SUCH3009: Semester 1, 2024

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Units SUCH3009 Semester 1 2024 [Normal day]

Unit of study_

SUCH3009: Digital Circular Economy

Semester 1, 2024 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Key global drivers impacting our environment and urban living include population growth expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, and increasing affluence, which will see the tripling of global consumption of natural resources. Current patterns of production and consumption described as the linear "take-make-dispose" model are unsustainable, in contrast to the circular economy model described as the "reduce-reuse-recycle" which seeks to preserve upstream natural resources (energy and materials), optimise manufacturing processes that reduce generation of irreversible waste. The Circular Economy sets the foundations for engineering resource efficient, sustainable technologies and driving sustainable manufacturing, required to bring deep cuts in environmental damage driven by a growing and more affluent global population. Circular economy is an emerging paradigm in environmental management being adopted by organisation around the world to facilitate more efficient resource utilisation, while creating new economic opportunity in a digital age.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	SUCH3009
Academic unit	Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Ali Abbas, ali.abbas@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Gobinath Rajarathnam, gobinath.rajarathnam@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Ali Abbas, ali.abbas@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Data for circular economy insights Group work - meetings in person or via zoom	20%	Week 05 Due date: 18 Mar 2024 at 23:59	Refer to the Assignment description doc
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Tear down lab Group work - meetings in person or via zoom	20%	Week 08 Due date: 15 Apr 2024 at 23:59	Refer to the Assignment description doc
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Lifecycle analysis (LCA) Group work - meetings in person or via zoom	30%	Week 11 Due date: 06 May 2024 at 23:59	Refer to the Assignment description doc
Outcomes assessed:
Creative assessment / demonstration	Products - from linear to circular Presentation video	30%	Week 13 Due date: 20 May 2024 at 23:00	Refer to the Assignment description doc
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

Note 1: Additional details of these assessments will be announced in lectures. It is your responsibility to keep up to date with these announcements. Announcements will also be placed on the Learning Management System site. Further, it may eventuate that during this unit of study, we may ask you to submit additional items for evaluation – if this happens, announcements will be made in lectures well in advance, and complete instructions will be given.

Note 2: There may be moderation and/or scaling of the raw marks in each assessment component when combining them to get the final mark in this unit of study.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy 2023 reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy 2023. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction to Digital Circular Economy	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 02	Foundations of the Circular Economy	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 02	Digital Science: Facilitating Circular Economy Transition	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 03	Digital Science: Facilitating Circular Economy Transition	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 04	Digital and computational tools	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 05	Circular design for products	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 06	Circular design for manufacturing processes	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 07	Materials and circularity	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 08	Systems thinking and circularity	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 09	Circularity in low emissions and energy technologies	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 10	Circular Economy eco-industrial parks	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 11	Circular carbon economy	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 12	Special and advanced topics	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)
Week 13	Special and advanced topics	Lecture and tutorial (4 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Understand the foundations of the circular economy and its key principles, and chronological relations to neighbouring sustainability concepts.
LO2. Appreciate that data and digital science are key enablers to transition circular economy
LO3. Investigate digital and computational tools, technologies and approaches to ‘design out’ waste in the circular economy
LO4. Investigate computational circular design for products and manufacturing processes
LO5. Identify digital circular economy practices to remodel business and plan organisational transformation for competitive advantage
LO6. Reflect critically upon the circular economy concept
LO7. Align digital solutions and systems approaches with circular economy principles

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Adapted from CHNG5009

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

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