BADGES

Following the example for the recognition of teaching activities in European universities through ECTS credits, the CIRCLE project aims to recognize participation in Circular Experiences.

In the first place, the option of creating a recognition system through badges that we would call CIRCLE badges was considered. The badges were intended to be awarded in recognition of the growth in SOCg competences that participants acquire upon completion of a Circular Experience. The badges would represent each of the SOCg competencies, in this way, the people who participate in the greatest number of Circular Experiences, would be able to complete their academic curriculum with a greater number and diversity of them.

However, the CIRCLE badges posed two issues

Which organizations would recognize the badges? Although 7 European universities participate in the CIRCLE project, it is not enough for the CIRCLE badges to have enough resonance in the European educational context.

The obsolescence of the badges once the project ends in 2025, once the project ends, the badges will be invalid.

In solution to these two problems, it is proposed to work hand in hand with the European Engineering Learning Innovation and Science Alliance (EELISA). EELISA shares its educational, learning, research and innovation interests with CIRCLE, both contributing to the common mission of solving the socio-technological challenges of the XXI century that society must face from higher education. Thanks to EELISA, CIRCLE will respond to its task in the recognition of Circular Experiences through the EELISA badges.

What are EELISA badges?

EELISA badges are official digital awards granted by EELISA. They are micro-credentials that are collected through activities carried out by EELISA communities. By participating in an activity, a learner only collects badges; however, the credential starts with the collection of the first badge and is progressively enriched through participation in EELISA community activities. In other words, it is an incremental process that requires interested participants to attend multiple EELISA activities in order to collect enough credentials that are later translated to ECTS credits and reflected in their transcripts and degrees. Badges can be issued to any and all participants of an EELISA activity, regardless of their institution (EELISA or non-EELISA), country (Europe or outside of Europe), and status or cycle (bachelor, master, PhD, post-doc, alumna/alumnus or non-student).

Each EELISA badge is characterized by three features: (1) one Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) defined by the UN, (2) one SDG-related learning objective, and (3) one EELISA impact level (see below figure). These features are defined separately for each activity by activity designers and/or coordinators and approved by the community coordinator. In designing badges, activity designers/coordinators are expected to assign the most appropriate SDGs, learning objectives and EELISA impact levels for the said activity. In doing so, they are also encouraged to consult the “EELISA credential tool for activity designers,” which is a guiding document prepared by EELISA Office with detailed feature descriptions and samples. For one activity, up to two SDGs can be considered for badge issuance, with up to two impact levels per SDG. In case of consecutive activities within a project, the badges are expected to incrementally increase in EELISA impact levels. The design of an EELISA badge reflects on the SDG and the EELISA impact level attained.

Once an activity is completed and the activity coordinators gather activity participants data, they fill out “EELISA credential data collection template for badges” prepared by EELISA Office. This template is a table that collects basic activity information, basic student information, and the abovementioned badge features. The badge table is later approved by the community coordinator, the activity coordinator’s (or activity host’s) university’s academic coordinator, and EELISA, respectively.

CIRCLE & EELISA

In order for the EELISA badges to be awarded after the Circular Experiences, the interests of both projects must focus on the same line when raising and carrying them out.

Currently, 3 of CIRCLE’s 7 partner universities, Technical University of Istanbul (ITU), Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and Technical University of Bucharest (UPB), are members of the EELISA Circular community. From now on, through the cooperation of CIRCLE and EELISA being the badges their common factor, the 4 remaining universities of the project, Miskolc University (UM), University of NOVA Lisbon (NOVA), Technical University of Darmstadt (TUDa) and University of Bordeaux (UBx), will be an active part of the alliance.

The cooperation with EELISA means that the badges will not only be recognized in the 7 partner universities of the project, but also in the rest of the universities that make up the EELISA alliance. On the other hand, once the CIRCLE project ends, the badges awarded in the Circular Experiences will continue to be valid.

This project commits to empower new generations of professionals working in a circular transition with a socio-civic compromise. To that end, we establish the Circular & SOC Learning (CIRC.LE) Hub; a meeting point for students, professors, transdisciplinary experts, society at large, and decision-makers, working together with a circular and sociocivic compromise. In the Circular & SOC Learning Hub, students reflect on challenges by evaluating social and civic implications and become co-creators and active part of the challenge. This humanizing approach is here considered as the perfect complement to the technical skills for a true application of circularity principles. The CIRC.LE Hub creates a multi-stakeholder, participatory, democratic mutual learning and knowledge transfer platform and puts on the table complex dilemmas and “out of the box” ideas for students’ social and civic development and promoting local action and global thinking. This contributes to boosting the concept of the European Engineer. The pilot Circular & SOC Learning Hub will be promoted by the participating Universities and Associated Partners and then grow beyond this partnership.