PartWiss Conference, Chemnitz, 22-23 November 2023

Sebastian Schiek, co-founder of the SPCE Hub, gave a speech at the PartWiss conference in Chemnitz on 23 November. The conference was organised by TU Chemnitz. Schiek spoke about the potential of the Living Lab method for non-European research contexts and international research cooperation. Living Labs are a specific type of transdisciplinary research and potentially use participatory approaches, e.g. involving users in experiments with innovative technologies. While Living Labs are popular and accepted in the European research context, they are not yet well known outside Europe. Using the example of a pilot Living Lab on cycling infrastructure in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Sebastian Schiek highlighted several aspects of why this research method can be particularly attractive to middle-income countries and can improve equity in international research collaboration.