Sustainable Development Goals
Abstract/Objectives
Living Lab is a research method that involves conducting experiments in real-life environments to develop and validate complex solutions through perception, prototyping, validation, and improvement. An extension of this concept is Campus as a Living Lab, where the campus serves as a laboratory for experiments focusing on sustainability. The National Tsing Hua University organizes the "NTHU Campus as a Living Lab (NTHU CLL)" involving teachers, staff, and students aiming for campus sustainability through collaboration and practical implementation. The project includes elements like project submissions, capacity-building workshops, and outcome sharing. The collaboration between stakeholders and student teams aims to solve sustainable campus issues, culminating in an exhibition where practical results are showcased to the community for feedback and participation. This initiative fosters sustainable practices and innovative solutions on campus.
Results/Contributions （500 words）

The concept of Living Lab was initially proposed by Professor William Mitchell of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He believed that a Living Lab is a research method that involves bringing the experimental environment of a laboratory into the real life of users, allowing for the perception, prototyping, validation, and improvement of various complex solutions within diverse and evolving real-world environments.


Building upon the Living Lab concept, "Campus as a Living Lab" means treating the campus as a living laboratory. In this framework, the participants and implementers of experiments are also members of the campus community. Everyone can propose ideas, provide feedback, and share outcomes.


Hosted by National Tsing Hua University, the "NTHU Campus as a Living Lab" (NTHU CLL) primarily involves three key stakeholders on campus: faculty, staff, and students. The goal is to achieve the ultimate objective of "campus sustainability" through cooperation among stakeholders, sharing of expertise, developing experimental plans, and putting them into practice.


The third session of the NTHU Campus as a Living Lab will take place in 2024. It aims to have the university present challenges for students to solve, linking stakeholders through project submissions, two presentation and evaluation events, an exhibition (Tsing Hua Sustainability Week), two workshops (Sustainability Camp & Design Thinking Workshop), and a sustainability coffee chat, to enhance students' sustainability execution capabilities and connect challenge providers with course instructors.


The main activities of this project include: project submission, design thinking workshops, and result sharing.

Project Submission: Students from Tsing Hua can propose research findings and suggestions for sustainability-related issues encountered by the university. They can also propose solutions for sustainability issues they have observed on campus.

Design Thinking Workshops: Using a design thinking mindset, participating students will identify problem core issues through design methods and propose more solid and effective solutions.

Result Sharing: Through an exhibition in mid-April and a result-sharing event in October, students' practical results will have the opportunity to be visible to the entire school community, facilitating connections among partner collaborators and ensuring that stakeholders on campus have feedback and participation opportunities.


The units presenting challenges and their corresponding topics are as follows:

Office of General Affairs:

Reduction of carbon emissions from campus buses, reduction of carbon emissions in campus restaurants


Environmental Safety Center:

Water usage on campus: maximizing the benefits of using 1 unit of water


Office of Student Affairs:

Improvement of dormitory life


Office of Academic Affairs:

SDG4 Quality Education—Design of an active curriculum inquiry interface for Tsing Hua, and student self-proposals


A total of 7 student teams participated. Their results were displayed during the April phase exhibition, co-organized by the Tsing Hua University Regional Innovation Center and the student club "Tsing Hua Green Dots." The exhibition took place in the Tsing Hua University library (Wang Hong Hall) during the anniversary celebration, attracting faculty, students, and the public, thereby increasing the project's visibility. There were interactive awards and video sharing awards set up to encourage visitors to provide feedback on each project through small interactive activities, with lucky draws offering Hsinchu City beer and Mawu coffee to enhance interaction and provide valuable feedback for the participating teams. The exhibition also utilized recyclable hardware equipment displays, embodying the vision of "sustainable curation."


The result-sharing and evaluation meeting in October saw departments selecting the winning teams from the "Acceleration Group" and "Incubator Group," with the following results:


Acceleration Group:

Brownie Crème Brûlée Lemon Tart (Best Choice)

NTHU Mods (Best Choice)

Cross-Cultural Café (Merit Award)

Incubator Group:

Interface Utility (Best Choice)

Sustainable Marathon (Best Choice)

Tsing Hua Coin Brilliance (Merit Award)



Professor


Lin Fu-Ren



Tsing Hua Campus, campus, sustainability, SDGs, NTHU Campus as a Living Lab, innovation

Keywords
sustainability, SDGs, NTHU Campus as a Living Lab, innovation
References
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