Postgraduate Course: Circular Futures (EFIE11422)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh Futures Institute |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | *Programme Core Course: Circular Economy (MSc)*
Please Note:
This course is only available to students enrolled on the Circular Economy (MSc) degree programme.
Circular Futures is a transdisciplinary course with input from academic and external partners. Students will develop an understanding of the Circular Economy as a speculative and contested domain which offers creative opportunity for positive societal change across sectors and scales leading to a more sustainable future.
Through 5 interrelated topics, the course will create a scaffold for students to explore their own interests and develop expertise through diverse EFI options courses as part of their bespoke Circular Economy learning experience. |
| Course description |
Students will develop an understanding of the Circular Economy as a speculative and contested domain which offers opportunity for positive societal change across sectors and scales leading to a more sustainable future. By exploring Circular Futures through 5 interrelated topics, the course will create a scaffold for students to explore their own interests and develop expertise through diverse EFI options courses as part of their bespoke CE learning experience.
Indicative Topics:
- Problematising the Linear
- Circular Systems
- Circular Business Models
- Circular Design
- Circular Metrics
In each topic students will be introduced to interdisciplinary circular concepts, theories and case studies by guest lecturers from across the University of Edinburgh. Each topic will situate the learning in current practice with sessions from practitioners working towards more circular futures. Across the duration of the course, alongside developing their understanding of circular futures, students will have the opportunity to explore tools and develop skills needed for more circular futures through hands-on workshops.
Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) - Hybrid Course Delivery Information:
The Edinburgh Futures Institute delivers many of its courses in hybrid mode. This means that you may have some online students joining sessions for this course. To enable this, the course will use technologies to record and live-stream student and staff participation during their teaching and learning activities.
Students should be aware that:
- Classrooms used in this course will have additional technology in place: in some cases, students might not be able to sit in areas away from microphones or outside the field of view of all cameras.
- All presentations, and whole class discussions will be recorded (see the Lecture Recording and Virtual Classroom policies for more details).
- You will need access to a personal computing device for this course. Most activities will take place in a web browser, unless otherwise stated. We recommend using a device with a screen, physical keyboard, and internet access.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 20,
Fieldwork Hours 3,
Online Activities 10,
Formative Assessment Hours 7,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
156 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The course will be assessed by means of the following summative assessment components:
1) Annotated Policy/Strategy (1000 Words) (30%)
Students will identify a CE policy or strategy from their home country/city or an organisation in a sector of their choice. Students will critically evaluate the policy through annotation, using academic literature to support comments. Students will review annotation with a group of peers, and write a 750 word support of their annotated policy document.
Learning Outcomes Assessed by Component: 1, 2, 3
2) Circular Futures Group Report (70%)
Students will identify an innovation to support a Circular Future drawing on academic and grey literature to support the design. They will communicate the innovation through a multimodal output to a diverse audience, and collect data on responses to their innovation. Students are required to write a 2000 word report on the process, drawing on evidence to support the proposition, summarise and reflect on the feedback from peers and wider professional CE community.
Learning Outcomes Assessed by Component: 1, 3, 4, 5 |
| Feedback |
Feedback on any formative assessment may be provided in various formats, for example, to include written, oral, video, face-to-face, whole class, or individual. The Course Organiser will decide which format is most appropriate in relation to the nature of the assessment.
Feedback on both formative and summative in-course assessed work will be provided in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course.
Feedback on the summative assessment will be provided in written form via Learn, the University of Edinburgh's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Formative Feedback Opportunity:
Formative feedback is ongoing feedback which monitors learning and is intended to improve performance in the same course, in future courses, and also beyond study.
Students will be given an opportunity for peer-feedback on their work in Week 2 (Assessment 1) and Week 5 (Assessment 2).
For Assessment 1, students will be encouraged to share their annotated policy documents in groups of 3, with their peers offering feedback on their observations as well as comparing the findings with their own work.
For Assessment 2, groups will have the opportunity to present their innovation to the class during an intensive teaching session in week 5 - allowing them to adapt their design before presenting it to a wider audience in Week 6. Students are required to collect and respond to feedback in their final submission due in Week 7.
A weekly optional 'feedback drop-in' lunchtime drop-in session will be held with course leads for students to share their reflections and learning. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and problematise linear systems of resource-use.
- Critically evaluate circular initiatives from environmental, social and place-based perspectives.
- Create innovative circular solutions across micro (individual), meso (local) and macro scales (national and international).
- Communicate circular visions to diverse audiences.
- Critically reflect and respond to diverse perspectives on circular futures.
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Reading List
Essential Reading:
Brandão, M. et al. (2020) The Handbook of the Circular Economy Elgar (selected chapters).
Corvellec, H., Stowell, A.F. and Johansson, N., (2022). Critiques of the circular economy. Journal of industrial ecology, 26(2), pp.421-432.
Gregson, N. (2023) The Waste of the World: Consumption, Economies and the Making of the Global Waste Problem Routledge.
Recommended Reading:
Abu-Bakar, H., Charnley, F., Hopkinson, P. and Morasae, E.K., (2024) Towards a typological framework for circular economy roadmaps: A comprehensive analysis of global adoption strategies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 434, p.140066.
Reich, R.H., Vermeyen, V., Alaerts, L. and Van Acker, K., 2023. How to measure a circular economy: A holistic method compiling policy monitors. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 188, p.106707.
Schröder, P., Anggraeni, K., Anantharaman, M. and Foxon, T.J., (2019) The Circular Economy and the Global South. London: Routledge.
Further Reading:
D'amato, D. and Korhonen, J., (2021) Integrating the green economy, circular economy and bioeconomy in a strategic sustainability framework. Ecological Economics, 188, p.107143.
Liu, Z., Schraven, D., de Jong, M. and Hertogh, M., (2023) The societal strength of transition: a critical review of the circular economy through the lens of inclusion. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 30(7), pp.826-849. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Circular Economy,Sustainable Futures,Waste,Resource Management,EFI |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lucy Wishart
Tel:
Email: Lucy.Wishart@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Abby Gleave
Tel: (0131 6)51 1337
Email: abby.gleave@ed.ac.uk |
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