Collaborative project-based learning aims to get students to take responsibility for their knowledge processes. The objective of this research is to analyze the viability of applying circular economy techniques for the design and development of products, through learning based on collaborative projects in industrial engineering. A survey was carried out between 2015 and 2019 on final year students of industrial engineering in Spain, from five different academic years. The responses obtained were analyzed statistically. The results indicate that the students who had more previous knowledge about the circular economy, valued its relevance for the design and development of products as well as for the practice of the profession more. In addition, it was demonstrated that the implementation of circular economy strategies in the design and development of products through collaborative projects allows the acquisition of different knowledge: eco-design, product planning and distribution, reuse, recycling, etc. Moreover, most of the students considered that the circular economy should be a complementary discipline and a transversal competence.
Motivational orientations predispose and condition behaviour, and determine the degree of assimilation of concepts by students during their training stage. Knowing them allows professors to conduct their lessons in order to favour maximum achievement for students. The objective of this work is to evaluate the motivation that guides the learning process of Industrial Engineering students at the University of Extremadura (Spain). About three quarters of the students present a high motivation for learning; half of them tend to be result-oriented and less than 10% show a high level of fear of failure. Homogeneous groups were formed based on the level of each dimension, and influential teaching methodologies were discussed. Therefore, it is possible to create a context that favors the acquisition of knowledge by students according to their motivations, and thus achieve maximum academic performance from them. The results shown here may be interesting for the design of promotional activities for SDGs in the university context.
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