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    The importance of industrial ecology in engineering education for sustainable development

    191014_191014.pdf (255.4Kb)
    Access Status
    Open access
    Authors
    Biswas, Wahidul
    Date
    2012
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
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    Citation
    Biswas, Wahidul K. 2012. The importance of industrial ecology in engineering education for sustainable development. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 13 (2): pp. 119-132.
    Source Title
    International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
    DOI
    10.1108/14676371211211818
    ISSN
    1467-6370
    Remarks

    This article is © Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here - http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au/R. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/48123
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how industrial ecology can facilitate the achievement of sustainable development through its incorporation into an engineering curriculum. Design/methodology/approach – A model has been developed for assessing sustainability learning outcomes due to the incorporation of the concept of industrial ecology into undergraduate and postgraduate engineering programs. This model assesses how the Engineering Faculty at Curtin University has included a core engineering unit (Engineering for Sustainable Development) and four postgraduate units (Cleaner Production Tools, Eco-efficiency, Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Technology) in its undergraduate and postgraduate engineering program, to enable modern engineering education to reflect the benefits of industrial ecology in the implementation of sustainable engineering solutions and decision-making processes. Using this model, this paper demonstrates how the syllabus, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary assignment tasks, lectures and tutorials have been developed since 2006 in order to develop the concept of industrial ecology in undergraduate and postgraduate engineering education. The paper has also analysed the different teaching methods that have been applied since 2006 to generate increased student satisfaction in these new and challenging subjects.Findings – The university environment can temper the potential outcomes from increasing the sustainability content in engineering education, given the general lack of student maturity in understanding the value of sustainability objectives together with course limitations on sustainability content and the arduous and lengthy processes involved in changing course curricula. Research limitations/implications – Since the Engineering for Sustainable Development unit has been introduced only recently, it was beyond the scope of the research to interview graduate engineers who completed this unit to investigate how they have applied the concept of industrial ecology to achieve sustainability outcomes in their workplaces. Originality/value – This research is distinct in that it investigated the implications of the incorporation of industrial ecology into the engineering curriculum.

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