SPCE Hub, ISoG BW and Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, in cooperation with other partners, have successfully completed a Living Lab methodology training for experts from academia and industry in the energy and sustainability sector from Central Asia. The participants came from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and worked in the fields of energy, transport and recycling. Other cooperation partners involved in the training were the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Oeko-Institut Freiburg.

The aim of the training was to introduce the basics and methods of Living Labs in order to enable the participants to plan, acquire funding for and successfully implement Living Lab projects either independently or together with German partner institutions.

Living Labs are a scientific research method in which scientists work together with experts from government, business and society to investigate innovations and solutions to sustainability problems. As a rule, experiments are also carried out to test the innovations and solutions under conditions that are as realistic as possible. The results of Living Labs are locally relevant and implementable solutions, but also new scientific knowledge that is published in scientific journals.

The programme was financed by the German Academic Exchange Service with funds from the German Federal Foreign Office.