Around 100 Students Join Intensive I Living Lab

Approximately 80 students of the master degree programmes Digital Design, Digital Media Production, Interactive Technologies, and Digital Media Management as well as 18 students from E³UDRES² partner institutions took part in the Intensive I Living Lab of the St. Pölten UAS. The format was organised in collaboration between the Department of Media and Digital Technologies, the E³UDRES² Head Office, the Service and Competence Center for Teaching/Learning Development and Educational Offers (LEARN), and the International Office of the St. Pölten UAS. Originally planned as an on-site event, the Intensive I Living Lab had to be relocated to the virtual space due to the flood situation.

Focus on Regional Challenges

Over the space of one week, the students worked intensively on regional problems. One of the tasks, introduced by the Garten Tulln, was to develop a tailor-made learning and information offer for soil cultivation to support amateur gardeners. Another challenge, initiated by the Department of Social Sciences and the Ilse Arlt Institute for Social Inclusion Research, addressed the question of how communities can be supported in their urban gardening endeavours. The third task, submitted by the “Haus des Lernens” of GESA GmbH, focused on how local communities can be motivated to repair and reuse products.

In interdisciplinary and international teams, the students developed innovative solution approaches to real-world problems by combining their expertise from various disciplines.

They also developed interesting solutions to the OpenGLAM’s question of “How can we make the history and regional culture of St. Pölten even more tangible?” The participants were innovators and target group at the same time in a challenge accompanied by marketing experts that dealt with how students can be better involved in the public space of the city of St. Pölten.

Support from Educational Entrepreneurs

The students received assistance from so-called “educational entrepreneurs” of the E³UDRES² partner universities who offered their support as coaches throughout the entire process. They familiarised the students with the Design Thinking approach and helped them to turn ideas into concrete concepts that can serve as practicable approaches to solutions. Despite the difficult circumstances, some of the coaches managed to make their way to St. Pölten in persons, thus supporting the collaboration on site.

Creative Final Presentations

The week was concluded with the “Intensive I Living Lab Showdown” where every team presented its developed concepts in front of the educational entrepreneurs, the regional clients, and the other participants. The creative and well thought-out presentations showcased the students’ commitment to overcoming regional challenges and were the highlight of an inspiring week of exchange and learning.

“We are thrilled by how motivated and committed the students were in their work despite the unexpected circumstances. A special thank you is due to the educational entrepreneurs and the challenge owners for their flexibility and dedication. Together, we successfully completed the Intensive I Living Lab even in its unexpected online setting”, says Christina Tanzer who is responsible for UAS-wide student offers in the LEARN team.