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Explore the CIVIS Open Labs in other cities

Open Lab Stockholm creates the conditions for societal innovation and the development of solutions to complex challenges in the Stockholm region. Our approach? Collaboration and user-centered design methodology.

The Open Lab grew out of the Master’s course 'Challenges for the growing city / Innovations for societal challenges', a joint module offered by four universities including CIVIS member Stockholm University. Students learn how to harness design thinking to propose solutions for a challenge facing the City of Stockholm or the Stockholm Region.

Students who completed this course in 2017 or later were invited to submit their projects for the first round of Open Lab funding. The successful projects were announced on 20 May 2021, and they will run until summer 2022.

Biosfär

A cultural, social and physical activity provide meaning, focus and relaxation, Biosfär breaks down the physical limits of nursing home facilities by providing immersive augmented reality experiences. Biosfär is user-centered, ensuring residents co-create their community. In 2018, Biosfär started testing and developing a program to help elderly people living with Alzheimers to grow, learn and interact with each other and staff. We relied on Design Thinking, participant observation, and curation to deliver an innovative solution for a complex challenge. By 2019, Biosfär installed our first prototype at Stureby Nursing Home, with the support of Realitylab and The City of Stockholm. Today Biosfär provides a range of room-enhanced activities for 94 residents, 5 days a week.

Project partners

Biosfär Transpond AB (Media Installation Partner) — Verklighetslabbet (Operative Partner) — UX Design Master's Interns

Want to learn more or get involved?

If you are a member of one of the CIVIS member universities or a stakeholder in any of the CIVIS territories and would like find out more about the project, reach us by email or by contacting your CIVIS university.

Project contact: Kayla van Cleave, Biosfär AB - kvancleave93@gmail.com

Mobility hub

This project is inspired by Sustainable Development Goal 11, “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, and the joint topic of sustainable transport. The mobility hub will collaborate with regional and local stakeholders to generate and prototype solutions that can contribute to and respond to local needs for community building, sustainable mobility and urban development.

We aim support the vision to create a mobility hub for suburban areas of Stockholm which will influence people to make more sustainable transportation choices, largely by increasing opportunities to use public transport. We would like to further investigate the suburban area of Upplands Väsby to identify and understand local conditions (stakeholders, opportunities, obstacles, alliances) that could be strategic for the successful implementation of a mobility hub.

We believe community participation is crucial to make this hub an effective source of sustainable transportation solutions for Upplands Väsby’s citizens. With this in mind, we would organize a workshop in Upplands Väsby where this mobility hubcould be located. We would invite local actors like citizens, associations, informal groups,local business owners, etc. to motivate them to share their thoughts and wishes for the necessities of the mobility hub, as the main component of any transportation system are theusers.A participatory approach is based on methods that allow local users to take on an influentialand active role in decisions concerning their everyday lives and that way their ideas, feelings and opinions shape the end result and may lead to higher engagement with the project.

Contact

Sparky

Sparky is a healthcare innovation that seeks to address SDG Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being for All, and 5: Gender Equality. It deals with obesity as a societal issue, and one which can be improved by new digital tools. It deals with gender equality because globally, obesity has a greater impact on women.

The primary goal was to further develop a prototype for testing with the clinicians and patients and continue researching and relationship building with the Obesity Clinic.

Want to learn more or get involved?

If you are a member of one of the CIVIS member universities or a stakeholder in any of the CIVIS territories and would like find out more about the project, reach us by email or by contacting your CIVIS university.

Project coordinators: