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🔍 How to Choose Your Activation Lab [June 2026]

Learn how to choose the right Activation Lab for your thesis project based on the type of work you want to produce, from research and technical prototypes to ventures, sustainability solutions, leadership, and organisational transformation.

Your choice of Lab should be driven by what you want to produce as your final thesis, not just your general interests.

Start with this core question:

👉 What kind of output do I want to create?

🎯 Step 1 — Choose Your Thesis Type

1. Research (analysis, frameworks, evidence)


You want to:

  • Investigate a question deeply
  • Use structured methodology (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed)
  • Generate insights and recommendations

👉 Go to:

  • Research & Impact Lab
  • Leadership Lab
  • Applied Psychology Lab
  • TIM Lab

2. Build / Prototype (technical or product)

You want to:

  • Develop a tool, model, or system
  • Test hypotheses through experimentation
  • Work hands-on with technology

👉 Go to:

  • Innovation & Technology Lab
  • Planetary Design Lab

3. Venture / Startup

You want to:

  • Build and validate a business idea
  • Create an MVP or business model
  • Work directly with users/customers

👉 Go to:

  • Venturing Lab
  • Planetary Design Lab

4. Strategy / Transformation / Systems

You want to:

  • Design strategies or transformation roadmaps
  • Work at the organisational or system level
  • Focus on implementation and change

👉 Go to:

  • Transformation Lab
  • Sustainable Solutions Lab
  • Planetary Design Lab

🧭 Step 2 — Refine Based on Your Focus Area

🤖 AI / Data / Technology Focus

  • Technical → Innovation & Technology Lab
  • Research / impact → Research & Impact Lab
  • Governance/adoption → Transformation Lab

🌱 Sustainability / Environment Focus

  • Practical solutions → Sustainable Solutions Lab
  • Systems & long-term design → Planetary Design Lab
  • Data/AI-driven sustainability → Research & Impact Lab

🧠 Human Behaviour / Psychology

  • Behaviour change → Applied Psychology Lab
  • Leadership & teams → Leadership Lab

💼 Business / Innovation / Market

  • Venture building → Venturing Lab
  • Marketing & Innovation (perception) → TIM Lab
  • Organisational transformation → Transformation Lab

⚖️ Lab Differentiation

This is critical to avoid overlap—especially when you are deciding between similar labs.

Research & Impact vs Innovation & Technology

  • Research & Impact → You study and analyse a problem
  • Innovation & Technology → You build and test a solution

👉 If your output is a paper with insights → Research

👉 If your output is a prototype/system → Innovation & Tech

Innovation & Technology vs Venturing

  • Innovation & Technology → Focus on technology itself
  • Venturing → Focus on business viability

👉 If success = working system → Innovation

👉 If success = validated business → Venturing

Transformation Lab vs Sustainable Solutions Lab

  • Transformation Lab → Organisational change, strategy, AI adoption
  • Sustainable Solutions Lab → Concrete environmental/sustainability solutions

👉 If working with companies/strategy → Transformation

👉 If working on sustainability problems directly → Sustainable Solutions

Sustainable Solutions vs Planetary Design

  • Sustainable Solutions → Practical, measurable solutions
  • Planetary Design → Systems thinking, long-term design, prototyping sustainable futures

👉 If outcome = implementation → Sustainable Solutions

👉 If outcome = system redesign / frameworks / interventions → Planetary Design

Leadership vs Applied Psychology

  • Leadership Lab → Organisations, teams, leadership systems
  • Applied Psychology Lab → Individual behaviour, cognition, decision-making

👉 If focus = leaders & organisations → Leadership

👉 If focus = people & behaviour → Psychology

TIM Lab vs Venturing

  • TIM Lab → Study how innovation is adopted and marketing activities perceived
  • Venturing Lab → Build and validate the innovation itself

👉 If analysing markets & perception → TIM

👉 If building your own product/startup → Venturing

🧪 Step 3 — Final Check

Before selecting your Lab, ask yourself:

  • Do I want to analyse, build, or launch something?
  • Is my project more technical, behavioural, business, or systems-focused?
  • What would success look like at the end of my thesis?

🧩 Simple Decision Tree

What do you want to create?

→ A research study

→ AI / sustainability → Research & Impact Lab

→ Leadership → Leadership Lab

→ Behaviour → Applied Psychology Lab

→ Marketing / innovation → TIM Lab

→ A technical solution or prototype

→ Innovation & Technology Lab

→ A startup or business

→ Venturing Lab

→ A strategy or transformation

→ Organisation-focused → Transformation Lab

→ Sustainability-focused → Sustainable Solutions Lab

→ Systems / future design → Planetary Design Lab

🧭 Not Sure Which Lab Fits You Best?

To help you identify which Activation Lab aligns most closely with your interests, goals, and preferred type of project, complete the Activation Lab Quiz below.

👉 Activation Lab Quiz

The quiz is designed to help you reflect on:

  • The type of thesis you want to create
  • Whether you prefer research, technical building, entrepreneurship, systems thinking, leadership, psychology, sustainability, or transformation-focused work
  • The kind of impact and methodologies you are most interested in

👉 The result is intended as guidance and reflection support. Final Lab allocation and project fit may still be discussed with your Lab Owner.

🚀 Final Positioning

Your Lab is not just a topic—it is your working environment for the final phase of your degree.

It determines:

  • The type of thinking you apply
  • The methods you use
  • The output you create

Choose based on what you want to build, prove, or change by the end of your thesis.