Study Guide

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

5 online meetings:
CLASS 1, 15 September 2023, 13-16 pm
CLASS 2, 29 September 2023, 13-16 pm
CLASS 3, 13 October 2023, 13-16 pm
CLASS 4, 17 November 2023, 9-12 am
CLASS 5, 1 December 2023, 9-11 am (and the "De-growth" event on 5 December at 14-15.30 with "Hiilitalli").

Course instructor

Zinaida Grabovskaia, PhL, Senior lecturer
Head of Master’s Programme in Business Informatics
Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
Leiritie 1, 01600 Vantaa, Finland
tel. +358 40 198 4008
Email: zinaida.grabovskaia@metropolia.fi

Materials

Course contents

1-2. Global sustainability challenges and targets from the perspective of Circular economy. (These initial sessions discuss the challenges of the linear economy and its consequences - visible as climate change, biodiversity loss, and a growing resource deficit - and outline the principles of Circular economy as an approach to address them). Consumers´ footprint vs. industry foorprint.
2. Key concepts in Circular economy: life-cycle thinking (including its main tool, i.e. Life Cycle Assessment, LCA) and sustainable design
3. Business models for the Circular Economy (with case examples in bioeconomy, waste management, manufacturing and services) and role of innovations for Circular economy.
4. Possible futures: growth vs. prosperity without growth and its opportunities as one possible future.

Assignment outlines:

The students brainstorm selected sustainability challenges to develop/test solutions based on life-cycle modelling & Circular economy principles. They report on the CE challenges (in Assigment 1) and solutions (in Assignment 2) based on a small-scale project done during the course.

Recomended readings:

1. Selected videos and articles (pls read announcements before classes)

2. "Must-read" e-book in Metropolia e-collection:

Stahel, Walter R. (2019). "The User´s Guide to Circular Economy" (available as e-book in Ebooks Central via MetCat Finna) https://metropolia.finna.fi/Record/nelli15.4100000008402269

3. Scientific e-book, useful in producing assigments in Metropolia e-collection:

Sillanpää, M. and Ncibi, C. (2019). "The Circular Economy : Case Studies about the Transition from the Linear Economy” (as e-book in Ebooks Central via MetCat Finna) https://metropolia.finna.fi/Record/3amk.283952

4. additionally, Metropolia library has also compiled a list of other available e-books in MetCat Finna. (Remember to log in with your password, this link wil bring you to a collection of 11 e-books): https://metropolia.finna.fi/List/861359

Teaching methods

This course familiarizes the students with the concept, challenges and opportunities of circular economy.

Learning outcomes

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, 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.

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

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

The course grade is comprised of:
40% for Assignment A + 40% for Assignment B + 20% for class dicussion and participation in class activities (including the peer review of PechaKucha presentations on 24 August, Monday at 12-15 pm).

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.

Prerequisites

Completed Higher Education Degree.

Further information

The language of tuition is English.