Universities as a driving force for circular economy implementation in China

Dongxu Qu; T. Shevchenko

doi:10.32845/bsnau.2019.1.3

Dongxu Qu Henan Institute of Science and Technology (Henan, China)
T. Shevchenko Sumy National Agrarian University (Sumy, Ukraine) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3213-819X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32845/bsnau.2019.1.3

Keywords: circular economy, universities, education, educational assets

Abstract

The successful implementation of circular economy (CE) model needs the understanding and support of the whole public on the CE concept and knowledge, and then turns it into CE practice in the daily life. Colleges and universities are one of the direct driving forces in the implementation of CE model. Universities circular economy education (UCEE) is a novel concept, which refers to a kind of lifelong education with exerting the all the educational assets and influence of colleges and universities to radiate education to the whole society by taking college student education as the core, aiming at realizing the two primary targets of cultivating high-level professional talents of CE and enhancing the CE awareness of the whole public. However, there are many barriers in developing UCEE in reality, for example, there is insufficient policy support for CE practice in colleges and universities, general education of CE needs to be strengthened, professional development related CE is relatively lagging behind, curriculum setting of relevant professional courses of CE needs to be improved, and educational radiation of CE for the whole society is not enough. This article is about clarifying the main barriers in promoting UCEE in China.

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