4 ideas for a better Stockholm – student projects spring 2019

In June our students presented the results of 20 weeks of creative problem solving. Four teams, four challenges, four innovations.

As always in our courses, projects and collaborations, it started with a challenge. Or, actually, four of them. Many of our public partners had contacted us with complex challenges they face in their organisations and in the contact with residents and users, which they wanted the help of Openlab’s students to solve.

Going though the iterative design thinking process our students gathered user insights and refined the challenge, ideated possible solutions to prototype and test in order to prioritise and develop the concepts further.

Along the way the master’s course students not only learned the tools and mindset of design thinking but also gained insights and skills of collaborating and working in interdisciplinary international teams – useful skills to have moving forward in their professional careers. The challenge givers on their part were presented by well thought out solutions with the potential to improve public services and quality of life in the Stockholm region.

Each team has produced a project report and a project presentation and exhibition, giving a comprehensive overview of the process and the solutions. See them all on Openlab’s master’s course web page under previous student projects or via the links below.

The challenges and solutions of Openlab’s master’s course spring 2019:

Documentation at nursing homes

Challenge: How can we create trustworthy, adequate and user-friendly way for social documentation within nursery homes that promote daily care and social interaction between caregiver and caretaker?
Challenge Giver: The City of Stockholm, Stureby Nursing Home and Reality Lab
Solution: Life Storybook
Concept: A re-envisioned social documentation system that would overcome the challenges of the previous one through the use of aiding tools and introduces new, comprehensive and innovative ways of documenting different aspects of the residents’ daily lives in nursing homes.

Preschool playgrounds

Challenge: How do we program outdoor preschool environments with high quality in an expanding city?
Challenge Giver: City district Enskede-Årsta-Vantör, the City of Stockholm
Solution: Fungi the Mushroom
Concept: Fungi the Mushroom is a little Micro-Space in a big yard, which helps the Children to learn to relate to and act in a noisy environment.

Improved elderly care

Challenge: How to measure and follow up the outcomes of efforts to improve the well being of elderly in Bromma?
Challenge Giver: Bromma’s District Administration
Solution: BUSS – Brommas UtflyktsSugna Seniorer
Concept: A day trip by bus bringing the elderly to a predetermined activity. The activity is set to first and foremost attract the elderly that currently are not participating in the activities at the activity centres, men, as well as the group “fragile”.

Business collaboration

Challenge: How can we, through clusters, create a cooperation among companies within Larsboda – so that businesses can grow and find new partners, generating more job opportunities in the Farsta area.
Challenge Giver: Farsta Business Association and Farsta District Administration
Solution: L(a)unch with us
Concept: The concept L(a)unch with us is a lunch event that will be hosted each month by different companies and/or organizations within the Larsboda and Telestaden area. The main purpose of the lunch concept is to create an informal and recurring platform for networking, collaboration and to increase awareness of existing activities in the area.