Teaching Sustainable Engineering and Industrial Ecology using a Hybrid Problem-Project Based Learning Approach

Sriraman, Vedaraman; Torres, Anthony; Ortiz, Araceli Martínez

doi:10.18260/1-2--28925

Cited by 5 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…This mirrors the outcome of the literature review in Section 3.1 , where several authors (e.g. Margallo et al 2019 ; Sriraman et al 2017a , b ) emphasize the importance of project- and problem-based learning approaches and others provide examples of real-life company cases being the core element of their teaching concepts (see Cosme et al 2019 ; Lockrey and Bissett Johnson 2013 ; Piekarski et al 2019 ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 56%

“…Different authors reported the relevance of project-based learning (e.g. Lockrey and Bissett Johnson 2013 ; Margallo et al 2019 ; Piekarski et al 2019 ; Sriraman et al 2017a , b ), most of the time through a life cycle assessment project developed by the students and using one or different LCA commercial software. Some studies presented experiences with cases developed in partnership with industrial partners (Cosme et al 2019 ; Piekarski et al 2019 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies presented experiences with cases developed in partnership with industrial partners (Cosme et al 2019 ; Piekarski et al 2019 ). As emphasized by Sriraman et al ( 2017a , b ), an appropriate pedagogy is essential to activate student engagement in the learning process and facilitate a deeper learning.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Teaching life cycle assessment in higher education

Viere

Amor

Berger

et al. 2020

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose Scientific Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) literature provides some examples of LCA teaching in higher education, but not a structured overview of LCA teaching contents and related competencies. Hence this paper aims at assessing and highlighting trends in LCA learning outcomes, teaching approaches and developed content used to equip graduates for their future professional practices in sustainability. Methods Based on a literature review on teaching LCA in higher education and a collaborative consensus building approach through expert group panel discussions, an overview of LCA learning and competency levels with related teaching contents and corresponding workload is developed. The levels are built on the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and Bloom’s taxonomy of learning. Results and discussion The paper frames five LCA learning and competency levels that differ in terms of study program integration, workload, cognitive domain categories, learning outcomes, and envisioned professional skills. It furthermore provides insights into teaching approaches and content, including software use, related to these levels. Conclusions and recommendations This paper encourages and supports higher educational bodies to implement a minimum of ‘life cycle literacy’ into students’ curriculum across various domains by increasing the availability, visibility and quality of their teaching on life cycle thinking and LCA.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Teaching life cycle assessment in higher education

Viere

Amor

Berger

et al. 2020

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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“…Many professional organizations are establishing Sustainability forums and consortiums, as well as renowned universities have included courses in sustainable engineering, industrial ecology and ecodesign in their engineering/technology curriculum to better prepare tomorrow's chemical engineering professional (Sriraman et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating life cycle assessment and ecodesign tools for green chemical engineering: A case study of competences and learning outcomes assessment

Margallo

Domínguez-Ramos

Aldaco

2019

Education for Chemical Engineers

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Chemical engineers assume a broad range of functions in industry, spanning the development of new process designs, the maintenance and optimization of incumbent systems, and the production of intermediate materials, final products and new technologies. The technical aptitude that enables chemical engineers to fulfill these various roles along the value chain makes them compelling participants in the environmental assessment of the product in question. Therefore, the introduction of life cycle assessment (LCA) and ecodesign concepts into the chemical engineering curriculum is essential to help these future professionals to face design problems with a holistic view of the technical, economic, social and environmental impacts of their solutions. The teaching of these and other disciplines by means of student-centered methods, based on a holistic structure, have demonstrate better teamwork and communication skills. For that reason, this paper proposes a Micro (Assess-Analyze-Act) (M-3A) model of assessment mainly focused on closing the loop of learning activities. This model has been applied to an ecodesign case study of the Master of Chemical

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“…Environmental education has been marked by numerous facts, which are bases for developments seen today (Leal Filho et al, 2015), for example, the Industrial Ecology (IE) and some of its central concepts, such as Ecodesign and LCA, have been gaining worldwide importance (Boyle, 2004;Cushman-Roisin et al, 1999;Sriraman et al, 2017). Sustainability has been a key driver in the education of engineers (Lockrey and Johnson, 2013) for when they leave university they will be responsible for putting into practice all their learning towards cleaner and more sustainable practices in the conception, redesign, engineering and reengineering and management of products, processes and services.…”

Section: Teaching Life Cycle Assessment and Ecodesign In Engineering Coursesmentioning

confidence: 99%

LCA and ecodesign teaching via university-industry cooperation

Piekarski

Puglieri

Araújo

et al. 2019

IJSHE

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on a life cycle assessment (LCA)-based ecodesign teaching practice via university-industry collaboration in an industrial engineering undergraduate course. Design/methodology/approach A new course was designed and taught in the Industrial Engineering undergraduate course of a Federal University in Brazil. The course comprised explanatory lectures and a practical project developed in a partnership between the university and an industry partner where students had to develop Ecodesign proposals based on LCA to improve the environmental profile of both solid and reticulated paint brushes. To that end, students used the LCA software tool Umberto NXT v.7.1.13 (educational version), where they modeled the life cycle of four plastic brushes and assessed it using the impact categories of climate change and resource consumption, and the Ecoinvent v.3.3 database. After course completion, students, professors and industry collaborators were asked to provide feedback on the project performance and expectations. Findings The course design used was welcomed by both students and the industry partner. Students found the novel approach intriguing and useful to their future careers. The results also exceeded the industry partner’s expectations, as students formulated valuable insights. Professors observed that learning was made easier, as content was put into practice and internalized more easily and solidly. The approach was found to be a win-win-win. Practical implications Students acquired a fair share of knowledge on sustainability issues and potential existing trade-offs, which is valuable to industrial practices. The industry noticed the valuable contributions that academia can provide. The university profited from providing students with a real case challenging traditional teaching methods. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first case studies to show how LCA and ecodesign teaching practice can support sustainability learning in an industrial engineering undergraduate course.

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Teaching Sustainable Engineering and Industrial Ecology using a Hybrid Problem-Project Based Learning Approach

Cited by 5 publications

References 7 publications

Teaching life cycle assessment in higher education

Teaching life cycle assessment in higher education

Incorporating life cycle assessment and ecodesign tools for green chemical engineering: A case study of competences and learning outcomes assessment

LCA and ecodesign teaching via university-industry cooperation

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