Research-Thesis: Mobiliser le potentiel de l'université pour renforcer la transition des territoires: Un Living Lab au service de la durabilité de l'alimentation.

Abstract

Facing the climate and social urgency, the University of Liège has adopted a strategic plan establishing a roadmap that includes the sustainable food strategy for its restaurants. This thesis examines how to concretely mobilize a university’s community potential, and more specifically its research potential, to make it a driver of territorial transition. The objective is to guide the deployment of a Campus Living Lab (CLL) focused on this aspect, connecting this dynamic to other institutional and local initiatives in order to produce knowledge differently.

The literature defines the CLL as a collaborative research methodology integrating innovation through co-design with stakeholders, transforming the campus into a dynamic learning space (Stuckrath et al., 2025). To operationalize this framework, a qualitative action-research approach was adopted, relying on an exploratory mapping to validate the pre-problematized axes, the methodology, as well as the governance structure through thematic working groups, enrollment trajectories, and the future strategy.

The results confirm the relevance of the model. The interviews reveal a marked enthusiasm among academic stakeholders and a core group with converging visions, guaranteeing the functioning of future working groups. The analysis thus validates the pre-problematizations and formulates targeted enrollment strategies. The recommendations advocate for co-steering by the Laboratoire des Transitions and the Green Office. The next steps now make way for field deployment and the organization of a first meeting within the Campus Living Lab framework on food sustainability. Beyond food issues, this work proves that by uniting managerial challenges and the co-production of applied knowledge, the CLL establishes itself as a vector of collective intelligence. This model is transferable to other challenges such as mobility or energy, while serving as a methodological reference for other higher education institutions committed to the transition of their territories.