Living Labs in higher education have the intention to synergize learning and innovation through integration of education, research and innovation. However, the literature does not seem to provide an evidence-base for student learning in these complex settings, balancing professional, pedagogical and accountability discourses. An educational-design study aims to help develop this knowledge-base: three social learning settings in Labs in the Social Professions Faculty of a single university are analyzed and redesigned in collaborations with teachers, students, and professional partners. Afterward, their experiences are collected through semi-structured interviews. A grounded approach of the analysis of the interviews and fieldnotes will contribute to the understanding of the complexities of balancing professional, pedagogical and accountability discourses in learning and its scaffolding in Labs. The conceptual framework and initial methodological findings will be presented and discussed. It is expected that preliminary findings in the first co-design project and interviews will also be shared.