Capacity Building for Educators on Circular Economy Innovation
Objectives:
- To equip educators with the tools and confidence to mentor their students as they ideate and grow entrepreneurial ventures that address waste issues in their country.
- To design and deliver training for educators who are keen to integrate circular economy innovation into their teachings.
Project Duration: April – August 2022
Designed For: Circular Cities Asia
Role: Programme Manager
Overview: A training programme to help educators increase their domain knowledge of the circular economy and how it can be applied in entrepreneurship and innovation. It was developed as an extension of the Circular Campus Programme to build the capacity of our partner universities. An in-person training was held in August 2022 in Metro Manila, Philippines.
Module 1: The aim of this module is to provide educators with a foundational understanding of what a circular economy is, the schools thought that formed the concept, and Circular Cities Asia’s framework for circular economy innovation. They are also introduced to the Circular Innovation Toolkit that their students will be provided when they join the Circular Campus Programme.
Module 2: This module introduces educators to the tools that would help their students explore and identify the waste challenges on their campus or communities more broadly. A key takeaway for this module is for educators to encourage the students to speak with relevant stakeholders and do problem validation before jumping into solutions.
Module 3: This module introduces educators to the tools that would help their students ideate potential circular solutions for the waste challenge they chose to focus on. A key takeaway for this module is for educators to encourage students to engage in life cycle thinking and thoughtfully integrate circular design strategies into their proposed solutions.
The 1-day training session was held in Metro Manila, Philippines. We invited our partner universities in the Philippines who would be taking part in our Circular Campus Programme that year. The session included lectures, breakout group activities, discussions and time for networking. I co-facilitated this with my fellow Circular Cities Asia team members.
Outcomes for participants:
- Learn about the various circular economy opportunities, innovations, technologies, and business models that currently exist
- Gain confidence in mentoring students who are developing circular economy business models
- Interact with a diverse cohort of participants from universities across the Philippines
- Receive a toolkit with frameworks and resources to support students as they identify waste issues and develop circular economy business ideas
- Be equipped to deliver learning experiences that help students ideate and grow entrepreneurial ventures that address waste issues in their country
The toolkit guides educators through key circular innovation frameworks and how they would use them with their students. Case studies of circular businesses are also included to showcase real-life examples of how circular economy principles are being put into practice.
Globally, there is growing interest and momentum for transitioning to circular economic models as an alternative to the current linear models which have resulted in and continue to exacerbate various ecological, social and economic issues. In Asia, there are limited circular economy-focused learning programmes. Existing programmes are not easily accessible and often focus on the developed world and feature case studies from Europe. From speaking with faculty and staff of universities across Asia, we found there is a desire among educators to increase their domain knowledge of circular economy innovation and teach this topic to their students.