Knowledge Level of Circular Economy and Sustainability Concepts among University Students from the Engineering and Built Environment Program

Abstract

It has been found that there is still a lack of awareness and knowledge about sustainability and circular economy concepts among graduates, potentially putting them at a disadvantage in an increasingly competitive job market. This study aims to investigate students’ levels of knowledge and perceptions of the importance of the circular economy and the extent to which circular economy concepts are integrated into their academic programs. Using a purposive sampling method, an online survey was completed by 195 respondents out of 380 students enrolled in engineering and built environment programs at a local university. The findings revealed that 93.3% of students consider sustainability personally important, 94.4% relate it to their field of study, but only 78.4% feel that sustainability topics are sufficiently addressed in their academic programs, indicating a gap in integrating sustainability into the curriculum. The study also found that students have a better understanding of 3R principles such as Reuse (90%), Recycle (80%), and Reduce (70%), but are less exposed to other circular economy principles like Refurbish (30%) and Remanufacture (30%). Additionally, the majority are unfamiliar with concepts such as Extended Product Lifetime (72.8%), Closing the Loop (73.8%), and Dematerialization (62.1%), but are more familiar with the concept of Regeneration (68.7%). ANOVA analysis showed no significant differences between departments in terms of the importance of sustainability and knowledge of circular economy concepts such as Extended Product Lifetime and Closing the Loop. However, significant differences were found in knowledge of the concepts of Products as Services (p= .012, η² = 0.065) and Regeneration (p= .001, η² = 0.097), with respondents from the Chemical Engineering Department demonstrating higher levels of knowledge compared to those in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical, Electronics & Computer Systems Engineering. The findings of this study can serve as a basis for further research to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions and training programs in enhancing knowledge and practices related to circular economy concepts within engineering and built environment academic programs.