Study Guide

Objective

After completing the course, the student is able to:
- understand the current state of the circular economy as well as the development paths
- know the development needs and visions for circular economy in various fields
- understand the importance of and communication skills in circular economy and know some dialogical methods
- can use circular economy development methods in their own field
- has deepened their knowhow in the sustainable circular economy

Content

In this course, we go through the current state of the circular economy as well as the development paths, visions, and needs in different fields. There is emphasis on dialog and communication skills in the circular economy. Those are needed in creating circular ecosystems and value chains and in making systemic change. In the course, the student can use and deepen their understanding of the sustainable circular economy.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After completing the course, the student is able to:
- recognize the key principles of circular economy and its benefits from the environmental, social, and economical point of views
- understand what kind of circular business models there are and can develop those
- understands the need for a wider societal change
- knows methods of how to advance the circular economy
- know ways to create circular value chains

Content

On the Basics of the sustainable circular economy course, students learn that circular economy is the new economic model, where materials are recycled and products gain new value through services and innovations. Circular economy responds to the main challenges globally, such as climate change, depletion of natural resources, and loss of biodiversity. New ways of thinking and operating, diverse know-how, and new models for business operations are needed to achieve the goals of circular economy. Especially we need different kinds of professionals that can help solve the difficult problems of circular economy.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After completing the Master's Thesis, the student can:

- critically evaluate and apply research information
- use the chosen methods to analyse ja solve problems in working life
- work independently as an expert in demanding contexts in which he/she is managing his/her own and possibly also the others’ work in a target-oriented way
- communicate and network in his/her own field and in international environment
- take into account communal and ethical perspectives of own profession.

Content

The essential part of Master-level studies is a thesis of 30 credits. The thesis starts normally immediately at the beginning of the studies, and it passes through the entire study period, although it is possible that the thesis will follow other studies if necessary.

The thesis is implemented as a development project with a research-based approach and a close connection to practical work. The student carries out his/her development work at his/her workplace, in RDI projects of the Turku University of Applied Sciences, in working life connections or in a manner agreed with the supervisor. The thesis is based on commission, if possible. It is preferable that the thesis is based on an assignment.

The thesis relies on in-depth information gathering and analysis, and the development process utilizes relevant research methods following principles of good scientific practice. The thesis includes documenting and reporting on development activities. The student will become familiar with the methodological skills necessary for development and reporting in the course on research and development methods.

Working consists of the following steps:
1. Presentation of the thesis idea
2. Thesis plan
3. Thesis agreement
4. Implementation, related research information and documentation of the work in accordance with industry practice and in a meaningful way for the thesis
5. Participation in a group supervision (“thesis learning café”) and individual guidance of the thesis
6. Presentation of the results after completion of the thesis
7. Maturity test: The student must write a maturity examination in the field of the thesis. This demonstrates awareness with the subject and the linguistic competence. If the (excellent) competence of the school education language has already been assessed in previous studies, the maturity test will only serve as a test the professional expertise. The maturity test is evaluated on a scale approved/ failed.
8. Ensuring that there is no plagiarism in the thesis and evaluation of the thesis

Learning methods: Research and development project; participating seminars, and in individual and group tutoring.

Pedagogical methods: Teachers tutoring Master thesis studies act as contact persons, bridge-builders enabling students to become part of project community. Mentoring and feedback from peer students in small groups is organized in order to support student’s active and responsible participation during Master thesis studies. Working life partners are involved in assessment of student’s Master thesis process. Development project includes 30 study credits which equals 810 work hours, i.e. 20 weeks of full time studying.

The thesis will be evaluated using scale 1–5, applying the evaluation criteria of TUAS Master School. The assessment focuses on RDI-process and reporting on it orally and in writing. TUAS staff is responsible for the summative assessment at the end of the process, and the assessment will be done by two supervisors.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Qualifications

-

Objective

After completing the course, the student can:
- Show that he/she has worked on a sustainable circular economy development project
- Has applied the knowledge learned earlier in a circular economy development project
- Has made a development work
- Understand what kind of circular business models there are
- Understand the need for a wider societal transition
- Understand the need to minimize the amount of waste produced
- Understand the need to manage limited resources in a more efficient way

Content

On the course, the student will develop skills needed in working life, deepen knowhow of circular economy and perform a sustainable circular economy project

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After completing the course, the student can:
- Show that he/she has worked on a sustainable circular economy development project
- Has applied the knowledge learned earlier in a circular economy development project
- Has made a development work
- Understand what kind of circular business models there are
- Understand the need for a wider societal transition
- Understand the need to minimize the amount of waste produced
- Understand the need to manage limited resources in a more efficient way

Content

On the course, the student will develop skills needed in working life, deepen knowhow of circular economy and perform a sustainable circular economy project

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

The overarching learning goal is being able to mitigate and solve sustainability problems. Learning takes place in a variety of ways: by self-study but also by learning from peers.

The course comprises of five key competencies to be developed and assessed during the course. These key competencies are also part of the CDIO framework that is guiding the studies at Turku University of Applied Sciences. Additionally, the students will learn more about sustainable development.
Key competencies developed on the course:
1.Creativity competence: Having completed the course, the student is able to combine knowledge from different fields to come up with novel solutions to sustainability problems. The student is familiar with different creative problem-solving tools.
2. Initiative competence: This project course is a flexible model for learning that does not offer straightforward answers but motivates the students to work towards goals and take responsibility for their work and learning.
3. Systems thinking competence: Having completed the course, the student is able to understand the structure and dynamics of complex systems related to solving sustainability challenges in a real-life project. Students can describe given sustainability challenges from multiple perspectives. Students have improved their critical thinking.
4. Strategic competence: Having completed the course, the student is able to create transition and intervention strategies to enact change. The student understands the basic principles of project management and can plan and lead a project from beginning to end. The student feels comfortable using different project management tools and understands the basics of working with companies and other stakeholders. The student is able to reflect on, and deal with, possible risks. The student is able to manage expectations and anticipated results of projects.
5. Interpersonal competence: After the course, the student has developed his/her communicative and collaborative skills. The student is able to organize and manage to work in a multi-disciplinary team of individuals. The student understands the basics of projects’ internal and external communications. The student can apply collaborative working methods in his/her work.

Content

Climate change, depleting natural resources, pollution and urbanization pose some of the greatest challenges in the history of humankind. Good solutions are needed now! These so-called wicked problems are so complex that they need actors from all levels of our society working together. Wicked problems are turned into wicked solutions only by strong collaboration between companies, universities, cities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This means that future problem-solvers need to know how to work in the middle ground between the business, research, and decision-making sectors. On Solutions.now course it is time to put the knowledge learned from books into practice by solving real-life challenges related to sustainability issues. The challenges on the course are given by real companies, who want to make a positive impact on their business.

Much of today’s work consists of working in and leading multidisciplinary projects. However, practical project management courses and company collaborations are non-existent in many university studies. Solutions.now course combines problem- and project-based learning methods with sustainability issues, to let students learn the most critical project management skills while gaining valuable working-life experience. At the same time students learn valuable future skills such as tolerating uncertainties and conflicts and balancing with the knowledge learned from the literature and the frame given by the company.

This course is ideally taken after other sustainability courses so that the students already have some basic knowledge of the complexity of sustainability issues. This course offers a practical way to use that knowledge in real life as well as learn new skills in planning and executing sustainability projects. Students work in multi-disciplinary teams, each team dedicated to one sustainability project. They get to experience how it feels like to use their knowledge to make a positive impact on the world.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After completing the course, the student is able to:
- understand the importance of evaluating and measuring environmental and social impacts in the sustainable circular economy
- knows tools for evaluating and measuring
- understand impacts and make decisions based on them
- understand the limits and challenges in this topic

Content

In the course, we focus on evaluating and measuring environmental and social impacts in the sustainable circular economy. Different kinds of tools are presented that can be used in evaluation and measurement. We also focus on the challenges and reliability of those. Also, we focus on how we can use the information gathered from them in understanding the impacts and how we can make decisions based on the information.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

The overarching learning goal is being able to mitigate and solve sustainability problems. Learning takes place in a variety of ways: by self-study but also by learning from peers.

The course comprises of five key competencies to be developed and assessed during the course. These key competencies are also part of the CDIO framework that is guiding the studies at Turku University of Applied Sciences. Additionally, the students will learn more about sustainable development.
Key competencies developed on the course:
1.Creativity competence: Having completed the course, the student is able to combine knowledge from different fields to come up with novel solutions to sustainability problems. The student is familiar with different creative problem-solving tools.
2. Initiative competence: This project course is a flexible model for learning that does not offer straightforward answers but motivates the students to work towards goals and take responsibility for their work and learning.
3. Systems thinking competence: Having completed the course, the student is able to understand the structure and dynamics of complex systems related to solving sustainability challenges in a real-life project. Students can describe given sustainability challenges from multiple perspectives. Students have improved their critical thinking.
4. Strategic competence: Having completed the course, the student is able to create transition and intervention strategies to enact change. The student understands the basic principles of project management and can plan and lead a project from beginning to end. The student feels comfortable using different project management tools and understands the basics of working with companies and other stakeholders. The student is able to reflect on, and deal with, possible risks. The student is able to manage expectations and anticipated results of projects.
5. Interpersonal competence: After the course, the student has developed his/her communicative and collaborative skills. The student is able to organize and manage to work in a multi-disciplinary team of individuals. The student understands the basics of projects’ internal and external communications. The student can apply collaborative working methods in his/her work.

Content

Climate change, depleting natural resources, pollution and urbanization pose some of the greatest challenges in the history of humankind. Good solutions are needed now! These so-called wicked problems are so complex that they need actors from all levels of our society working together. Wicked problems are turned into wicked solutions only by strong collaboration between companies, universities, cities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This means that future problem-solvers need to know how to work in the middle ground between the business, research, and decision-making sectors. On Solutions.now course it is time to put the knowledge learned from books into practice by solving real-life challenges related to sustainability issues. The challenges on the course are given by real companies, who want to make a positive impact on their business.

Much of today’s work consists of working in and leading multidisciplinary projects. However, practical project management courses and company collaborations are non-existent in many university studies. Solutions.now course combines problem- and project-based learning methods with sustainability issues, to let students learn the most critical project management skills while gaining valuable working-life experience. At the same time students learn valuable future skills such as tolerating uncertainties and conflicts and balancing with the knowledge learned from the literature and the frame given by the company.

This course is ideally taken after other sustainability courses so that the students already have some basic knowledge of the complexity of sustainability issues. This course offers a practical way to use that knowledge in real life as well as learn new skills in planning and executing sustainability projects. Students work in multi-disciplinary teams, each team dedicated to one sustainability project. They get to experience how it feels like to use their knowledge to make a positive impact on the world.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After completing the course, the student is able to:
- understand the importance of evaluating and measuring environmental and social impacts in the sustainable circular economy
- knows tools for evaluating and measuring
- understand impacts and make decisions based on them
- understand the limits and challenges in this topic

Content

In the course, we focus on evaluating and measuring environmental and social impacts in the sustainable circular economy. Different kinds of tools are presented that can be used in evaluation and measurement. We also focus on the challenges and reliability of those. Also, we focus on how we can use the information gathered from them in understanding the impacts and how we can make decisions based on the information.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After completing the course, the student can:
- Show that he/she has worked on a sustainable circular economy development project
- Has applied the knowledge learned earlier in a circular economy development project
- Has made a development work
- Understand what kind of circular business models there are
- Understand the need for a wider societal transition
- Understand the need to minimize the amount of waste produced
- Understand the need to manage limited resources in a more efficient way

Content

On the course, the student will develop skills needed in working life, deepen knowhow of circular economy and perform a sustainable circular economy project

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After completing the course, the student can:
- Show that he/she has worked on a sustainable circular economy development project
- Has applied the knowledge learned earlier in a circular economy development project
- Has made a development work
- Understand what kind of circular business models there are
- Understand the need for a wider societal transition
- Understand the need to minimize the amount of waste produced
- Understand the need to manage limited resources in a more efficient way

Content

On the course, the student will develop skills needed in working life, deepen knowhow of circular economy and perform a sustainable circular economy project

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After completing the Master's Thesis, the student can:

- critically evaluate and apply research information
- use the chosen methods to analyse ja solve problems in working life
- work independently as an expert in demanding contexts in which he/she is managing his/her own and possibly also the others’ work in a target-oriented way
- communicate and network in his/her own field and in international environment
- take into account communal and ethical perspectives of own profession.

Content

The essential part of Master-level studies is a thesis of 30 credits. The thesis starts normally immediately at the beginning of the studies, and it passes through the entire study period, although it is possible that the thesis will follow other studies if necessary.

The thesis is implemented as a development project with a research-based approach and a close connection to practical work. The student carries out his/her development work at his/her workplace, in RDI projects of the Turku University of Applied Sciences, in working life connections or in a manner agreed with the supervisor. The thesis is based on commission, if possible. It is preferable that the thesis is based on an assignment.

The thesis relies on in-depth information gathering and analysis, and the development process utilizes relevant research methods following principles of good scientific practice. The thesis includes documenting and reporting on development activities. The student will become familiar with the methodological skills necessary for development and reporting in the course on research and development methods.

Working consists of the following steps:
1. Presentation of the thesis idea
2. Thesis plan
3. Thesis agreement
4. Implementation, related research information and documentation of the work in accordance with industry practice and in a meaningful way for the thesis
5. Participation in a group supervision (“thesis learning café”) and individual guidance of the thesis
6. Presentation of the results after completion of the thesis
7. Maturity test: The student must write a maturity examination in the field of the thesis. This demonstrates awareness with the subject and the linguistic competence. If the (excellent) competence of the school education language has already been assessed in previous studies, the maturity test will only serve as a test the professional expertise. The maturity test is evaluated on a scale approved/ failed.
8. Ensuring that there is no plagiarism in the thesis and evaluation of the thesis

Learning methods: Research and development project; participating seminars, and in individual and group tutoring.

Pedagogical methods: Teachers tutoring Master thesis studies act as contact persons, bridge-builders enabling students to become part of project community. Mentoring and feedback from peer students in small groups is organized in order to support student’s active and responsible participation during Master thesis studies. Working life partners are involved in assessment of student’s Master thesis process. Development project includes 30 study credits which equals 810 work hours, i.e. 20 weeks of full time studying.

The thesis will be evaluated using scale 1–5, applying the evaluation criteria of TUAS Master School. The assessment focuses on RDI-process and reporting on it orally and in writing. TUAS staff is responsible for the summative assessment at the end of the process, and the assessment will be done by two supervisors.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Qualifications

-

Objective

After completing the course, the student is able to:
- understand the current state of the circular economy as well as the development paths
- know the development needs and visions for circular economy in various fields
- understand the importance of and communication skills in circular economy and know some dialogical methods
- can use circular economy development methods in their own field
- has deepened their knowhow in the sustainable circular economy

Content

In this course, we go through the current state of the circular economy as well as the development paths, visions, and needs in different fields. There is emphasis on dialog and communication skills in the circular economy. Those are needed in creating circular ecosystems and value chains and in making systemic change. In the course, the student can use and deepen their understanding of the sustainable circular economy.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After completing the course, the student is able to:
- recognize the key principles of circular economy and its benefits from the environmental, social, and economical point of views
- understand what kind of circular business models there are and can develop those
- understands the need for a wider societal change
- knows methods of how to advance the circular economy
- know ways to create circular value chains

Content

On the Basics of the sustainable circular economy course, students learn that circular economy is the new economic model, where materials are recycled and products gain new value through services and innovations. Circular economy responds to the main challenges globally, such as climate change, depletion of natural resources, and loss of biodiversity. New ways of thinking and operating, diverse know-how, and new models for business operations are needed to achieve the goals of circular economy. Especially we need different kinds of professionals that can help solve the difficult problems of circular economy.

Evaluation scale

H-5