Campus as a Living Lab

Partnering on campus to find solutions to real problems

Elon University’s Campus as a Living Lab program connects students, faculty and staff using Elon’s campus for engaged and experiential learning and sustainability research, generating new knowledge to advance sustainability on campus.

Outcomes from a living laboratory approach:

• Campus Improvement – Elon University’s campus operations and programs serve as a platform for exploring and demonstrating innovative sustainability solutions. By using real-world systems for projects, such as energy data from Elon University’s Building Dashboard, students can learn about sustainability innovation on campus and help improve systems in real time.

• Behavior Change – Just as campus operations and programs can serve as laboratories for sustainability improvements, so can human behavior. Campus as a Living Lab can be used to examine how communication, information exchange and behavioral science can foster a culture of sustainability.

Do you have a project idea or research question that could benefit from academic collaboration?

Propose a Campus as a Living Lab Project Idea or Research Question

Do you want to find a project idea or research question?

Find a Campus as a Living Lab Project Idea or Research Question

Students

Students can engage in research and course-related projects that utilize Elon University’s campus as a testing ground for addressing sustainability challenges.

Get Inspired 

• Find a project idea or research question that connects to your interests and skills that could contribute to sustainability at Elon.
• Browse the list of Elon Faculty who are currently doing sustainability research.
• One grant of $1,000 is awarded each academic year for research related to sustainability through the  Sustainability Research Grant program.

Faculty

Find a project idea or research question for your next class project. This list was created by Elon University staff who are interested in partnering with faculty and students to find solutions to sustainability challenges on campus.
Faculty can partner with university staff to design and implement operational projects to promote sustainable practices on campus. These projects can be class/group projects or independent student research. To find staff with whom to partner, please contact Kelly Harer, associate director of sustainability for education and outreach.

Staff

Staff are encouraged to submit departmental sustainability challenges to the “Find a Project Idea or Research Question” list. This resource is used by students and faculty when looking for sustainability-related project ideas or research questions.

Staff are encouraged to collaborate with faculty and students on research and class projects that contribute to a more sustainable campus by improving campus operations and programs.

Find a Project Idea or Research Question

The project ideas and research questions on this page have been identified by campus staff to assist students and faculty in finding Campus as a Living Lab projects and research questions.