Lahti Living Lab

Lahti Living Lab is an innovation platform operating in the Lahti University Campus that focuses on user-driven development in real environments. It is part of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL). Lahti Living Lab aims to promote research, development and innovation work that is done in collaboration with users, companies, and the public sector.   

Lahti offers a favourable environment for Living Lab activities. The city has a strong culture of participation, which can be seen for example in participatory budgeting experiments and resident panels. The region also has extensive experience of university cooperation. LUT University and the University of Helsinki have carried out numerous projects with local partners in areas such as the environment, business development and well-being.  

What Living Lab? 

Living Lab is a user-centred approach to research, development, and innovation.  Consumers and different user groups are seen as subjects of research and producers of knowledge. They participate in the development of innovations that are people-led rather than, for example, technology- or design-led. The test environments will be the real environments of the users. 

The main principles of the Living Lab approach are co-development, discovery, experimentation, and evaluation. Users and customers are not just listened, they are invited to participate in the innovation process. 

The European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) is an international, non-profit, and independent association of living labs. Its aim is to promote the Living Lab concept to influence EU policies, network Living Lab actors and enable their implementation. The network facilitates information exchange, joint activities, and project partnerships between its nearly 500 members worldwide. Lahti Living Lab has been a member of ENoLL since 2007. 

What does Lahti Living Lab offer? 

Lahti Living Lab is a lightweight and flexible innovation platform. Its main mission is to provide researchers interested in the Living Lab approach with access to the benefits of the ENoLL network: potential partners, training, and improved access to EU funding. A credible international cooperation network makes a funding application stronger or may even be a prerequisite for funding.  

Lahti Living Lab communicates and helps local researchers to get involved in current ENoLL activities and offers support in identifying local partners.  

University researchers and their partners are encouraged to contact the Lahti University Campus Coordination Unit with a low threshold if they have a project planned or underway that fits the Living Lab approach. 

Case examples 

Shared neighbourhood: the residents of Mukkula were involved in the development of their neighbourhood through user-centred planning, co-planning, urban design, arts-based ethnography, and arts-based research. More information 

Youth participation: secondary school students wrote materials and brainstormed ways to improve the oral health service process in Lahti, highlighting the youth perspective on improving health services.  

Care robotics: users, care organisations and other stakeholders were involved in the development process. More information 

Neighbourhood development: residents of Metsäkangas and Riihelä, public authorities and businesses toured the neighbourhoods together, identifying development needs and opportunities. A participatory process highlighted residents’ views on how to improve the areas.  

Environmentally friendly action: community activists and the City of Lahti environmental services jointly developed a “My Action” forum to brainstorm and share information on environmentally friendly actions. 

Join us 

Lahti Living Lab invites all interested parties to participate in developing sustainable and user-centered solutions. Contact us as early as possible to discuss your project, as the Lahti Living Lab can already be useful in the funding application phase. 

More information 

Ilmari Pirkkamaa 

specialist, Lahti University Campus 

ilmari.pirkkamaa@lahdenyliopistokampus.fi 

+358 50 465 5468