IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i19p10491-d640272.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Teaching Industrial Ecology to Undergraduate Students: Lessons Learned

Author

Listed:
  • Changhao Liu

    (School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Raymond Côté

    (School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada)

Abstract

Industrial ecology (IE) education is a topic that has received attention in institutions of higher education throughout the world. Some universities have been teaching and researching IE for the past 20 years but its scope is still being defined. There is a need to catalog and exchange experiences of IE teaching and their results. Based on a literature review, this paper aims to provide a framework composed of content and strategies for IE teaching. This framework is tested in teaching IE as a general education course for undergraduate students at Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT). The methodology applied in this paper is of a descriptive and empirical nature and thus this paper focuses on a practice-oriented perspective in describing the experience of BIT. A range of different strategies, including lectures, group discussions, case studies, role playing games, oral presentations, evaluation, and student feedback have been incorporated in the course. The results show that the course received a highly positive evaluation by the participating students. Students were impressed by IE’s characteristics of interdisciplinarity, ways of thinking, and practical value. Additionally, the course appears to influence students’ values, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. The paper concludes with some thoughts on ways of improving IE education in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Changhao Liu & Raymond Côté, 2021. "Teaching Industrial Ecology to Undergraduate Students: Lessons Learned," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-22, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:10491-:d:640272
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/19/10491/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/19/10491/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Changhao Liu & Raymond Côté, 2017. "A Framework for Integrating Ecosystem Services into China’s Circular Economy: The Case of Eco-Industrial Parks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-20, August.
    2. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    3. Yong Geng & Bruce Mitchell & Qinghua Zhu, 2009. "Teaching Industrial Ecology at Dalian University of Technology," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 13(6), pages 978-989, December.
    4. Noemi Peña Miguel & Javier Corral Lage & Ana Mata Galindez, 2020. "Assessment of the Development of Professional Skills in University Students: Sustainability and Serious Games," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Lei Shi, 2017. "Industrial Ecology Education at Tsinghua University," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(2), pages 423-429, April.
    6. Han Shi & Yuichi Moriguichi & Jianxin Yang, 2003. "Industrial Ecology in China, Part II Education," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 7(1), pages 5-8, January.
    7. Kristan Cockerill, 2013. "A Failure Reveals Success," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 17(5), pages 633-641, October.
    8. Wei Ning & Pengyu Chen & Feng Wu & Kristan Cockerill & Nansheng Deng, 2007. "Industrial Ecology Education at Wuhan University," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 11(3), pages 147-153, July.
    9. Ashley Finlayson & Karine Markewitz & Jean-Marc Frayret, 2014. "Postsecondary Education in Industrial Ecology Across the World," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 18(6), pages 931-941, December.
    10. Deanna H. Matthews & Troy R. Hawkins & Paulina Jaramillo & Joe Marriott & Aurora L. Sharrard, 2009. "The Green Design Apprenticeship," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 13(3), pages 467-476, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Andrea L. Hicks, 2022. "The role of community‐based learning in teaching about industrial ecology and sustainability in the context of engineering education: A case study from the field," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(3), pages 1136-1146, June.
    2. Deepti Mishra & Alok Mishra, 2020. "Sustainability Inclusion in Informatics Curriculum Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Kangas, Patrick & Seibel, Gary E., 2018. "An industrial ecology teaching exercise on cycling e-waste," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 371(C), pages 119-122.
    4. Mechthild Donner & Anne Verniquet & Jan Broeze & Katrin Kayser & Hugo de Vries, 2021. "Critical success and risk factors for circular business models valorising agricultural waste and by-products," Post-Print hal-03004851, HAL.
    5. Cornelis Leeuwen & Jos Frijns & Annemarie Wezel & Frans Ven, 2012. "City Blueprints: 24 Indicators to Assess the Sustainability of the Urban Water Cycle," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(8), pages 2177-2197, June.
    6. CHEN, Helen S.Y., 2020. "Designing Sustainable Humanitarian Supply Chains," OSF Preprints m82ar, Center for Open Science.
    7. Jim Butcher, 2006. "The United Nations International Year of Ecotourism: a critical analysis of development implications," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 6(2), pages 146-156, April.
    8. Denise Ravet, 2011. "Lean production: the link between supply chain and sustainable development in an international environment," Post-Print hal-00691666, HAL.
    9. Mara Del Baldo, 2012. "Corporate social responsibility and corporate governance in Italian SMEs: the experience of some “spirited businesses”," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(1), pages 1-36, February.
    10. Megan Devonald & Nicola Jones & Sally Youssef, 2022. "‘We Have No Hope for Anything’: Exploring Interconnected Economic, Social and Environmental Risks to Adolescents in Lebanon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, February.
    11. Rigby, Dan & Woodhouse, Phil & Young, Trevor & Burton, Michael, 2001. "Constructing a farm level indicator of sustainable agricultural practice," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 463-478, December.
    12. Michael Howes & Liana Wortley & Ruth Potts & Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes & Silvia Serrao-Neumann & Julie Davidson & Timothy Smith & Patrick Nunn, 2017. "Environmental Sustainability: A Case of Policy Implementation Failure?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, January.
    13. Shiferaw, Bekele & Holden, Stein, 1999. "Soil Erosion and Smallholders' Conservation Decisions in the Highlands of Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 739-752, April.
    14. Ibrahim Ari & Muammer Koc, 2018. "Sustainable Financing for Sustainable Development: Understanding the Interrelations between Public Investment and Sovereign Debt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, October.
    15. Parnphumeesup, Piya & Kerr, Sandy A., 2011. "Stakeholder preferences towards the sustainable development of CDM projects: Lessons from biomass (rice husk) CDM project in Thailand," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3591-3601, June.
    16. Pengji Wang & Adrian T. H. Kuah & Qinye Lu & Caroline Wong & K. Thirumaran & Emmanuel Adegbite & Wesley Kendall, 2021. "The impact of value perceptions on purchase intention of sustainable luxury brands in China and the UK," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(3), pages 325-346, May.
    17. Christoph M. Schmidt & Nils aus dem Moore, 2014. "Wie geht es uns? Die W3-Indikatoren für eine neue Wohlstandsmessung," RWI Positionen, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, pages 16, 03.
    18. Katundu Imasiku & Valerie M. Thomas & Etienne Ntagwirumugara, 2020. "Unpacking Ecological Stress from Economic Activities for Sustainability and Resource Optimization in Sub-Saharan Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-12, April.
    19. Chin-Shan Lu & Kuo-Chung Shang & Chi-Chang Lin, 2016. "Examining sustainability performance at ports: port managers’ perspectives on developing sustainable supply chains," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(8), pages 909-927, November.
    20. Kebede, Yohannes, 1993. "The Limits to Common Resource Management: The Bypassed Commons or Commons without Tragedy," MPRA Paper 662, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 May 1993.

    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:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:10491-:d:640272. 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.