Wellant featured at Living Labs Congress in Greece
A delegation from EUROPEA school Wellantcollege (NL) participated in the OpenLivingLab Days 2019, which took place in Thessaloniki, Greece between September 2-5. Wellant’s public-private partnership Blue Hotspot has been certified as a European Living Lab since June 2019. Staff presented this Living Lab and gave workshops on cooperation between the agricultural world and the water sector.
About OpenLivingLab Days
OpenLivingLab Days is a unique three-day event that brings together researchers, educational experts, governments, companies and professionals to exchange knowledge, best practices, methods and tools related to Living Labs.
About Living Labs
Living Labs facilitate innovative solutions for complex social problems. A Living Lab is a research environment where education, entrepreneurs, government (regional, national and international) and social organizations work together on innovative solutions for major social challenges, such as climate adaptation and biodiversity. A Living Lab distinguishes itself from other research institutions by conducting research and innovation in a realistic context, such as a city or a neighbourhood.
EnoLL-certification
The European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) is a European organization with more than 165 EU-certified Living Labs, all working on knowledge and innovation based on common agendas. The sectors that these Living Labs focus on vary from education to smart cities, health and logistics.
Wellant Hotspots: connecting vocational education with business
Wellant’s Blue Hotspot is a partnership between education, entrepreneurs and government. This public-private partnership has brought together various stakeholders to realize innovative education and to initiate projects in the field of water and green/agricultural issues.
The Blue Hotspot in Dordrecht is the second hotspot that Wellantcollege has created to connect vocational education and training with the world of work. The first one being the Green Hotspot in Houten. It’s a learning community for gardeners, green companies and urban greeners. From students and teachers to professionals from the business community and government. It’s also a meeting place where you can contribute to current themes and issues from the green living environment, such as: biodiversity, water management and green in urban areas. The Blue Hotspot will pursue the same function for the water sector. Certification as a Living Lab means that the ideas of Blue Hotspot can be made more sustainable and scaled up.
More info via https://openlivinglabdays.com/2019/06/07/agri-practices-rural-development/ and https://openlivinglabdays.com/2019/06/25/water-oriented-living-labs/
Acknowledgements: many thanks to EUROPEA-Netherlands and Jan (NL) 🙂
Photos: from Jan (NL) 🙂
