Circular Economy in Engineering Education: Enhancing Quality through Project-Based Learning and Assessment

This study was planned to investigate an approach to involve sustainability in the engineering education process. An approach based on experiments on a group of students has been performed to assess the effect of including a project-based learning (PBL) strategy in a former theoretical engineering course titled “Material Science”. The study focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations (UN): Quality Education, gender equality, reasonable consumption, and production. A survey was carried out to evaluate the process in three sorts (Pre-, Mid, and After-course assessments) for 10 working diverse groups with a capacity of two to four students each. The comparison of three survey results showed that the PBL method and Circular economy (CE) concept is successful in engineering education. The diverse composition of student groups, the range of selected products, and the systematic approaches to assessment and feedback collectively enhance the richness and inclusivity of the learning experience. These elements foster a deeper comprehension of circular economy principles among students and support the SDGs' overarching goals by encouraging collaboration, inclusivity, and responsible practices. Moving forward, efforts should focus on pinpointing critical strategies for embedding circular economic concepts into foundational educational frameworks.