Circular Economy and Technology Assessment

Course description

Learning goals: After the course the student should be familiar with basics in Circular Economy, ethical theory, corporate ethics and technology assessment. Most importantly, the student should have an understanding of the human aspects of (engineering) work. A goal is to give the students building blocks in their strive towards ethical autonomy at work.

Topics:

• Circular Economy, core concepts, business models etc. Assignments on CE.
• Professional values, responsibilities and judgement. An introduction to what professional work requires from an ethical point of view.
• Ethical theory, such as utilitarian ethics, rule based ethics, virtue ethics, rights based ethics and a few more. (asynchronous lectures)
• CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility or CR, Corporate Responsibility. (Asynchronous lectures). We work in a context, an organization and these organizations define much of the boundaries for the professional behavior. Thus, it is important for an employee to have an idea about corporate values and ethics as well.
• Technology Assessment, core concepts, aims with TA, criteria, different methods etc. An assignment, a case study on TA.

Discussions will be opened in Moodle on the topics. Small case studies to be handed in and to comment on other’s contributions.

Prerequisites

Target Group All students concerned about social and environmental sustainability. Studies in a technical field is an advantage, but not a prerequisite for the course.

Assessment criteria

Assessment: 1–2 The student does the assignments and shows a basic knowledge and understanding of the concepts introduced in the course. 3–4 The student can analyze the cases based on the ethical theories presented in the course and also discuss alternative courses of actions in the cases from different ethical, technical and economical perspectives based on TA and CE-frameworks supported by relevant sources. 5 In addition to the above mentioned, the student shows a good mature understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in different ethical perspectives and can also evaluate their applicability in engineering practice as presented in the cases. The student also shows an ability to evaluate technical solutions based on the content of the course in terms of TA and CE supported by relevant academic sources.

Course way of working and time table

Mode of delivery: All lectures and tasks and Q&A for the course will be shared with you on the course platform Moodle. The course is asynchronous, with small tasks to do spread over several weeks. In other words,  you can do the work with this course where and when it suites you, in your own pace, fast or slow.

Timeframe: Course start on September 16th and ends on December 6th 2024. Deadlines for modules within the course will be set in Moodle during the course.

Course info

Literature: Alongside the lectures and tasks, there will be recommended readings from Withbeck, C.: Ethics in Engineering Practice and Research, first or second edition and from other sources. Readings will be specified on Moodle.Ro

Course additional info

Course enrolment info

Enrolment Information

Use the email address of your UAS in your enrolment information. You cannot enrol for the course after last date of enrolment. Please note, if your home UAS uses the cross-study service, please register for the study through your  Peppi. More information on the use of the cross-study service can be found on our website.

If the cross-study service is not yet in use by your home university and it is not possible to enrol through Peppi, make enrolment for the study through this link.