DATE & TIME
1 October 2025, 15:45 – 17:00
TRACKS
TRACK 3: LLS for Inclusive Soci(et)al Engagement
ROOM
La Consortia 4
TARGET AUDIENCE
Living Lab representatives and practitioners; Research and academics; Companies and entrepreneurs
TYPE OF SESSION
Topic debate
Description
This session explores the central question: How can Living Lab methodologies empower learners and educators to drive systemic innovation in education? The session aims to inspire, connect, and mobilize actors across educational systems by presenting diverse innovation stories from schools, higher education institutions, and vocational training centers that have embedded Living Lab principles in their practice.
Agenda
Timeslot |
Item |
Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 15:45 – 15:55 | Introduction to Session Goals and Living Lab Framing |
|
| 15:55 – 16:25 | Innovation Stories from Diverse Education Levels |
|
| 16:25 – 16:45 | Audience engagement: Co-creation mapping of Living Lab practices |
|
| 16:45 – 16:55 | Open Mic: Key Reflections from Participants and Contributors |
|
| 16:55 – 17:00 | Conclusions and Next Steps |
|
Speakers
Alexandra Petcu
Innovation Manager at Advanced Environmental Research Institute, West University of Timișoara, host of the UVT Digital & Green Living Lab
Alexandra Petcu
Innovation Manager at Advanced Environmental Research Institute, West University of Timișoara, host of the UVT Digital & Green Living LabAlexandra Petcu is the coordinator of the UVT Digital & Green Living Lab and head of Innovation & Technology Transfer at the West University of Timișoara (WUT/UVT). She also serves as a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and the Faculty of Physics at WUT. With previous experience in the Education Ministry during the Romanian Secretariat of the Bologna Follow-Up Group, Alexandra has contributed to policy recommendations in education, innovation, and entrepreneurship. She has led the development of a sustainability-driven student entrepreneurial ecosystem in Western Romania, resulting in the launch of new businesses focused on low CO2 emissions, biodiversity conservation, waste reduction, and digital innovation; since then, she is co-facilitator of the regional entrepreneurship & innovation ecosystem in the West region of Romania. In her current role, Alexandra coordinates the innovation and sustainability strategy for the UNITA – Universitas Montium European University Alliance at WUT. Her research centers on Living Lab methodologies in schools and universities, supporting the EU’s research and education goals for the twin transition.
Heleen Geerts
Lecturer/Researcher Living Labs & Liaison Manager Entrepreneurship, The Hague University of Applied Sciences
Heleen Geerts
Lecturer/Researcher Living Labs & Liaison Manager Entrepreneurship, The Hague University of Applied SciencesHeleen Geerts, Lecturer/Researcher Living Labs and Liaison Manager Entrepreneurship at The Hague University of Applied Sciences to The Hague with the Designing Value Networks research group. Her work focuses on systemic co-design research regarding eco-systems and experimental learning environments like living labs and exploring value networks for transitions across entrepreneurial contexts. A significant part of her academic journey involved a research project Future Proof Retail, where Heleen contributed to developing, organizing, and facilitating knowledge exchange between eight national, locally-focused living labs. The knowledge gathered was published in two books on How to Innovate with Living Labs ( Innovating with labs. That's how you do it! ). This experience led to her involvement in the establishment of the THUAS Learning Community ‘Haagse Labs’ and the development of a Retail Innovation & Experience Campus in the Hague region in collaboration with a diverse public-private consortium. Heleen later served as vocational professor (practor) for new retail & entrepreneurship at the Regional Vocational institution ROC Mondriaan. With the motto "From ego to eco-system," Heleen is dedicated to fostering a sustainable and inclusive society. Heleen's involvement in public-private collaborations and entrepreneurship, demonstrates her commitment to dynamic learning environments where experimenting, learning, innovating and creating are central. On behalf of THUAS, she collaborates with researchers, companies, educational institutions and the local, regional and international community to co-create innovative solutions.
Artur Serra
Deputy Director, i2Cat
Artur Serra
Deputy Director, i2CatArtur Serra Hurtado is Deputy director of i2cat research center and Former Vicepresident of ENoLL. He is conducting now the research project Catalunya Collaboratory, based in the vision of universal innovation ecosystems. He was co-leading with Antonia Caro, the new Horizon Europe project INTEGER (2022-2024), integrating social innovation into the European Innovation Ecosystems in three European regions: Catalonia, Krakow and Hamburg. Currently he is the head of the ENoLL Action Oriented Task Force on Social Innovation, promoting the collaboration between the ENoLL and the European School of Social Innovation (ESSI) supporting a more human-centric innovation ecosystems. Finally, he is leading a cooperative project with FDSUT, Fondation pour le Developement du Service Universel de Telecomunications de Senegal promoting the first national network of Living labs in this African country.
Hae-Yung Song
Institute for Poverty Alleviation and International Development (IPAID), Yonsei University, South Korea
Hae-Yung Song
Institute for Poverty Alleviation and International Development (IPAID), Yonsei University, South KoreaHae-Yung Song studied sociology, international political economy and development studies in South Korea and the UK. She has worked for the Korean government and public institutions in the areas of international cooperation, diplomacy and human rights. She has taught at Birkbeck, Warwick and SOAS in the UK and at Korea University in South Korea. She has published articles in internationally acclaimed journals and a monograph, The State, Class and Developmentalism in South Korea (Routledge). She is currently a research professor at IPAID, and works on the contact points between critical pedagogy and active learning including living labs.
Senem Turhan
Senior Lecturer School of Innovation, Design and Engineering (IDT), Mälardalen University
Senem Turhan
Senior Lecturer School of Innovation, Design and Engineering (IDT), Mälardalen UniversitySenem Turhan is a design researcher and educator specializing in design thinking, sustainable product development, and user-centered research methods. She aims to bridge the gap between research insights and idea generation phases in the innovation process. Her work emphasizes sustainability, speculative reasoning, co-design, and user experience, integrating innovative tools and methods into education, research and practice.