MDU Living Lab - methods for collaboration

MDU Living Lab operates in a triangular relationship between the University, companies and the surrounding community. The basic idea of MDU Living Lab is to develop methods to enhance the prospects for collaboration. In interdisciplinary constellations Living Lab carries out projects that involve users in different stages of a design and/or innovation process. Here, researchers and teachers from the technology area, the humanities, social sciences, health care sciences and the arts collaborate in knowledge development in various sectors.

For MDU Living Lab the users are employees in different organisations as well as end users of products and services. In the Living Lab projects we define problems and challenges together with the users in an organisation, to subsequently explore, experiment and evaluate these together. This takes place in iterative processes and not sequentially.

Member of the European Network of Living Labs

In 2018 MDU Living Lab was accepted as a member of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), which means that MDU has access to and the opportunity to cooperate with different living labs all around Europe, the USA and India. ENoLL’s members operate within numerous different sectors such as health and welfare, smart cities, culture and creativity, energy, social inclusion and education. Several of these areas match the areas which are of interest to MDU Living Lab. Membership of ENoLL gives MDU Living Lab the opportunity, together with other living labs, to apply for EU funding, but can also have a certain influence in how the calls within the EU could be formulated.

MDU Living Lab unites academia, the private sector and society

The ambition is to work to bring about dynamic meetings between students, researchers, teachers and representatives from organisations and the surrounding community, which lead to new knowledge for both the University and the external stakeholders. To realise this ambition we, together with external parties, are focusing on refining our methods, in research- and student projects, to be able to support and develop processes for collaboration.

MDU Living Lab collaborates with MDU’s strategic collaboration parties: ABB AB, Bombardier Transportation, Volvo Group, MITC (Mälardalen Industrial Technology Center), Automation Region and Robotdalen, but also with municipalities and regions.

MDU Living Lab, within the research specialisation of Innovation and Product Realisation (IPR), includes:

• Mälardalen User Experience Lab (mUX)
  Digital collaboration spaces and examination rooms with equipment for recording and eye movement studies.
  
• Innovation Gym
  Areas that stimulate creative workshops.
  
• MITC (Mälardalen Industrial Technology Center)
  Lab environment for researchers, students and companies.