An Introduction to Education for a Circular Built Environment

Overview

This badge is an introductory course, exploring the basic concepts and practical steps on how to embed the principles of the circular economy across all built environment and engineering related programmes and modules. It aims to empower learners to explore creative transdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning that will address the significant competency gap in industry and across built environment disciplines.

The course will require 25 learner hours over a six-week period, after which learners can claim their digital badge ‘An Introduction to Education for a Circular Built Environment’ from the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. A follow-on two-week facilitator digital badge will also be developed with the aim of creating a community of practice across the higher and further education sector. The main objectives of the course are:

• Raise awareness and understanding of Education for a Circular Built Environment with a view to catalyzing action on embedding the key principles across the many domains of the built environment sector i.e., planning, real estate, architecture, construction management, quantity surveying, building surveying, civil engineering etc.
• Create a community of practice amongst higher and further education staff through the digital and facilitator badges, that will lead the curriculum transformation required to equip students with the necessary competences to become change agents across the sector.

The main learning outcomes include:

• Demonstrate an ability to critically explore circular economy principles and how they may apply within specific built environment and engineering-related disciplines.
• Critically evaluate and analyze education for a circular built environment teaching, learning and assessment approaches within the context of different built environment and engineering-related disciplines.

The course is in direct response to the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan, which has identified the built environment as a priority sector due to its ongoing negative impact on the environment and its key role in societal development and transformation. At a national level, it responds directly to the Whole-of-Government Circular Economy Strategy 2022-2023, the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme 2021-2027, the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, and the Climate Action Plan 2023.

The criteria are yet to be formed. The outline of the main topics is as follows:

• What is a Circular Built Environment (utilizing TU Delft’s ‘Scales to Aspects’ Model’), and what role can each value chain stakeholder play in this transition.
  https://circularityforeducators.tudelft.nl/article/the-scales-to-aspects-model-framing-circularity-in-the-built-environment/
• What is the role of Higher and Further Education in supporting the sector to transition towards a circular built environment, utilizing TU Delft’s ‘Teaching in Time of Uncertainty’ to frame the discussion.
• Programme and module design that embrace circular economy competences, utilizing and adapting TU Delft’s Circular Learning Objectives https://circularityforeducators.tudelft.nl/article/the-circular-learning-objectives-clo-list/
• Best practice examples of teaching, learning and assessment.