Experience to Insights Lab
Explore. Visualize. Create change.
Are you ready to take part in an innovation journey where curiosity, creativity, and collaboration lead to real impact?
Then the Visual Arena Experience to Insights Lab might be your next step.
“I had the opportunity to do my internship and participate in the Experience to Insights Lab at Visual Arena for four months, where I participated in the GULD project, designing an educational experience for young teenagers. From the very beginning, I felt warmly welcomed in the office, and I was genuinely sorry to leave such a great environment at the end of the internship.
I was encouraged to share my ideas and contribute actively, all under the guidance and organization of the Project Leader and the rest of the design team. This experience taught me a lot about applying the design process in practice, collaborating with multiple stakeholders, and involving users in the design work. It truly opened my eyes to the world of innovation and the possibilities of XR.I’m very grateful for this experience. Now that I’ve had other job opportunities, I can clearly see how this internship helped me find direction for the future and prepared me to face the professional world with much more confidence. ”
– Rosa Freddi, Design Student, Experience to Insights Lab, Visual Arena
A learning journey for the future
In the Experience to Insights Lab, we bring together diverse student teams to explore real challenges connected to society’s green transition, resilience, and creative renewal.
You’ll work hands-on with human-centered innovation and visual intelligence — turning data, insights, and experiences into new understanding and action.
We facilitate journeys from 4 weeks to 5 months, designed to give you both practical experience and meaningful results. Whether as part of a course project, internship, or master’s thesis, you’ll be part of an active innovation environment where students, researchers, companies, and public actors co-create the future.
Co-creation with purpose
The lab identifies challenges that matter — challenges that require visualisation, creativity, and empathy to solve.
Your participation and perspective are essential. Together, we build a collective intelligence that connects knowledge, people, and technology to generate insights and prototypes that others can continue to build on.
As a participant, you will:
- Be part of an interdisciplinary team working with real cases from Visual Arena’s partners.
- Learn Visual Arena’s innovation framework – combining design thinking, prototyping, and impact evaluation.
- Interact directly with sponsors, experts, and users, translating complex needs into clear visual insights and actions.
- Contribute to societal transformation, from immersive culture and sustainable industry to data-driven public innovation.
A regional movement for change
Every year, around 100 students from universities and vocational schools across Västra Götaland take part in Experience to Insights Lab — from Chalmers and HDK-Valand to Yrgo and NTNU. Together they contribute thousands of hours of applied innovation that strengthen the region’s transformation capacity.
Typical 4-week sprints are integrated into university courses, while 5-month journeys are part of thesis work or internships.
Projects are connected to ongoing initiatives such as:
- Visual Intelligence Sweden – building national capability in visual and immersive innovation.
- Green transition in manufacturing – visualising complex systems for sustainable industry.
- Resilience and foresight – creating visual scenarios for public preparedness.
- Cultural and creative industries – exploring the power of immersive storytelling and audience engagement.
Why join?
You will gain:
- Hands-on experience with innovation methods and visual tools.
- A professional network across industries, academia, and the public sector.
- The opportunity to use your creativity and technical skills to make a difference.
- Insights into how visualisation and immersive technologies can drive understanding and change.
Create insights that matter
The Experience to Insights Lab is not just a place to learn – it’s a place to contribute.
Here, your exploration helps organisations and communities understand, adapt, and act. Together, we transform experiences into insights that move society forward.
Join us – and be part of shaping the visual, sustainable, and human-centered future we want to live in.
Do you want to know more?
