial to expand the bottom up support for the cities to co-develop,
test and implement the solutions, and thus consolidate efforts. The HEIs can
support anchoring innovation by raising interest in the urban areas they are
based in, offer resources, and facilitate change.
Moreover, universities can exploit cities as living labs
incorporating the open spaces, institutions, and local community in their
research and teaching programs, while transforming their teaching methods from
the ‘traditional’ to more ‘current’ ones, by offering adopting problem-based,
experiential learning experiences to their students, and fostering the development
of much demanded entrepreneurial skills.
To achieve its goals, the UCITYLAB project will target HEIs
located in four major cities in Europe – Porto, Ljubljana, Barcelona, and Paris
– with their students and academics, respective city governments, NGOs, urban development
authorities and community partners and citizens. We believe by joining forces
on this project we will be able to leverage a much greater understanding of the
needs and solutions for urban challenges, and the ways that could be achieved
on our own, thus producing a much more relevant, high quality, sustainable
learning resource. Common challenges with urban innovation experienced by the
partner cities will allow cross-border collaboration, and exchange of best
practices and experiences for joint action, as well as a leading to a greater
understanding of approaches to civic engagement, and entrepreneurial activities
designed to facilitate this.
In this blog article, Konstantinos Kourkoutas, Coordinator of the CORE Smart and Sustainable Cities of the UAB and Angela Serrano, Head of the Unit of Strategic Development at UAB discuss how the critical mass of research and innovation institutions at the Autonomous University of Barcelona facilitated the emergence of a number of Strategic Research Networks (COREs), including Smart and Sustainable Cities. The research on the Smart and Sustainable Cities aims to integrate the knowledge generated by disciplines involved in traditional spatial research and planning with new disruptive technologies and methodologies.
The Strategic Research Networks / CORES (Comunitat Adreçada a Repte Estratègic, in Catalan) are interdisciplinary research communities, with a flexible organization that bring together all the research groups of the different members of the UAB Sphere, in line with the objectives of the challenges outlined in the priority societal challenges of Horizon 2020, the RISCAT, and the local strategic development goals.
The CORE mission is to promote the R & D
& I capabilities of the UAB and its Sphere through the support of the
coordinated development of research and transfer strategies, with the ultimate
goal of increasing the competitiveness of the member groups, both individually
and collectively. Their
aim is to generate and promote networking, to share resources and to coordinate
actions required to effectively boost projects that may advance knowledge in
the field and promote transfer of result into society and industry. Each CORE
has a Strategic Plan and a community manager.
A Snapshot into the development of Catalonia Regional Innovation Ecosystem
The current challenge for European
public universities is to ensure that research excellence translates into an
economic, social and cultural growth for the region and that the public
research can be accountable not only to the wide scientific world but also to
the society and the respective challenges being faced.
The Regional Smart Specialization Strategies set up in
2010 by the European Commission identify priorities in which each region
believe it has potential to grow and were set up by the interaction of the
quadruple helix (government, industry, academia and society). Universities are key
actors in defining and implementing such strategies, thus they had to make an effort to draft strategic plans that enable
alignment with these policies. By taking part to the Regional
Specialization Strategy (RIS3CAT in Catalonia), the Catalan universities have
developed, for the first time, a strategic vision of the region and its key
sectors and met new partners and stakeholders in order to be able to participate
in the regional strategy programs.
The strength of the UAB proposal comes, not only from its own
capabilities, but from the singularity of the UAB Research Hub – the UAB
Sphere- in terms of critical mass. The
UAB Sphere is an ecosystem of knowledge that aggregates research and innovation
institutions contribute to socio-economic
development of the territory. Aggregation
in terms of increase of critical mass, sharing of resources, synergies, optimizing investments,
and improving the sustainability of
the system, results in an improved
competitiveness of the territory. This definition has
played an important role in the
development project “Excellence Campus UAB.”
The award of the Campus of International Excellence (CIE) to the UAB by
the Spanish Ministry of Science back in 2009, set out
the ground for the development of the current RIS3. The UAB-CIE jointly focused
on the creation of a regional plan to consolidate the centers on the UAB campus
with the technology parks, companies and local municipalities. They aimed to create
a vibrant regional hub of knowledge and innovation with a special emphasis on
specific areas of specialization that could act as motors for local socio-economic
development. The project implied, for the first time strengthening the
collaboration among all the research and innovation stakeholders of the campus
and the territory, and it represented a major shift
in the vision of the university as an integrating and fundamental part of any
regional strategy. This undoubtedly made it easier for the UAB to fit its
future activities into the Regional Strategy for Intelligent Specialization of
Catalonia 2014-2020 (RISCAT) since it coincided with actions that were driven
by the spirit of integrating strategies and aggregating the capacities that had
emerged from the UAB-CEI project.
It was already demonstrated that the
set of institutions that make up the Sphere UAB-CEI had the necessary
capabilities, both human and material, to develop successful projects in
complex and strategic areas. Also, under
the RISCAT instrument called Communities, the creation of thematic partnerships
was proposed in order to meet the regional socio-economic demands and
challenges in specific sectors. For the UAB in order to respond to
these challenges and effectively articulate its own capacities, the Strategic
Research Communities(CORE) were launched starting in
2013. The CORE networks were established based on a strategic challenge
identified at international, European and territorial level and in which the
UAB-CEI had a sufficient critical mass of research groups that covered the
entire chain of value of each area. In this sense, the UAB has defined four
COREs so far: Smart & Sustainable Cities, Cultural Heritage, Mental Health
and Education & Occupability that act in the quadruple helix frame of
territorial organization: academic field, productive sector, government sector
and civil society.
Smart and Sustainable Cities within the CORE
One of the four COREs created is the one on Smart and
Sustainable Cities. The territorial dimension of the City thematic allows for a
strong interaction between groups of the network and regional stakeholders and the
generation of knowledge and new initiatives / mechanisms that can contribute to
the sustainable development of cities in the surrounding territory. In
scientific terms, the aim was to integrate the knowledge generated by disciplines
involved in traditional spatial research and planning with new disruptive
technologies and methodologies that have emerged or are emerging and are
changing both the organizational as well as physical aspect of our cities. During
the three years in function now, natural sub-thematic groups were formed around
topics, such as circular economy and city metabolism, digital governance and
technological sovereignty, new models of productions and consumption in the
city, connected vehicles and advanced mobility, spatial data and decision
making models, Societal Perception of
Technology among others, creating over time a proper structure and
self-organization. Another important part of the CORE activity was the
articulation and interaction with the local quadriple-helix stakeholders, and
the initiation of new projects, such as the UAB OPEN LABS project, which will
be described in a subsequent article.
The COREs initiative has provoked the curiosity and
interest of many Spanish and European universities that have come contacted us
over the years to know more on how they can replicate the model. Thus, we think
it is worthwhile to be included and mentioned within the UCITY project, so more
people get inspired and start organizing and collaborating around strategic
challenges in their territories.
In today’s blog post, we asked Gregor Cerinsek (IRI UL) on his perspectives how University of Ljubljana aims to expand its role in the urban community through the UCITYLAB project.
We live in the age of turbulence. The world is changing and it changes faster and faster, especially due to the exponential growth of technology. The digital transformation is happening so fast that human brains are not even capable to understand it. This rapid progress produces serious challenges which demand action from all of us. The fact is that the majority of people is not against the technological development. However, we should think about and discuss what could happen if we do not think about the consequences of this exponential growth on our society and humanity.
These challenges should affect our education system on all levels and demand for new interactive forms of teaching and learning. Problem is that university education is still mainly based on ex-cathedra lectures and one-directional knowledge passing where students have passive roles. Different faculties are furthermore focusing solely on their narrow academic fields, which leads to lack of communication and cooperation, especially between engineering and natural sciences on one hand side and social sciences and humanities on the other.
With this picture in mind, the Institute for Innovation and Development of University of Ljubljana (IRI UL) aims to foster university-business collaboration addressing real-life challenges of Slovenian industry and society in general. The UniverCity Action Lab project provides an ideal platform to enrich our model by enhancing university-city engagement through interdisciplinary students’ project-based learning. The established platform will serve for exchanging ideas, for identifying pressing societal and environmental challenges, and for co-creating innovative solutions for urban challenges with all key stakeholders involved. Students will work together with wide variety of key urban actors, including the representatives from governmental and non-governmental spheres, public bodies and agencies, educational institutions, all pursuing a common goal – to promote and enhance urban development strategies and inter-connectivity in the Ljubljana city.
We anticipate that the collaboration and intensive learning experience will provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate and apply the knowledge and skills they have gained through the existing university curriculum and to contribute to professional practice as discipline experts. In addition, academics (teachers, professors) will become aware of the multidisciplinary complexity of technology and urban development and will be furthermore challenged to modify their way of teaching to these new circumstances. Industry and all other stakeholders involved will get a fresh perspective in relation to product and service development – especially how to assess, understand and incorporate users/citizens and their needs. The project will provide valuable insights into “wicked problems” and “big unknowns” that the city and society is facing (such as climate change or urban development). It will contribute towards understanding of human dynamics and will uncover the surprising and complex ways in which people and citizens make decisions. Finally, when it comes to solving the city challenges, we will try to question the “taken for granted” by looking at it from an “outside-the-box” perspective and encouraging creative, trans-disciplinary insights.
In today’s post we asked Rui Coutinho and Catarina Reis about the involvement of the Porto Business School (PBS) in the UCITYLAB project, the vision of PBS in their engagement with urban stakeholders, and the potential impact of these collaborations on the city.
Porto Business School (PBS) was founded 30 years ago to address a common challenge: the gap between the levels of qualification and skills that Higher Education Institutions (HEI) delivered to young professionals and the level of expectations and demand companies requested to their workers. PBS was born out of the will and the passion of a few business people and the vision and boldness of the University of Porto. Still today, PBS’s governance model displays this unique DNA: academia and companies are shareholders, with equal decision power, and the educational offer is fully aligned with identified market needs.
Today, however, we are witnessing new collaboration models and new untapped opportunities: HEI’s are not taking full advantage (nor being active problem solvers) of the urban ecosystems they are based in. We know for quite some time that universities don’t have only the mission of teaching and researching, but in fact they are progressively getting involved with their surroundings, which means having an active role in their communities’ progress. It is not enough for universities to create knowledge, it is mandatory that that knowledge results in real economic value, but also social, cultural and environmental value. This goal can only be achieved if everyone is involved with a true triple-helix approach: universities, companies and cities working side by side to identify and co-create new solutions for collective urban problems, aiming at a sustainable economic, social, cultural and environmental added value. PBS aims at being on the edge of this co-creation, which motivated its participation on UCITYLAB.
Entrepreneurship is part of PBS’s DNA. That’s why we believe that, in order to truly co-create new solutions for the cities, we need to include technology centres and incubators, to support startups and spin-offs creation or to organise new open innovation challenges. These actions will only be successful if we identify the problems and needs the city presents, if the potential new products or services are able to solve them, if they are able to exploit the city’s resources, if they have a strong business case and also if they take advantage of the upstream and downstream synergies in its value chain. In conclusion, it is crucial to know if the potential new solutions and business models fit the city’s characteristics.
Besides that, we believe that looking into the city we are based in and detecting the challenges it faces, as well as the biggest tendencies, it’s the best way to be innovative in our education portfolio, developing learning methodologies and programs that enable the improvement of the needed skills for the city progress.
Furthermore, we are a collaborative school, differentiated due to the knowledge sharing and value co-creation, so the establishment of partnerships with city stakeholders is perfectly aligned with our modus operandi, being potentially beneficial not only for this specific project, but also for future opportunities. Therefore, we expect that UCITYLAB will enable PBS to help solving some societal challenges in Porto, in partnership with the city government and all the urban stakeholders and will inspire our students to the topic of co-creation for urban development.
By learning with other cities’ good practices and by testing new co-creation practices and solutions, we aim at helping the city of Porto’s endeavours to become a smarter city by creating a new course on urban co-creation that remains beyond the project lifetime, reinforcing the constant connection between PBS and the city and, therefore, having a positive impact on its citizens lives.
To be coordinated by Porto Business School (PBS) over the next 30 months, the UCITYLAB consortium will aim to embed Europe’s education and knowledge institutions into their urban environment to unlock their innovation potential and address metropolitan challenges. To achieve this, the project will first (i) map the status-quo of HEI practices involving city engagement at the national and international level, (ii) launch UCITYLAB Networks in the partner countries to start conversations with regional stakeholders for collaborative innovation, (iii) prepare the UCITY Challenge course program, and (iv) implement the program in two phases of theory and real-life projects the students will undertake together with city stakeholders.
The efforts will be put forward to strengthen the relationships between HEIs and their urban communities, build the understanding and practice of social innovation, entrepreneurship and urban development among HEI students, and in the long term to foster economic and social development in the cities where the partner institution are located. The role of the UIIN in the consortium will be prominent in the development of the knowledge base, supporting the development of University-City networks, as well as in the dissemination of the project outputs through its diverse range of channels.
