To give a sense of the current learning landscape for a circular economy, Ellen MacArthur Foundation Research Analyst, Tim Forslund has spent the past six months researching current circular economy learning offerings, visible online, and available in higher education institutions globally.
The research is the first of its kind and captures learning offerings from 138 higher education institutions, taught in the languages of English, Dutch, Finnish and Chinese. The work shows that most of the learning offerings are found in the space of more traditional sustainability-related studies, engineering, business, and design.
From a geographical perspective, Finland and the Netherlands are the front runners in this space, with 38% of all higher education institutions identified here, followed by a further 15% in the UK. The findings also suggest that within these institutions, there is a large focus on resource use and waste, life-cycle assessments, circular business models, design, and the social aspects of a circular economy.
This landscaping piece is the first of its kind; the main aim of which is to provide a global snapshot of the momentum in the circular economy learning space in higher education. We hope this work will be a useful reference point for learners and circular economy teaching practitioners.
Explore Tim’s research findings below, which includes an interactive map, case studies and infographics.