From theory to reality
GreenLab is thrilled that DTU Engineering Technology has moved part of its Innovation Pilot course to GreenLab — turning theory into hands-on experience for future engineers. Around 20 engineering students from DTU has chosen GreenLab for their summer school and will step out of the lecture halls in Copenhagen and spend three days immersed in real-life challenges at GreenLab, where they learn how green innovation and industrial symbiosis work in practice.
This new setup marks a step forward in the long-standing collaboration between GreenLab and DTU — and brings students much closer to the realities of sector coupling, integrated energy systems, and circular industrial infrastructure.
Three days in a living lab for innovation
Over three intensive days, DTU students will work with real-life cases and challenges from GreenLab’s world of industrial symbiosis. The students will tour GreenLab to get an understanding of the integrated energy streams, they will practice sector integration through collaborative simulation exercises.
They will develop case solutions alongside leading researchers and industry experts. The goal is to learn how power, heat, hydrogen, CO₂ and data can flow between companies in real time creating a circular, sector-coupled ecosystem.
From lecture hall to real impact
The “Innovation Pilot” course has traditionally been taught on campus at DTU, with short company visits.
Now, students gain deeper insight by working directly in an industrial symbiosis ecosystem. GreenLab provides the physical setting, data, and real-time systems that turn abstract theories into tangible experiences.
“By moving the practical part of Innovation Pilot to GreenLab, we give our students a chance to work with real systems in a real industrial context. It strengthens their understanding of sector coupling, sustainability, and innovation — and makes their learning experience much more impactful.” — Lars D. Christoffersen, Dean of Education and Student Environment, DTU.
DTU expects to continue having part of the course at GreenLab in the coming years — helping students understand how the green transition plays out in a real industrial setting. In the future, the course is expected to be hosted at GreenLab’s upcoming Innovation Center, which will serve as a hub for green education, training, and research.
Exam based on a GreenLab case
The visit ends with a written project and an oral defence back at DTU. The exam is worth 10 ECTS credits, and GreenLab’s Education Manager, Mathias Damgaard Mørch, will serve as external examiner.
Read DTU's article: In Skive, students learn about innovation
Læs DTUs artikel: I Skive lærer studerende om innovation
