Living Lab “Together for Tomorrow – Building Diverse Teams for a Sustainable Green Campus”

Living Lab “Together for Tomorrow – Building Diverse Teams for a Sustainable Green Campus”

On July 4th, 2025, the Faculty of Engineering Management at Bialystok University of Technology hosted a vibrant Living Lab that brought together a diverse group of changemakers to imagine a more sustainable campus future. The Living Lab at WIZ was organized as part of the summer school “Building a sustainable and diverse team”.

Led by Aleksandra Gulc, the Living Lab engaged:

• 16 students from Poland and Croatia
• 6 PhD students from Poland, Kazakhstan and Morocco
• 3 academic staff
• 1 administration staff

Aims of the Living Lab:

• Foster inclusive and diverse teamwork for green campus initiatives
• Co-create regenerative, practical solutions using Design Thinking and Permaculture principles
• Empower community-driven action through small, local projects
• Promote systems thinking in tackling social and environmental issues
• Encourage continuous reflection and feedback

Design Thinking in Action:

Participants explored the full cycle of design thinking:

Empathize → Define → Ideate → Prototype → Test, all grounded in real campus challenges.

Permaculture Ethics at the Core:

• People Care – elevating every voice in sustainability efforts
• Earth Care – restoring ecosystems on campus
• Fair Share – sharing resources, time, and knowledge fairly

Permaculture principles integrated throughout:

• Observe and interact
• Design from patterns to details
• Use and value diversity
• Use small and slow solutions
• Apply self-regulation and accept feedback

The main outcome:  Co-designed creative learning materials rooted in real, local context—tools for students to envision and shape a greener future.

The project team is composed of the following members: Aleksandra Gulc, PhD (project coordinator), Justyna Kozłowska, PhD, Joanna Godlewska, PhD, Ewelina Tomaszewska PhD.

This Living Lab was part of the PermaLABS Project: “Envisioning sustainable futures in higher education business departments, inspired by Permaculture design principles”, funded by the Erasmus+ programme.

More information about the project: https://www.permalabs.eu/

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