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Challenge

Circular economy for office furniture

Circular economy for office furniture

Help to speed up the office furniture sector’s transition towards a circular and innovative economy
Finished

Our challenge

In the office furniture sector, many resources are still being wasted and new office furniture is usually not designed for reuse, repair, refurbishment or recycling. At the same time, the way we work is changing rapidly and constantly and requires office furniture that is modular, adaptable and recyclable. Bringing our ideas together, we want to engage on this topic, trying to identifiy approaches and solutions that bring the biggest impact to a sustainable office furniture sector in Europe.

Study format
Hybrid
Application period
23 February – 1 April 2024
Study period
14 April – 31 May 2024
Credits
3 ECTS
Pace
20%
Hosting university
Hamburg University of Technology
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Learning outcomes

Work in international, interdiscisplinary teams

By the end of the course students learned how to work in international, interdiscisplinary teams in terms of: knowing about the different roles, reflect on team dynamics, get to know tools for efficient online collaboration and how to provide constructive peer-feedback.

ESCO SKILLS

Being able to critically reflect on circularity and climate neutrality at an advanced level

By the end of the course students will have basic knowledge about the topic Circular Economy and the state of the art in this research field. They are able to discuss recent issues and identify relevant research connected with their fields of study.

ESCO SKILLS

Potential progress

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Information

How we make and use products and how we produce food generates almost half of the emissions in our current economic system, as the production of goods and infrastructure generates emissions all along the value chain. Therefore, the circular economy is inherently cross-sectoral and requires engagement with stakeholders across value chains in pursuit of innovations that contribute to resilient and low-carbon local economies.

This societal challenge requires a broad set of skills that is currently lacking in our increasingly specialized society and education. It is therefore crucial that learners at all levels learn to collaborate, to solve ill-structured, complex problems that they get confronted with, by dividing them into smaller, doable tasks. Being able to create criteria and come to decisions is also a valuable future skill.

In this particular challenge, TUHH together with HiiCCE Hamburg Institute of Innovations in Climate protection and Circular Economy GmbH and the interreg project https://www.interregnorthsea.eu/ceo are taking a closer look on the transition of the office furniture sector towards a circular economy. As in the office furniture sector many resources are still being wasted and new office furniture is usually not designed for reuse, repair, refurbishment or recycling. At the same time, the way we work is changing rapidly and constantly and requires office furniture that is modular, adaptable and recyclable.

We are inviting learners to engage on particular, self-chosen aspects of this challenge, always taking into account their individual interests and ideas. This could be design, materials, refurbish, the creation of eco-balance evaluations or even health aspects.

Hosting university

Hamburg University of Technology

Hamburg University of Technology

Challenge provider

Hamburg Institute for Innovation, Climate Protection, and Circular Economy