“We have a responsibility to educate and train students, who are the managers of the future, and to prepare them to help organisations make the transition from a linear economy towards greater sustainability and a circular economy. A key issue in this context is achieving a balance between economic, technological, social and environmental sustainability,” says Christian Vögtlin, Head of the Master’s degree programme in Circular Economy Management at the ZHAW School of Management and Law.
The circular economy is not purely a technical problem, it is a systemic one. Anyone seeking to develop products in such a way that they can be turned back into raw materials at the end of their life cycle needs an understanding not only of materials science, but also of logistics, business administration, law and social transformation.
This is precisely where the ZHAW’s MSc in Circular Economy Management comes in. The programme is jointly delivered by three Schools – the School of Life Sciences and Facility Management, the School of Engineering and the School of Management and Law. They combine their specialist knowledge in a shared curriculum that is developed and taught across disciplinary boundaries.
MSc in Circular Economy Management
Five thematic blocks, one study programme
The compulsory programme is divided into five thematic blocks, each worth three ECTS credits: Sustainability and Resources, Technology and Design, Businesses and Organisations, Politics, Law and Transformation, and Behaviour and Behavioural Change. Together, the 15 compulsory modules account for 45 of the programme’s total 90 ECTS credits.
Students structure the second half of their degree by choosing one of four elective clusters: Product Design, Regional Circular Systems and Resources, Business Administration, Labels and Standards, or Government and Stakeholder Management.
Two case study modules combine theory with real-world assignments from companies and organisations before the programme concludes with a Master’s thesis. The teaching language is English throughout.
Officially, teaching takes place across the three campuses in Winterthur, Wädenswil and Zurich.
Christian Vögtlin
Programme Director, MSc in Circular Economy Management, ZHAW School of Management and Law
“We have a responsibility to educate and train students, who are the managers of the future, and to prepare them to help organisations make the transition from a linear economy towards greater sustainability and a circular economy. A key issue in this context is achieving a balance between economic, technological, social and environmental sustainability.”
A model for the future
What makes the degree programme of particular interest for the sustainability report is not only its content but, in particular, its structure. Cross-School collaboration is evident here in day-to-day teaching: jointly developed modules, jointly supervised case studies, and three programme directors from three Schools sharing responsibility for the programme.
