As thousands gather downtown for the Outside Festival this summer, celebrating Colorado’s outdoor culture, music, recreation, and innovation, another kind of momentum is taking shape just a few feet away inside CU Denver’s College of Engineering, Design and Computing.

In the Outside Lab, students are designing gear, testing materials, prototyping products, and solving real-world challenges tied to one of Colorado’s fastest-growing industries: the outdoor economy.

For students, the experience feels less like a traditional lab course and more like entering the product development pipeline itself.

“The Outside Lab provides students with foundational knowledge in engineering theory, education in product research and development and hands-on experience handling various product tests commonly found in industry,” said Trevor Young, Outside Lab Manager.

 “To the best of our knowledge, it is the only program of its kind – spanning numerous different product categories, possessing both research and development capability and providing invaluable industry connection through the combination of CU and Outside.”

The lab sits at the intersection of engineering, design, sustainability, entrepreneurship, and human-centered problem-solving,  a combination that reflects the future of the outdoor industry and modern engineering careers.

For students interested in building products people actually use, launching ideas with real market potential, or working in Colorado’s thriving recreation and outdoor innovation ecosystem, the Outside Lab offers something increasingly rare in higher education: direct access to industry-connected, interdisciplinary experience before graduation.

“Working in the lab prepares students for work outside of the university by offering greater breadth and depth of testing and design experience than they receive through class work alone,” says Young.

Engineering education built for real work

Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy supports thousands of jobs across manufacturing, apparel, recreation technology, mobility, sustainability, and consumer experience. CU Denver’s downtown location places students directly inside that ecosystem.

Denver becomes part of the classroom.

“We are fortunate to be able to establish this lab in a place like Denver given its proximity to the locations where people are frequently using all of the gear we test,” says Young.  “It is widely regarded as a hub for outdoor adventures and we certainly benefit from being located near so many outdoor gear brands and places to use their products.”

The Outside Lab was developed through a partnership with Outside Inc., creating opportunities for students to engage with testing methodologies and industry-facing research tied to outdoor equipment and performance products.

“We have had students design and build multiple new test systems, research finished products in areas where this may not have been done previously and participate in Outside’s review testing further sharpening their skills,” says Young.

But the lab’s biggest advantage may be how closely it mirrors the way modern engineering actually works. Students move beyond theoretical assignments and into applied problem-solving connected to real-world needs. Just as importantly, they learn to work across disciplines — collaborating with designers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and technical teams in ways that reflect today’s workforce.

“Our approach is focused on hands-on learning and working directly with brands/products that students may like to work on post-grad,” says Young. “In addition, given our connection to Outside, our connections to industry and proximity to outdoor adventure locations we have the luxury of performing both in-lab and field testing, identifying potential correlations therein.”

Students graduate not only with engineering knowledge, but with portfolios, project experience, and industry fluency that help them stand out to employers.

Why students choose CU Denver

For many students, the Outside Lab represents something bigger than a single project or class. It reflects the kind of education they were looking for: collaborative, career-focused, and connected to industries shaping Colorado’s future.

At CU Denver, students regularly work alongside faculty with industry expertise while building portfolios and technical experience that translate directly into internships, research opportunities, and careers.

The work also reflects where engineering itself is headed.

Engineering increasingly shapes how people move, recreate, communicate, stay healthy, and interact with technology. The Outside Lab allows students to explore those intersections through projects grounded in sustainability, usability, performance, and human experience.

“Many traditional programs omit classes or discussions of sustainability and human-centered design,” Young said. “However, since we work in an industry that produces consumer product, we felt that both of those topics were important to include in our educations. A sentiment that has been echoed by our industry connections.”

For students interested in this form of impact, the appeal is immediate: real projects, real collaboration, and direct access to one of the country’s most dynamic innovation economies.

A lab built for Colorado’s outdoor innovation economy

As Denver celebrates outdoor culture and innovation during the Outside Festival this summer, CU Denver’s Outside Lab offers a look at the engineering, design, and product development work happening behind the scenes of the industry itself.

And for anyone attending the Outside Festival, it’s a reminder that some of the most interesting outdoor innovation happening in Denver isn’t only on display at the event — it’s already being built inside classrooms and labs just across the street.

Explore the Outside Lab and learn how CU Denver’s engineering students are gaining hands-on experience in product testing, research, and outdoor industry innovation.