SAge-Hub Living Labs

Innovation happens in real life.

The SAge-Hub Living Labs are regional innovation environments where Smart Ageing solutions can be co-created, tested and validated with real users and stakeholders. Across Europe, the Living Labs bring together older adults, caregivers, healthcare and social care professionals, researchers, businesses and public authorities to help ensure that innovative solutions respond to real needs and work effectively in real-life settings.

Explore the Living Labs ↓

One network

Real-world environments. Shared learning.

SAge-Hub connects regional innovation ecosystems that offer complementary expertise, facilities and stakeholder networks. Together, they create opportunities to explore and validate Smart Ageing solutions in different social, technological and market contexts.

Real-life experimentation Active user involvement Multi-stakeholder collaboration Co-creation Iterative validation Responsible innovation

The approach

From idea to real-world validation

Explore

Understand needs, challenges and opportunities.

Co-design

Develop and refine solutions with users and stakeholders.

Experiment

Test solutions in relevant real-world environments.

Evaluate

Assess usability, value and potential impact.

European network

Explore the SAge-Hub Living Labs

Hover a card on desktop or tap it on mobile/tablet to discover each Living Lab.

Portugal

Smart Ageing and MedTech validation in real care environments

Portugal Living Lab

The Portugal Living Lab combines innovation, healthcare, research, business and social-care expertise across the Norte and Centro regions. It provides access to real-life environments including day centres, home-care services and community settings, supporting the validation of Smart Ageing and MedTech solutions with older adults and care professionals.

Key strengths

Active and healthy ageing · Home care and telecare · Digital health · MedTech usability · Clinical and real-world validation · Market and investment readiness

Typical environments

Day centres · Home-care environments · Community settings · Digital and physical testing infrastructure

Host / ecosystem

Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN), Health Cluster Portugal (HCP), Cáritas Diocesana de Coimbra (CDC), with regional research, health and public-sector actors.

Catalonia

Large-scale co-creation and advanced digital experimentation

Catalonia Living Lab

The Catalonia Living Lab combines the technical capabilities of the i2CAT Foundation with extensive social-care and innovation networks. It supports co-creation and validation with older adults, caregivers, healthcare professionals and public-sector actors, and offers expertise in user experience, digital services and advanced connectivity.

Key strengths

User experience and co-creation · Older adult and caregiver engagement · Social-care innovation · Healthcare professional validation · Advanced connectivity · Digital and public-service testing

Typical environments

Homes · Day-care facilities · Social-care organisations · Healthcare settings · Digital and connectivity testbeds

Host / ecosystem

i2CAT Foundation, Suara Cooperativa, Barcelona Aging and Longevity Lab (BALL), WeMind Cluster, Clúster Digital de Catalunya and related ecosystem actors.

Greece

Smart Ageing innovation, entrepreneurship and skills

Greece Living Lab

The Greece Living Lab connects Smart Ageing innovation with entrepreneurship, skills development and regional stakeholder engagement. The ecosystem supports SMEs through co-creation, mentoring, product-market-fit diagnostics and access to innovation and training environments, including immersive and simulation-based facilities.

Key strengths

SME mentoring and product-market fit · Co-creation and stakeholder engagement · Digital skills and training · Healthcare and caregiver solutions · VR/AR and immersive experimentation · Innovation matchmaking

Typical environments

Innovation facilities · Training environments · Simulation and immersive environments · Community and healthcare networks

Host / ecosystem

Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (iED) and JOIST Innovation Park, alongside education, health and regional ecosystem actors.

Romania

Clinical insight meets digital innovation

Romania Living Lab

The Romania Living Lab combines digital innovation support with a specialised clinical testing footprint. It connects SMEs with medical expertise and structured clinical environments to support the exploration and validation of Smart Ageing and digital health solutions.

Key strengths

Digital health innovation · Clinical expertise · Geriatric and medical validation · Technology readiness support · Digital transformation support · Funding and innovation ecosystem connections

Typical environments

Clinical hospital environments · Medical research settings · Digital innovation environments

Host / ecosystem

“Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iași / CTT MAVIS and Digital Innovation Zone (DIZ).

Canary Islands

Smart Ageing innovation in an outermost European region

Canary Islands Living Lab

The Canary Islands Living Lab brings an outermost-region perspective to the SAge-Hub network. It supports regional ecosystem building, SME engagement and the adaptation of Smart Ageing innovation to island conditions, while strengthening cross-regional knowledge exchange and participation in European innovation value chains.

Key strengths

Regional ecosystem building · SME and entrepreneurship engagement · Public-sector innovation · Smart Ageing in island territories · Policy and regional innovation alignment · Cross-regional collaboration

Typical environments

Regional innovation environments · Public-sector and stakeholder settings · Virtual/shared Living Lab activities

Host / ecosystem

Government of the Canary Islands and regional innovation and business ecosystem actors.

Finland

Testing technology for independent living and wellbeing

Finland Living Lab

The Finland Living Lab, coordinated by Prizztech Ltd in the Satakunta region, connects companies with universities, vocational education providers, social and healthcare organisations and specialised research and development environments. It supports the real-world validation of technologies designed to improve independent living, wellbeing and ageing-related care.

Key strengths

Independent and assisted living technologies · Welfare technology and digital wellbeing · Ambient monitoring and sensor-based solutions · Smart-home and simulated home testing · Serious gaming and multisensory environments · Solutions supporting memory, cognitive and physical decline · Technical validation and links to regional social and healthcare services

Typical environments

Private homes and home-care settings · Smart-home testbeds · Social and healthcare environments · Multisensory and digital laboratories · Regional RDI environments

Host / ecosystem

Prizztech Ltd, SAMK, DIAK, Sataedu, WinNova, Tampere University, Robocoast EDIH and the Satakunta social and healthcare ecosystem.

Network offer

What can the Living Labs offer?

The exact support depends on the Living Lab and the solution being tested. Across the network, activities may include:

✓User needs exploration and co-creation

✓Access to older adults, caregivers and professional communities

✓Usability and user-experience testing

✓Testing in home, community, social-care and healthcare environments

✓Digital and technical validation

✓Access to professional and clinical expertise

✓Pilot design and implementation support

✓Ethics, privacy and data-protection guidance

✓Business model, market-readiness and investment-readiness support

✓Connection with regional innovation ecosystems and cross-regional partners

Who can engage

Who can engage with the Living Labs?

SMEs & start-ups

Test solutions, understand user needs, improve usability and prepare for wider deployment.

Older adults & caregivers

Contribute real experiences and help shape solutions around everyday needs.

Healthcare & social-care professionals

Assess whether new solutions fit care practices, professional needs and workflows.

Researchers & universities

Collaborate on methodologies, validation, evidence generation and Smart Ageing innovation.

Public authorities

Explore solutions for ageing populations and connect innovation with public services and regional strategies.

Innovation & business organisations

Support SMEs, value chains, matchmaking and cross-border collaboration.

Take the next step

Bring your Smart Ageing solution into the real world

Are you developing a solution for healthy ageing, independent living, digital health, care, wellbeing or another Smart Ageing challenge? The SAge-Hub Living Lab network can connect you with relevant users, experts, testing environments and regional ecosystems.

Get in touch →