What you will learn

Master the concept and vision of the circular economy and understand how business can create value by applying its principles.
Understand how value creation (product design) and value recovery (recycling) are interconnected, and recognize how different recycling technologies work and what their implications are for product design.
Understand the implications of future developments in design for recycling.
Optimize the recyclability of electrical and electronic products.
Apply recycled plastics in new electronic products and reduce risks and uncertainties when designing with recycled plastics.

In a circular economy, products are designed to last. Yet every product will eventually reach the end of its functional life. Recycling can help recover the value embedded in its materials so that these can be used again. However, for complex products like electronics, applying this seemingly simple principle can raise big challenges.

This two-course program supports designers, engineers and decision makers in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) industry in making the transition towards a circular economy by exploring both Design for Recycling and Designing with Recycled plastics.

In the first course, you will explore the basic concepts of the circular economy and their implementation from various perspectives: how businesses can create value by reusing and recycling products; how designers can come up with amazingly clever solutions; and how to apply systems thinking to the transition to the circular economy.

In the second course, you will learn how the recyclability of EEE products or consumer electronics can be optimized through good design and how to utilize recycled plastic content in existing or new products using new methods. We will examine inspiring examples and provide insight into current and future recycling technologies, legislation and business models.

If you are looking for ways to upskill yourself and become a designer who not only creates great products but contributes to sustainable design and a positive environmental impact – this is the program for you!

Expert instruction

2 skill-building courses

Self-paced

Progress at your own speed

3 months

3 - 5 hours per week

$223.20

~~$248~~USD

For the full program experience

Courses in this program

DelftX's Sustainable Design of Electronics Professional Certificate
3–6 hours per week, for 7 weeks
Ready to make a difference? Learn how to contribute to a sustainable economic system by implementing novel business and design approaches!
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3–4 hours per week, for 4 weeks
Discover the latest developments in Design for Recycling (DfR) of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and the application of recycled plastics into new products.
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- More and more businesses are using circular-economy principles to create products that are durable, easy to reuse or recycle—and profitable (McKinsey, 2016).
- E-waste is the world’s fastest growing waste stream. Therefore governments are setting ambitious targets to help the EEE industry transition towards a circular economy.
- Job opportunities include various design roles with emphasis on sustainability, innovation management and sustainability consultants.
- Regardless of your level of design experience or your familiarity of the circular economy, this program will help you to either upskill or update your knowledge and improve your product design and materials selection.
- Estimated annual salary of senior industrial designers amounts to $79,262 per year. (indeed.com)