From the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, there was a desire to increase the content knowledge about circular skills for teacher trainers and the teachers in training (the students) and the shaping of skills in renewed work forms and in contact with the environment. How do we build a bridge between the environment and education and what knowledge and competencies do teachers need for this?

With this project we are working on:

• Raising awareness around the circular economy and circular skills and the role of education in this;
• The professionalization of teachers of teacher training in engineering at the Hogeschool Utrecht through gaining experience in connecting the current curriculum to the environment in the context of circular skills;
• Increasing content knowledge about circular trends and skills for HU students and teachers;
• Increase insight for HU teachers and trainee teachers on approaches you can use to keep education current in a more organic way. This includes how to make companies/organizations around circular skills more part of the curriculum;
• Provide perspective for engineering teachers on how to make room in general education for learning for sustainable development as a capstone for discovering and learning circular skills.

Approach

Together with teachers from the teacher training program, we worked on preparing some parts of the curriculum for the trainee teachers that focused on circular skills and contact with the environment.

Then there were meetings for the teachers in training with the teachers in the engineering teacher training program where we looked at:

• Technical trends currently contributing to a circular economy;
• The circular skills needed to work in a circular economy;
• Reflection on approaches you can use as a teacher to keep your teaching current;
• And what is needed in general education to create space for this.