The Living Lab
The Sustainable City Dubai gives the SEE Institute access to a living, working community where research, technologies and ideas can be explored in the environment they are ultimately designed for
A real city to learn from
The Living Lab creates opportunities to work with real buildings, infrastructure, businesses, systems and, where appropriate, the people who live and work within the community.
It is not simply a space to run a test. Living Lab work is usually designed as part of a wider project, research programme, pilot or innovation engagement, shaped around what needs to be learned, tested or measured.
The Sustainable City brings many of the systems shaping the future of urban life together in one place. This creates opportunities to explore individual ideas and solutions, as well as the relationships between technology, people, infrastructure, behaviour and the environment.
- Energy
- Water
- Food
- Mobility
- Buildings
- Nature
- Health
- Technology
- Business
- Community
From a single technology to the way a whole community responds
Technology
Explore how new technologies perform in a real environment, including how people interact with them and how they integrate with existing systems
Research
Conduct studies in a living community and generate real-world evidence around behaviour, performance, adoption and outcomes
Products and services
Pilot new products or services, observe how they are used and gather feedback before wider rollout
Built environment
Explore buildings, mobility, energy, water, materials, infrastructure and other elements of sustainable urban life
Health and wellbeing
Study how environments, behaviours, services and technologies can influence health and wellbeing
Community and behaviour
Understand how people respond to new ideas, what affects adoption and where barriers or opportunities exist
Living Lab projects are usually part of a broader engagement with the SEE Institute
Depending on the challenge, a project may draw on research, consulting, technology, education, venture building or specialist expertise from across the SEE Institute.
Across the SEE Institute →Innovation pilots · Research programmes · Product validation · Corporate innovation · Technology deployment · Urban and sustainability research · Health and wellbeing research · Venture development · Feasibility and proof of concept
Who the Living Lab is for
The Living Lab can support organisations including:
Companies developing new technologies, products or services · Researchers and universities · Government and public-sector organisations · Corporates exploring innovation or sustainability challenges · Startups and scaleups · Developers and organisations working across the built environment · Health, wellbeing and community-focused organisations · International partners looking for a real-world environment for research or pilots