Campus as a Living Lab

Exploring Operational Solutions Through Hands-On, Applied Learning

What Does "Living Lab" Mean at UT?

Through the Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) program, UT’s buildings, spaces, and operational systems become active subjects for learning. Students work with operational staff to support real campus needs, and faculty integrate challenges into courses, creating meaningful hands-on learning opportunities.

CLL projects, guided by the focus areas listed below, turn sustainability and operational efficiency goals into measurable improvements, strengthening how UT manages campus systems. From managing energy, water, and waste to designing and maintaining shared spaces, CLL projects generate insights that can inform policy, guide planning, and support a more resilient built environment. Faculty and staff are encouraged to propose campus needs aligned with these focus areas and to share new ideas that a vance operational excellence across campus. Students can explore ways to engage within these focus areas as opportunities for hands-on, real world learning.

Faculty and Staff

Integrate real campus challenges into coursework and research.
Partner with students to turn campus buildings, infrastructure, and systems into hands-on learning opportunities that advance sustainability, efficiency, and innovation.

Propose a Campus Need

Faculty and staff members who are interested in participating in a Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) project should submit the Propose a Campus Need form to pitch an idea that could be addressed through a student-centered experiential learning opportunity. Anyone who submits a proposal indicates that:

1. They have a project directly tied to work at UT with potential for student involvement.

2. They or another member of their department is willing to serve as the primary liaison or contact for the project.

After submitting a Campus Need Proposal, a Sustainability team member will schedule a follow-up meeting.

Submit a Campus Need

Students

Explore how UT operates as a living campus.
Test ideas, collect data, and propose real improvements while working alongside faculty and staff in campus settings that span stadiums, concert halls, power plants, greenhouses, and every environment in between across the Forty Acres.

Research Assistantship

Research assistantships involve students working individually or as a team on a faculty-led research project connected to a campus need. The lead faculty member/principal investigator provides mentorship and direction and assigns a grade for course credit.

Depending on the size and structure of the research project, others on the research team (staff or graduate students) may supervise students’ day-to-day work on the project.

Internship or Research-Internship

Internships may be paid or unpaid, and students may or may not receive academic credit. Students work directly with a staff supervisor. If the internship is for credit, a separate faculty instructor or mentor assigns a final grade. Most internships follow a regular schedule. Hours requirements vary by program and credit structure, but students typically commit to 10 hours per week.

Research-internships are structured similarly but involve students working on a specific research project to address an organizational need. Students partner with the operational unit department to develop and pursue the project.

Organized Class Project

Organized class project or assignment related to a campus need. An operational department/unit works directly with a faculty member who is interested in incorporating a campus need into assignments, projects, or other involvement related to their course.