Circular Economy (5 cr)

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

20.8.2024 - 1.12.2024, ONLINE

Materials

Recommended readings:

1. "Must-read" e-book in online 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

2. A scientific e-book, useful in producing assigments in online 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

3. For more readings, welcome to familiarize with a collection compiled by Metropolia´s library available as e-books in MetCat Finna. (Remember to log in with your password, this link will bring you to a collection of 11 e-books): https://metropolia.finna.fi/List/861359 Additionally, you will find some selected videos and articles in the course materials.

Additional reading and videos are listed in the course materials (pls check the full list in the course materials).

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 Assignment 1) and solutions (in Assignment 2) based on a small-scale project done during the course.

Teaching methods

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.

Student workload

5 ECTS (appx. 127 hours of work, including attending classes, doing assignments, readings, and self-work).

Content scheduling

- 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.

Further information

The language of tuition is English.

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

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.

Qualifications

Completed Higher Education Degree.

Further information

The language of tuition is English.