Abstract:

The rapid expansion of digital learning environments has challenged higher education to design courses that are not only scalable but also socially inclusive and pedagogically meaningful. This paper explores how a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) can be developed through a Living Lab approach, in which the MOOC itself is viewed as the innovation under development. A Living Lab is a user-centred, open innovation ecosystem that operates in real-life settings through collaboration between academia, the public sector, the private sector, and citizens. In this educational context, the citizens correspond to students and learner communities who act as co-creators in shaping, testing, and evaluating the course alongside educators, platform providers, and institutional partners.

The objective of this paper is to present a conceptual and methodological framework for MOOC development that integrates Living Lab principles; early and continuous stakeholder engagement, value co-creation, openness and transparency, iterative development, real-life experimentation, distributed decision-making, and social responsibility; into the pedagogical design process. The framework demonstrates how these principles can enhance learner participation, motivation, and long-term adoption of MOOCs in higher education while strengthening institutional capacity for innovation.

The proposed methodology combines Living Lab innovation processes with pedagogical theories of experiential, collaborative, and constructivist learning. The development cycle follows the typical Living Lab phases of planning, exploration, co-creation, implementation, testing, and adoption. In the planning and exploration phases, diverse stakeholders are identified and engaged to define learning needs, contexts, and expectations. The co-creation phase brings together learners and educators in joint workshops to design course content, structure, and assessment approaches. Implementation and testing occur in real-life learning contexts through pilot runs and feedback loops that assess usability, accessibility, and pedagogical impact. The adoption phase focuses on scaling, reflection, and knowledge sharing across institutional and community networks, ensuring sustainability and continuous evolution.

Students act as active collaborators in defining learning outcomes, designing course materials, testing prototypes, and evaluating results. Their role as co-designers positions them as agents of change and enhances authenticity, ownership, and the relevance of learning. This participatory process aligns with experiential and contextual pedagogies by embedding learning in real situations and encouraging reflection and collaboration.

Findings suggest that adopting a Living Lab approach fosters shared ownership, transparency, and continuous improvement. Students’ engagement as co-creators increases motivation, relevance, and the likelihood of sustained adoption, while educators and institutions benefit from reflective practice, peer learning, and data-informed decision-making. The paper concludes that embedding Living Lab principles into MOOC development offers a participatory, context-aware, and sustainable framework that enhances both pedagogical quality and educational innovation.

Keywords:

Living Lab, MOOC development, co-creation, participatory learning, higher education innovation.