The Circular Economy: Theory and Practice

About this course

Additional course information

• Course topics

  The course lasts two weeks and contains 7 lectures, 4 excursions to illustrate circularity - in nature, in the city, and in (business) organizations, and 2 one-day workshops to create social innovations for circularity. 

  The course contains four topics: 

  • What is the circular economy and what are reasons to transition towards it: 1 guest lecture, 1 lecture and 1 excursion to the forest with an international guest.
  • What is the donut economy: 1 lecture and 1 excursion to the city
  • What are social barriers of the circular economy: 1 lecture 
  • What are social innovations for the circular economy: 1 guest lecture, 1 lecture and 2 excursion to (business) organizations

  These four topics are integrated in one lecture where the most effective and motivating social innovations are evaluated. This lecture is developed in collaboration with Effective Altruism, and more specifically Koen Schoenmakers (MIT, USA), the founder of an Effective Altruism student group in Rotterdam. Further practical integration happens in co-creation sessions and individual study where students investigate and create the most effective and motivating social innovations for the circular economy. 

  The classes and co-creation sessions will be on the VU Campus. The excursions will all be in the city of Amsterdam (such as the Amsterdamse Bos). Students will be asked to read Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth; and 6 scientific papers on circularity. This course teaches several skills that can be applied in a practical context and in further career or study. 

  Creativity: The course will encourage students to identify and reflect on examples of circularity in nature. This will help them to think of strategies for circularity and to recognize existing instances of circularity in their home region as well as abroad. It will also nurture creative ideas about new possibilities for circularity. This creative idea-generation skill can be applied to any situation that requires new ideas but in particular in contexts where biomimicry is useful. 

  Understanding about the circular economy and the donut economy: The course will teach students to explain the reasons for a transition towards the circular economy and the strategies for achieving circularity. This will be increasingly useful in a European context where governments are aiming to achieve circularity by 2050. 

  Self-reflection: students will be encouraged to reflect on the most effective and motivating social innovations for achieving a socially just and environmentally sustainable circular economy. This requires self-reflection, to distill what career path is personally motivating to the student. This can help them in their future career or study choices.

• Forms of tuition and assessment

  Forms of tuition

  - Lectures and guest lectures
  - Excursions (to the forest, to the city of Amsterdam, to business/organizations)
  - Workshops
  - Student presentations

  Language of instruction: English

  Forms of assessment

  • knowledge quizzes
  • project development and presentation
  • portfolio

• Learning objectives

  By the end of this course you will:

  • know, understand, and explain social (economic, political, cultural, market, regulatory) barriers and enablers of the circular economy
  • know, understand, and explain the reasons for the transition towards the circular economy
  • know, understand, and explain the different strategies as methods to enhance material circularity
  • have research skills to reflect on social innovations for circularity
  • design your own social innovation for circularity
  • have research skills to analyze social innovations for circularity.

• Preliminary syllabus

  Here you can download the preliminary course syllabus for 2024.

  ^{*Please note that it is a preliminary syllabus and that it might be subject to some change before the course starts.}

• About the course coordinator

  Katinka Quintelier is an associate professor in Strategy & Ethics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, with a PhD in Philosophy (2011) and a PhD in Business Administration (2020). She teaches Business Ethics (a field where philosophy and business come together) and Multi-Stakeholder Management (a field where psychology and management come together). In her research, Katinka is closely following the circular economy in the Netherlands, especially its social side. She focuses on how the circular economy in the Netherlands and Europe can create (1) social value and (2) environmental value while (3) being financially sustainable. Katinka is also a member of the works council, where she represents employees of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and of the advisory board of the Sustainability Office, where she advices about the environmental sustainability of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.