MT2579 - Design for a Circular Economy - Blekinge Institute of Technology

1. Descision

This course is established by Dean 2023-04-13. The course syllabus is approved by Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering 2023-09-01 and applies from 2024-11-20.

2. Entry requirements

Admission to the course requires completed Innovative and Sustainable Product Development 1. Further taken courses in basic Industrial Economics, 6 credits, Mathematical Statistics, 6 credits as well as Design Thinking, 6 credits.

3. Objective and content

3.1 Objective

Målet med denna kurs är att ge studenterna en förståelse för hur cirkulär ekonomi har kommit att påverka traditionella produktutvecklingsprocesser. Kursen innehåller metoder och verktyg för att planera, kartlägga, designa, bedöma och utvärdera alternativa cirkulära lösningskoncept i tidig design. Studenterna kommer vidare att kunna tillämpa kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder för att bedöma sådana strategier ur ett värde- och hållbarhetsperspektiv.

3.2 Content

After an introduction to the circular economy, the course will present to the students four 'Design for R' strategies: Reuse, Repair, Remanufacture, and Recycle. The students will learn about methods and tools to map the entire solution lifecycle and understand the fundamental needs of customers and stakeholders to create designs that can be easily disassembled, reconfigured, or combined with other products to create a new function or product.
The students will first discuss principles and practices related to a Design-for-Reuse approach, which focuses on designing products and systems that can be reused after their original intended use.
They will then learn about methods and tools to support Design-for-Repair, a strategy based on increasing product life and reducing waste by enabling repair rather than replacement. DfR is about designing products that are easy to disassemble, and that also means using durable materials that are easy to repair.
The students will learn about principles for, and simulation methods to support, Design-for-Manufacturing and Design-for-Recycling activities. The work will focus on applying a discrete event simulation (DES) approach to identify bottlenecks in circular processes and to model complex new reverse logistics systems, as well as to calculate the performance of cleaning and conditioning facilities.

4. Learning outcomes

The following learning outcomes are examined in the course:

4.1. Knowledge and understanding

Explain key concepts for circular product design.
Explain the societal and technological trends for the circular economy and explain their importance for the development of new products and solutions.
Explain how the development of new circular solutions (products and services) is organized.
Reflect on the use of methods and tools to support each phase of the circular innovation process.

4.2. Competence and skills

Use methods and tools to determine which circular strategy is relevant for a given product.
Categorize and describe target groups and customer types for new circular solutions, as well as analyze customer experience with existing products.
Apply simpler ethnographic methods, i.e.. interviews and observation in a suitable environment.
Formulate and prioritize the list of needs for innovative circular products.
Apply qualitative methods and tools for concept selection.
Apply quantitative valuation modeling techniques.
Apply modeling and simulation tools to assess the value of circular solutions.
Apply simpler techniques for prototyping and testing.
Plan and execute a team-based design project.
Explain - orally and in writing - results and conclusions, in dialogue with other students.

4.3. Judgement and approach

Critically assess circular product development initiatives from a value (desirability, feasibility, viability) and sustainability (people, planet, profit) perspective.
Reflect on their own - and others' - methods, insights and conclusions.

5. Learning activities

The course is based on a problem-based learning approach, where the participants' active participation and reflections, both in teams and individually, are the key to good learning. Through a mixture of short theory presentations (on methods, tools and strategies), own work, active participation in joint exercises, and self-reflection activities, the student will develop an understanding of how circular product development is organised.

The lectures will feature a mix of theory, examples and case studies, to help students grasp the basic principles behind circular business models, and the building blocks of the circular economy. The course also includes lectures on design and innovation for circular product development, which contain short theoretical overviews, workshops, tutorials and exercises aimed at giving participants a first-hand experience of methods and tools for value-driven development, including target group analysis, needs analysis and concept selection.

Participants carry out a project work in different team constellations and will share their experiences/lessons learned via written documentation, group work, and presentations. The course project is conducted during the course's entire study period and challenges the students to think about the implementation of the proposed concepts for circular design, further relating them to sustainability, business and technology aspects.

Techniques for peer review and group coaching (feedforward) are used throughout the course to ensure critical reflection regarding both processes and results. The results of the course project are reported in a written report, which forms the basis for grading.

6. Assessment and grading

Modes of examinations of the course

Code	Module	Credit	Grade
2405	Written Assignment 1	3 credits	AF
2415	Written Assignment 2	1.5 credits	GU
2425	Project Assignment	3 credits	AF

The course will be graded A Excellent, B Very good, C Good, D Satisfactory, E Sufficient, FX Failed result, a little more work required, F Fail.

The information before the start of the course states the assessment criteria and make explicit in which modes of examination that the learning outcomes are assessed.

An examiner can, after consulting the Disability Advisor at BTH, decide on a customized examination form for a student with a long-term disability to be provided with an examination equivalent to one given to a student who is not disabled.

7. Course evaluation

The course evaluation should be carried out in line with BTH:s course evaluation template and process.

8. Restrictions regarding degree

The course can form part of a degree but not together with another course the content of which completely or partly corresponds with the contents of this course.

9. Course literature and other materials of instruction

Shahbazi, S., Jönbrink, A. K., Jensen, T. H., Pigosso, D. C. A., & McAloone, T. C. (2020). Circular Product Design and Development: CIRCit Workbook 3. Technical University of Denmark.
Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. A. (2014). Blue Ocean Strategy, expanded edition: How to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant. Harvard Business Review Press. ISBN 9781625274496.
Other learning resources: Scientific articles and industry cases are distributed during the course.

Course syllabus