Circular Economy and Sustainable Development (academic track)Laajuus (5 cr)

Objective

This academic track will help you to understand the strategies and determinants of circular economy and sustainable development. Topics of the track include circular economy business models, corporate social responsibility, creating shared value, sustainable development, and sustainable development goals.

The competences to develop in this course are sustainable development, learning to learn, and ethics.

Sustainable development:
You are able to understand the concept and principles of sustainable development in the context of business, and recognize sustainability challenges and their consequences for businesses, local communities, and global society,

Learning to learn:
You learn to formulate relevant questions and seek information. You can review relevant theoretical and empirical literature to comprehend diverse perspectives, understand new developments in your field of study, and make informed decisions based thereon. You can acquire the researcher’s mindset to problematize, explore, and understand real-life phenomena.

Ethics:
You understand and apply the well-established principles of responsible conduct in research.

Content

Circular economy, circular economy business models, corporate social responsibility, creating shared value, sustainable development, and sustainable development goals.

Qualifications

This academic track is for second-year students in the IB bachelor's degree programme.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Sufficient (1):
You are aware of the core concepts of circular economy and sustainable development. You can review academic literature in your research field. You understand the well-established principles of responsible conduct in research.
Satisfactory (2):
You are well aware of the concepts of circular economy and sustainable development. You can review academic literature in your research field in a relatively systematic manner. You understand and attempt to apply the well-established principles of responsible conduct in research.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Good (3):
You understand well the concepts of circular economy and sustainable development. You can recognize sustainability challenges and their consequences for businesses, local communities, and global society, You can review academic literature in your research field in a systematic manner. You understand and apply the well-established principles of responsible conduct in research.
Very good (4):
You understand very well the concepts of circular economy and sustainable development. You can discuss insightfully sustainability challenges and their consequences for businesses, local communities, and global society, You can review academic literature in your research field in a systematic manner and synthesize it insightfully. You understand and apply insightfully the well-established principles of responsible conduct in research.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

You understand exceptionally well the concepts of circular economy and sustainable development. You can discuss insightfully and critically sustainability challenges and their consequences for businesses, local communities, and global society, You can review academic literature in your research field in a systematic manner and synthesize it insightfully and critically. You understand and apply insightfully and critically the well-established principles of responsible conduct in research.

Materials

See below the course literature.

The below course literature as well as other learning materials will be provided by the teacher. In addition, you will select additional learning materials based on your research interests and thesis topic.