IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i4p1138-d503141.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Simulation and Serious Games in Teaching Concepts on Circular Economy and Sustainable Energy

Author

Listed:
  • Rocio de la Torre

    (INARBE Institute, Public University of Navarre, 31006 Pamplona, Spain)

  • Bhakti S. Onggo

    (Centre for Operational Research Management Sciences and Information Systems (CORMSIS), University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK)

  • Canan G. Corlu

    (Administrative Sciences Department, Faculty of Business, Metropolitan College, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA)

  • Maria Nogal

    (Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands)

  • Angel A. Juan

    (IN3—Department of Computer Science, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya & Euncet Business School, 08018 Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

The prevailing need for a more sustainable management of natural resources depends not only on the decisions made by governments and the will of the population, but also on the knowledge of the role of energy in our society and the relevance of preserving natural resources. In this sense, critical work is being done to instill key concepts—such as the circular economy and sustainable energy—in higher education institutions. In this way, it is expected that future professionals and managers will be aware of the importance of energy optimization, and will learn a series of computational methods that can support the decision-making process. In the context of higher education, this paper reviews the main trends and challenges related to the concepts of circular economy and sustainable energy. Besides, we analyze the role of simulation and serious games as a learning tool for the aforementioned concepts. Finally, the paper provides insights and discusses open research opportunities regarding the use of these computational tools to incorporate circular economy concepts in higher education degrees. Our findings show that, while efforts are being made to include these concepts in current programs, there is still much work to be done, especially from the point of view of university management. In addition, the analysis of the teaching methodologies analyzed shows that, although their implementation has been successful in favoring the active learning of students, their use (especially that of serious games) is not yet widespread.

Suggested Citation

  • Rocio de la Torre & Bhakti S. Onggo & Canan G. Corlu & Maria Nogal & Angel A. Juan, 2021. "The Role of Simulation and Serious Games in Teaching Concepts on Circular Economy and Sustainable Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:4:p:1138-:d:503141
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/4/1138/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/4/1138/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vasileios Rizos & Arno Behrens & Wytze Van der Gaast & Erwin Hofman & Anastasia Ioannou & Terri Kafyeke & Alexandros Flamos & Roberto Rinaldi & Sotiris Papadelis & Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers & Corrado , 2016. "Implementation of Circular Economy Business Models by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): Barriers and Enablers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Vanessa Simen Tchamyou, 2020. "Education, lifelong learning, inequality and financial access: evidence from African countries," Contemporary Social Science, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 7-25, January.
    3. John Sterman, 2014. "Interactive web-based simulations for strategy and sustainability: The MIT Sloan LearningEdge management flight simulators, Part II," System Dynamics Review, System Dynamics Society, vol. 30(3), pages 206-231, July.
    4. Nancy Bocken & Lars Strupeit & Katherine Whalen & Julia Nußholz, 2019. "A Review and Evaluation of Circular Business Model Innovation Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-25, April.
    5. Walter R. Stahel, 2016. "The circular economy," Nature, Nature, vol. 531(7595), pages 435-438, March.
    6. Christian Fikar & Angel A. Juan & Enoc Martinez & Patrick Hirsch, 2016. "A discrete-event driven metaheuristic for dynamic home service routing with synchronised trip sharing," European Journal of Industrial Engineering, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 10(3), pages 323-340.
    7. Ben Tirone Nunes & Simon J. T. Pollard & Paul J. Burgess & Gareth Ellis & Irel Carolina De los Rios & Fiona Charnley, 2018. "University Contributions to the Circular Economy: Professing the Hidden Curriculum," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-24, August.
    8. Tomasz Rokicki & Aleksandra Perkowska & Bogdan Klepacki & Hubert Szczepaniuk & Edyta Karolina Szczepaniuk & Stanisław Bereziński & Paulina Ziółkowska, 2020. "The Importance of Higher Education in the EU Countries in Achieving the Objectives of the Circular Economy in the Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-17, August.
    9. Korhonen, Jouni & Honkasalo, Antero & Seppälä, Jyri, 2018. "Circular Economy: The Concept and its Limitations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 37-46.
    10. Barbier, Edward B. & Burgess, Joanne C., 2019. "Sustainable development goal indicators: Analyzing trade-offs and complementarities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 295-305.
    11. Panwar, N.L. & Kaushik, S.C. & Kothari, Surendra, 2011. "Role of renewable energy sources in environmental protection: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 1513-1524, April.
    12. Javier Panadero & Angel A. Juan & Christopher Bayliss & Christine Currie, 2020. "Maximising reward from a team of surveillance drones: a simheuristic approach to the stochastic team orienteering problem," European Journal of Industrial Engineering, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 14(4), pages 485-516.
    13. John Sterman, 2014. "Interactive web-based simulations for strategy and sustainability: The MIT Sloan LearningEdge management flight simulators, Part I," System Dynamics Review, System Dynamics Society, vol. 30(1-2), pages 89-121, January.
    14. Jeffery B. Greenblatt & Max Wei, 2016. "Assessment of the climate commitments and additional mitigation policies of the United States," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(12), pages 1090-1093, December.
    15. Francesco Fuso Nerini & Julia Tomei & Long Seng To & Iwona Bisaga & Priti Parikh & Mairi Black & Aiduan Borrion & Catalina Spataru & Vanesa Castán Broto & Gabrial Anandarajah & Ben Milligan & Yacob Mu, 2018. "Mapping synergies and trade-offs between energy and the Sustainable Development Goals," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 3(1), pages 10-15, January.
    16. Alan Murray & Keith Skene & Kathryn Haynes, 2017. "The Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Concept and Application in a Global Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 369-380, February.
    17. Winans, K. & Kendall, A. & Deng, H., 2017. "The history and current applications of the circular economy concept," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P1), pages 825-833.
    18. Andrea M. Prado & Ronald Arce & Luis E. Lopez & Jaime García & Andy A. Pearson, 2020. "Simulations Versus Case Studies: Effectively Teaching the Premises of Sustainable Development in the Classroom," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 303-327, January.
    19. Stefano Bracco & Federico Delfino & Paola Laiolo & Andrea Morini, 2018. "Planning & Open-Air Demonstrating Smart City Sustainable Districts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-14, December.
    20. Deborah Sumter & Jotte de Koning & Conny Bakker & Ruud Balkenende, 2020. "Circular Economy Competencies for Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-16, February.
    21. Nowotny, Janusz & Dodson, John & Fiechter, Sebastian & Gür, Turgut M. & Kennedy, Brendan & Macyk, Wojciech & Bak, Tadeusz & Sigmund, Wolfgang & Yamawaki, Michio & Rahman, Kazi A., 2018. "Towards global sustainability: Education on environmentally clean energy technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2541-2551.
    22. Luis Miguel Fonseca & José Pedro Domingues & Alina Mihaela Dima, 2020. "Mapping the Sustainable Development Goals Relationships," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-15, April.
    23. Konstantinos Demestichas & Emmanouil Daskalakis, 2020. "Information and Communication Technology Solutions for the Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-19, September.
    24. Luis Miguel Fonseca & José Pedro Domingues & Maria Teresa Pereira & Florinda Figueiredo Martins & Dominik Zimon, 2018. "Assessment of Circular Economy within Portuguese Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-24, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Luca Piero Vecchio & Alexia Del Greco, 2023. "Game-Based Solutions and the Plastic Problem: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-33, March.
    2. Damjan Krajnc & Darko Kovačič & Eva Žunec & Kristijan Brglez & Rebeka Kovačič Lukman, 2022. "Youth Awareness and Attitudes towards a Circular Economy to Achieve the Green Deal Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, September.
    3. Vien-Thong Nguyen & Philip Hallinger & Parinya Showanasai, 2024. "Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Leading Change for Sustainability in Schools Simulation: A Research and Development Project," Simulation & Gaming, , vol. 55(1), pages 51-81, February.
    4. Sergey Zhironkin, 2022. "Advances in Sustainable Development: Technological and Economic Overview," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-5, September.
    5. Margarita Ignatyeva & Vera Yurak & Alexey Dushin & Vladimir Strovsky & Sergey Zavyalov & Alexander Malyshev & Polina Karimova, 2021. "How Far Away Are World Economies from Circularity: Assessing the Capacity of Circular Economy Policy Packages in the Operation of Raw Materials and Industrial Wastes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, April.
    6. Fabio De Felice & Antonella Petrillo, 2021. "Green Transition: The Frontier of the Digicircular Economy Evidenced from a Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-26, October.
    7. Ma. Janice J. Gumasing & Ron Fourier B. Alonzo & Jose Mari V. Nazareno & Ken Lance D. Guinto, 2023. "Antecedents of Cloud Gaming Acceptance among Gen Z: Achieving Sustainability in the Digital Gaming Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-16, June.
    8. Yishu Zhou & Joseph D. Smith & Greg Gelles, 2022. "Teaching Energy Economics in the GCC: A Synergistic Approach between Engineering and Economics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-11, September.
    9. Saskia Manshoven & Jeroen Gillabel, 2021. "Learning through Play: A Serious Game as a Tool to Support Circular Economy Education and Business Model Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-25, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gilbert Silvius & Aydan Ismayilova & Vicente Sales-Vivó & Micol Costi, 2021. "Exploring Barriers for Circularity in the EU Furniture Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-25, October.
    2. José María Martín Martín & Sara Calvo Martínez & José Manuel Guaita Martínez & Domingo Enrique Ribeiro Soriano, 2022. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Qualitative analysis on the driving force behind upcycling practices associated with mobile applications: Circular economy perspective," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 647-661, December.
    3. Tomasz Rokicki & Aleksandra Perkowska & Bogdan Klepacki & Hubert Szczepaniuk & Edyta Karolina Szczepaniuk & Stanisław Bereziński & Paulina Ziółkowska, 2020. "The Importance of Higher Education in the EU Countries in Achieving the Objectives of the Circular Economy in the Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-17, August.
    4. Ewa Mazur-Wierzbicka, 2021. "Towards Circular Economy—A Comparative Analysis of the Countries of the European Union," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-25, May.
    5. Sabina Scarpellini, 2022. "Social impacts of a circular business model: An approach from a sustainability accounting and reporting perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 646-656, May.
    6. Raphaëlle Stewart & Monia Niero, 2018. "Circular economy in corporate sustainability strategies: A review of corporate sustainability reports in the fast‐moving consumer goods sector," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 1005-1022, November.
    7. Daniel A. Salas & Paulina Criollo & Angel D. Ramirez, 2021. "The Role of Higher Education Institutions in the Implementation of Circular Economy in Latin America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, August.
    8. Mark Anthony Camilleri, 2021. "Sustainable Production and Consumption of Food. Mise-en-Place Circular Economy Policies and Waste Management Practices in Tourism Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-13, September.
    9. Aro, Joerabell Lourdes & Selerio, Egberto & Evangelista, Samantha Shane & Maturan, Fatima & Atibing, Nadine May & Ocampo, Lanndon, 2022. "Fermatean fuzzy CRITIC-CODAS-SORT for characterizing the challenges of circular public sector supply chains," Operations Research Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 9(C).
    10. Ghinoi, Stefano & Silvestri, Francesco & Steiner, Bodo, 2020. "The role of local stakeholders in disseminating knowledge for supporting the circular economy: a network analysis approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    11. Zhengai Dong & Lichen Zhang & Houjian Li & Yanhui Gong & Yue Jiang & Qiumei Peng, 2022. "Knowledge Mapping and Institutional Prospects on Circular Carbon Economy Based on Scientometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-25, September.
    12. Joshua Onome Imoniana & Washington Lopes Silva & Luciane Reginato & Valmor Slomski & Vilma Geni Slomski, 2020. "Sustainable Technologies for the Transition of Auditing towards a Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-23, December.
    13. Omar Alhawari & Usama Awan & M. Khurrum S. Bhutta & M. Ali Ülkü, 2021. "Insights from Circular Economy Literature: A Review of Extant Definitions and Unravelling Paths to Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-22, January.
    14. Maryam Hina & Chetna Chauhan & Rajat Sharma & Amandeep Dhir, 2023. "Circular economy business models as pillars of sustainability: Where are we now, and where are we heading?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 6182-6209, December.
    15. Millar, Neal & McLaughlin, Eoin & Börger, Tobias, 2019. "The Circular Economy: Swings and Roundabouts?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 11-19.
    16. Kirchherr, Julian & Piscicelli, Laura & Bour, Ruben & Kostense-Smit, Erica & Muller, Jennifer & Huibrechtse-Truijens, Anne & Hekkert, Marko, 2018. "Barriers to the Circular Economy: Evidence From the European Union (EU)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 264-272.
    17. Graziela Darla Araujo Galvão & Steve Evans & Paulo Sergio Scoleze Ferrer & Marly Monteiro de Carvalho, 2022. "Circular business model: Breaking down barriers towards sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1504-1524, May.
    18. Marcos Ferasso & Tatiana Beliaeva & Sascha Kraus & Thomas Clauss & Domingo Ribeiro‐Soriano, 2020. "Circular economy business models: The state of research and avenues ahead," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3006-3024, December.
    19. Concepción Garcés-Ayerbe & Pilar Rivera-Torres & Inés Suárez-Perales & Dante I. Leyva-de la Hiz, 2019. "Is It Possible to Change from a Linear to a Circular Economy? An Overview of Opportunities and Barriers for European Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Companies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-15, March.
    20. Chembessi Chedrak & Gohoungodji Paulin & Juste Rajaonson, 2023. "“A fine wine, better with age”: Circular economy historical roots and influential publications: A bibliometric analysis using Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS)," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(6), pages 1593-1612, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:4:p:1138-:d:503141. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.