UT campus will have a Living Innovation Lab

The University of Twente is part of a large green campus area that functions as an open meeting place where opportunities exist for a new collaboration. Experimenting plays a key role to create, calibrate, and test new technological solutions for earth and infrastructure observation. The newly approved Living Innovation Lab (LILa) will provide a unique (semi-)controlled outdoor setting at the University of Twente campus. Its goal is to advance interrelated research, innovation and education of the Faculties Geo-Information and Earth Observation (ITC) and Engineering Technology (ET). 

A transdisciplinary lab

Recently, the Executive Board of the University of Twente approved the start of the Living Innovation Lab (LILa). After its development, LILa will function as a research, innovation and education lab to enable experimentation and support the development of new skills for both students, researchers and professionals. Local communities and industrial partners will help connect this lab to the larger global ecosystems in which the UT collaborates.

The current design of the LILa site accommodates more than twenty transdisciplinary experimental sections both above and below ground, where work will be carried out on both scientific and societal challenges. Involving scientists from multiple faculties, these experiments cluster around different types of expertise.

The Living Innovation Lab is a unique facility where we can take years of collaborative research between faculties to the next level. In addition, it offers unique opportunities for education and because of the type of projects we do, strongly linked to current issues in society, it is also a great place to give the public an insight into what UT is doing in a lot of areas.

LILA WILL OFFER A BROAD SPECTRUM OF TRANSDISCIPLINARY SUBJECTS: AT, UNDER AND ABOVE THE GROUND.

In addition to providing insights to the general public, LILa offers researchers the opportunity to work on developing new methods and techniques in a transdisciplinary setting. The design of this specific setting also inspires toward original and surprising scientific insights.

Training, education, and cooperation  

The philosophy behind LILa is to establish a lab that not only provides a semi-controlled setting for observation, monitoring, and experimentation but also support training and education. Vocational schools, university students, and practitioners can use the site for training and development. 

It offers our students the opportunity to work in realistic settings on major societal challenges such as urban resilience, climate change and the energy transition. It thus provides a perfect study environment for the development of Challenge-Based Learning within UT.

More on LILa 

The Living Innovation Lab is a joint initiative of the faculty of Engineering Technology (ET) and Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC). The LILa is funded by the abovementioned faculties as well as external parties. After its completion, we hope to be able to accommodate a wider audience and include LILa as a key facility in our education, research and future research proposals. For additional questions, please contact us at livinginnovationlab@utwente.nl.