Positive impacts of Living Labs
Find out how past Living Lab projects have led to positive impacts, results and policy changes. Read what others got out of their Living Lab project experiences.
Living Lab case studies on our blog, The Seed
Read about student experiences of working on Living Lab projects as part of their coursework or dissertations and insights from conferences that highlight the benefits of the living lab approach.
Testimonials from students
Find out what students thought of their Living Lab projects.
My placement with SRS has been one of the highlights of my university career. Having had the opportunity to work on a real ‘living lab’ project that is both meaningful for me personally but also for the Department is a massive reward in itself. Most importantly, this placement has made me realise what sort of place I want to work at in the future. I want to work in a small dynamic team where colleagues support innovation and creativity and where sustainability is clearly the core of everything they do, and this is exactly what SRS is for me.
The project itself felt relevant and was specific enough that it felt like our findings could have an actual impact.
It has given me confidence in my ability to generate significant results for my dissertation.
Testimonials from staff
75% of work-based supervisors say they would recommend proposing and supervising a Living Lab project to others.
It's been a lovely way to return back to the way I used to think, in terms of evidence leading to good policy, or direction. It's been nice to step out of that 'get the work done' way of thinking and into a 'is the work being done right' way of thinking instead.
Completed Living Labs: project outputs
Read about past projects to inspire your own research interests. Or develop your peers' recommendations further, so the Living Lab, lives on and the research impact grows year after year.
If you are inspired to take one of these projects further, please contact LPatters@exseed.ed.ac.uk.
Fair trade lentils in Malawi, 2015
Cocoa Life and Fairtrade developments, 2017
No projects yet.
Participatory Action Research Project on Food Sustainability, 2016 to 2017
Developing our Living Lab approach, dissertation, 2015
Engaging PhDs in SRS Academic Network, 2016
Survey results. Graphic complied by MSc Science Communication and Public Engagement students, 2022
No projects yet.
No projects yet.
Garment supply chains social responsibility, dissertation, 2015
Engaging more students and staff in our conflict minerals approach, work placement, 2016
Modern slavery approaches among University suppliers, placement, 2017
Collaborative Building, 2017 to 2018
Fairphone, calling for a better world presentation, 2020
University Adaptation Strategy Development, 2017
Capacity building for climate change adaptation: Edinburgh and Copenhagen, four-week part time volunteer project, 2018
Circular Economy Thinking and Action at the University of Edinburgh, Sustainable Business Initiative (SBI) research, 2015
Disposal behaviour: Nudging Behaviour Change into Action, dissertation, 2015
Sustainable palm oil options, dissertation, 2016
Palm oil sustainability stage 2, Case Studies in Sustainable Development coursework, 2017
Circular economy in procurement, 2017
Glassware vs Plasticware in labs, 2017
Conflict minerals beyond IT, dissertation, 2017 to 2018
How can Scotland move beyond awareness raising and have the Fair Trade concept instilled in public consciousness and buying practices? SACHA, June 2021. The Students as Change Agents programme is a co-curricular student opportunity to work on global challenges based on the SDGs
Make ICT Fair, research, 2017 to 2021
Best Practice in Scope 3 Carbon Reporting, 2018
Cold Storage Freezer Sustainability Internship, 2018
Evaluating Ecosia, ‘the search engine that plants trees’, 2019
Alleviating ecological impacts of Scottish salmon production, dissertation, 2017
Enhancing biodiversity in coffee supply chains, dissertation, 2018
Wild University Landscapes, 2018
Trial of the Natural Capital Standard for Green Infrastructure, placement, 2018
Towards zero deforestation in soya supply chains, 2019
Materiality Review of Social Responsibility and Sustainability Issues, dissertation, 2017
No projects yet.