Self-Evaluation of Industrial Case Studies with Iterative Improvements to Support Chemical and Biological Systems Engineering and Sustainability Teaching and Learning

Industrial case studies play an increasingly important role in the teaching of systems engineering and sustainability within an industrial ecological framework utilising metacognitive and experiential learning principles. The principal classroom teaching tool of the experiential learning combines the student’s development of self-awareness and selfevaluation skills whilst they focus on providing optimal solutions to challenges provided by industrial case study examples. The learning process here relies on developmental and experiential learning with students attempting at iterative improvements to the industrial processes and plant operations being studied with a view to create a “best fit” to the efficiency of use of the resources at hand, specific ecological setting and circular economy constraints regarding recycle, re-use and regeneration of resources. Two alternative approaches of iterative case study evaluations are presented and compared here; one relying on the “bottom-up” approach to systems identification and development to enable the use of new material and energy resources and the other on a “top-down” approach to evaluate and improve an existing system of complex and integrated process plant operations. In each case, the student is challenged in an increasing order of complexity of issues through a self-learning and evaluation process which also requires the necessary deepening of engagement with the normative knowledge base comprising of core engineering and applied science teaching curricula. The additional benefit of the student-centered teaching and learning (see also Tuzun 2020 [8]) is the ability to draw upon core scientific and engineering science “hands-on”; as opposed to classic passive learning by lectures and tutorials in advance of any case study applications to real-life challenges.