Circular Economy Teaching and Learning: A Higher Education Workshop

20th June 2018 • London

ROUND UP

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OVERVIEWThe Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy Higher Education Workshop was welcomed as a positive step towards the stimulation and support of circular economy teaching.

It created a space to explore the growing momentum of the circular economy as a concept, to network with peers, and to experience a wide range of workshop activities designed to facilitate learning for a circular economy.

Over 80 academics and teaching practitioners attended from 17 different countries:

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PARALLEL WORKSHOPS

CIRCULAR DESIGN - STRATEGIES & APPROACHES

Facilitated by: Dr Mariale Moreno (Cranfield University) and Emma Fromberg and Simon Widmer (Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

Using prompts and tools from the Circular Design Guide, this workshop explored some of the wider questions which sit behind circular design within higher education. The session was delivered in three parts; we discussed what circular design is, ran a ‘circular strategies’ practical activity that can be used in university courses, and discussed challenges and opportunities in teaching circular design.

Explore the Circular Design Guide

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REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE - THE CASE OF COFFEE PRODUCTION & CONSUMPTION SYSTEMS

Facilitated by: Colin Webster (Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

This session looked at how we typically grow coffee and some of the associated drawbacks. It stimulated thinking around efficiency vs resiliency by comparing different systems for coffee production. Participants thought about how they could rethink the process using the circular economy framework, and then designed their own coffee production systems and discussed opportunities for enterprise stacking.

Download ‘Coffee Production and Consumption Systems’ Workshop Activity

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A SANDWICH, A BUTTERFLY AND A CAKE … AND MAYBE A KATE RAWORTH DOUGHNUT FOR LATER?

Facilitated by: Ken Webster and Anna Barnouw (Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

This activity emphasised the importance and consequences of choosing certain system boundaries when looking at the circular economy. Do we, to paraphrase Buckminster Fuller, “Start with the Universe” – science, and setting system conditions? Or is it philosophy, then implementation and enabling conditions (governance). Or, do we focus on product design or business models or tools? And, what about economics? The session also stimulated debate around people’s own working context and how the systems within their universities can determine the approach and outcome.

Download ‘A sandwich, a butterfly and a cake - A circular economy?’ Workshop Activity

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CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODELS – THE BRANDED T-SHIRT CASE

Facilitated by: Professor Peter Hopkinson and Michele Miller (University of Exeter)

This session involved cotton T-shirts and raised issues about the disposal of valuable products and materials well before economic, biological and technical life spans - a common issue in circular analysis. Part of the session also focused on exploring and sharing the group’s experiences and challenges of developing business, and management focused teaching and learning activities within the higher education context.

Download ‘Circular Business Models - the Branded T-shirt Case’ Workshop Activity

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NATURE’S RECIPE BOOK: PARTICIPATING IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF MATERIALS FOR A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Dr Alysia Garmulewicz (University of Santiago) and Liz Corbin, Institute of Making (University College London)

This hands-on workshop was focused on introducing the participants to Materiom - an open source and collaborative platform for creating & sharing open source material recipes made from locally abundant nutrients. During the workshop, participants learnt how to make bioplastics from agar, glycerin, and water. Alysia and Liz explained how the exercises and the Materiom platform can be useful educational resources for educators across disciplines, to help students to re-think the linearity of the current system from the perspective of materials.

Explore the Materiom site

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TEACHING AND LEARNING FOR A CIRCULAR ECONOMY: RESEARCHING THE LANDSCAPE

Tim Forslund, Research Analyst, Ellen MacArthur Foundation Tim is working on a project which aims to illuminate the higher education landscape of teaching & learning for a circular economy. He shared his initial research as part of the day.

Tim’s findings will be published in the Autumn of this year and announced in the Higher Education Newsletter.

TROIKA

During a Troika (Russian for group of three working together), participants self-organised into groups of three for a quick-fire exchange before reorganising into another unique Troika. By rapidly sharing priorities and identifying possible connections, participants identified key stakeholders and potential partners in the network.

A UNIQUE APPROACH TO CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Nani Pajunen, Leading Circular Economy Specialist, SITRA Nani described how the Finnish Innovation Fund is promoting circular economy in higher education, with collaborative projects across multiple universities. It was fascinating to hear how a total of 73,500 students and 1,800 teachers have been reached through SITRA’s work, in all educational levels in Finland to date.

Find out more about Sitra’s Education work.

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THE ETHICAL (OR SUSTAINABLE) CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Facilitator: Dr Raj Buch (Arizona State University)

This workshop explored how to leverage systems-thinking and bring a net-positive, social impact perspective to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the circular economy. Participants mapped out a ‘linear’ system and then ‘circularised’ it.

REPAIRABILITY SCORING

Facilitator: Dr Bas Flipsen (Delft University of Technology)

In this session, participants were introduced to the importance of ease of disassembly and repair in supporting longer-lasting products. Participants devised their own measurable repair-criteria and dismantled a product for assessment. They were introduced to a tool developed in cooperation with iFixit, which assesses a product on its repairability and ease of disassembly.

WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS

Facilitators: Charmian Love and Olya Krestyaninonva (Said Business School, University of Oxford)

In this session the group discussed different ways to support and engage students in their circular economy journey outside more formal classroom settings. Using the Circus as a central metaphor, the aim is to inspire the organisation of grassroot activities on university campus‘ across the UK and beyond.

CROWDSOURCED WORKSHOPS

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BUSINESS MODELS IN TEXTILE RECYCLING - BEST PRACTICES FOR ENGAGING STUDENTS

Facilitators: Henna Knuutila and Jenna Suominen (Turku University of Applied Sciences)

Discussions in this workshop centred around the rapidly changing world of a circular economy in the field of textiles, and how the five circular economy business models are linked to the subject. In small groups, participants tested engaging learning methods and critically assessed them. Key questions included: What is the situation for textile recycling at a European level? How do circular economy business models accelerate textile recycling? And most importantly, how can we engage students in the learning process with various teaching methods?

THE 90-MINUTE CURRICULUM

Facilitator: Dr David Hutchinson (University of Portsmouth)

In this interactive session, participants tried creating an exciting new curriculum that explores and embraces the circular economy. Participants were asked to draw on their own experiences and imagination using a collaborative format to create a complete a curriculum within 90 minutes.

CROWDSOURCED WORKSHOPS

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WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?Through a fun and interactive voting app, the last session of the day was dedicated to crowdsourcing thoughts from participants on some key strategic questions. Emerging from this activity was the response that the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s main role ought to be that of a network convenor or hub and facilitator of discussion on the circular economy. The Foundation’s Higher Education team will take these insights into future discussions!

NEXT STEPS

• Keep up-to-date with the latest developments in the Higher Education space at the Foundation by signing up to our Higher Education Newsletter.

• Join the Circular Economy Teaching & Learning LinkedIn Group to share and discuss teaching and learning approaches, curricula and resources.

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CIRCULAR ECONOMY LEARNING

The Foundation’s work in both formal and informal learning is building a global teaching and learning platform based on the circular economy framework. With an emphasis on online learning, the Foundation provides cutting edge insights and content to support circular economy education and the systems thinking required to accelerate a transition.

ONLINE RESOURCES:

HIGHER EDUCATION RESOURCES

This Higher Education Resources page includes the complete collection of circular economy workshop activities used at the Higher Education Workshop, publications, podcasts and other materials developed in collaboration with our academic partners.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY CASE STUDIES

Explore the Foundation’s growing catalogue of the latest circular economy thinking and real world examples businesses from all around the world successfully applying circular economy principles and business models.

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION FESTIVAL

The Disruptive Innovation Festival (DIF) is an online platform which aims to shift mindsets and inspire action towards a circular economy. It invites people to share disruptive ideas and stories on a number of topics and attracts a worldwide audience, sparking critical conversations and participation through a combination of live interviews, films, and podcasts.