Opinto-opas

Objective

The student understands contemporary debates and challenges around sustainability and circular economy. The student recognizes the interrelated elements that contribute to sustainable business practices & circular economy, and can pinpoint the growth & business opportunities in them.

The course pulls together the skills related to creative & innovative solution building including problem solving, project management, systems thinking, design thinking together with sustainability knowledge and business knowledge. The course also trains the skills of communicating about sustainability and circular economy via the opportunity lenses.

Content

- Key concepts in Circular economy: lifecycle thinking and sustainable design
- Growth vs. prosperity without growth and its opportunities; business cases and innovations in Circular economy
- Global sustainability challenges and targets from the perspective of Circular economy.

Assignment outline:
The students brainstorm selected sustainability challenges to develop (or test) solutions based on life-cycle modelling & Circular economy principles. They report the results orally (in teams) and individually (in written blogs/diary format) based on a small-scale project done during the course.

Location and time

Classes are schedule on these dates:
2.10. (at 13-16); 9.10. & 23.10 (online), and 13.11 & 27.11 (at 13-16).

Materials

Learning materials will appear in OMA.

Teaching methods

Teaching methods include interactive discussions, case presentations, face-to-face sessions combined with online sessions.

Learning outcomes:
The student understands challenges of sustainability and circular economy. The student recognizes the interrelated elements that contribute to sustainable business practices & circular economy, and can pinpoint the growth & business opportunities in them.

The course pulls together the skills related to creative & innovative solution building, problem solving, project management, systems thinking, design thinking together with sustainability knowledge and business knowledge. The course also trains the skills of communicating about sustainability and circular economy via the opportunity lenses.

Student workload

The student workload is 5 credits including class teaching, self-studies, and completing assignments (appx.135 hours altogether, calculating 1 credit as appx. 27 hours).

Assignment outline:
The students brainstorm selected sustainability challenges to develop (or test) solutions based on sustainable or life-cycle modelling & Circular economy principles. They report the results orally (in teams) and individually (in written blogs/diary format) based on a small-scale project done during the course.

Content scheduling

Course contents:
- Key concepts in Circular economy: life-cycle thinking and sustainable design
- Scenarios and other future research methods
- Growth vs. prosperity without growth and its opportunities; business cases and innovations in Circular economy
- Global sustainability challenges and targets from the perspective of Circular economy.

Evaluation scale

0-5

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Sufficient performance: has completed basic requirements to pass the course and has made an attempt to apply and articulate concepts and information both verbally and in writing but has not made enough effort overall. The student has demonstrated little effort, interest and motivation for individual or team activities / assignments and the output is rather weak.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Good overall performance: can apply and articulate concepts and information well both verbally and in writing, certain areas of individual or team output require further attention; shows appropriate level of interest and motivation in individual and team activities. Good presentation delivery and analysis.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Excellent performance in all elements of the course: shows interest and motivation in individual and team activities and assignments, fully applies and clearly articulates concepts and information both verbally and in writing. The student is able to support his/her argument with references to the recommended reading and lecture content. Excellent presentation delivery and analysis.

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

Sufficient performance: has completed basic requirements to pass the course and has made an attempt to apply and articulate concepts and information both verbally and in writing but has not made enough effort overall. The student has demonstrated little effort, interest and motivation for individual or team activities / assignments and the output is rather weak.

Assessment methods and criteria

Approved / Failed
Sufficient performance: has completed basic requirements to pass the course and has made an attempt to apply and articulate concepts and information both verbally and in writing but has not made enough effort overall. The student has demonstrated little effort, interest and motivation for individual or team activities / assignments and the output is rather weak.

Satisfactory
Sufficient performance: has completed basic requirements to pass the course and has made an attempt to apply and articulate concepts and information both verbally and in writing but has not made enough effort overall. The student has demonstrated little effort, interest and motivation for individual or team activities / assignments and the output is rather weak.

Good
Good overall performance: can apply and articulate concepts and information well both verbally and in writing, certain areas of individual or team output require further attention; shows appropriate level of interest and motivation in individual and team activities. Good presentation delivery and analysis.

Excellent
Excellent performance in all elements of the course: shows interest and motivation in individual and team activities and assignments, fully applies and clearly articulates concepts and information both verbally and in writing. The student is able to support his/her argument with references to the recommended reading and lecture content. Excellent presentation, delivery and analysis.

The course is assessed on the 0 (failed) – 5 (excellent) grading scale.

Qualifications

Completed Higher Education Degree.

Further information

The language of tuition is English.