CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND INDUSTRY 4.0 INTO INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING COURSES

Abstract

Objective: This article presents a theoretical study of how the concepts of the Circular Economy (CE) and Industry 4.0 (i4.0) can be incorporated and introduced into industrial engineering courses and how they can help the implementation of circular economy business models. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical analysis was conducted on a set of articles identified through a search based on the combination of keywords 'circular economy,' 'CE,' 'industrial engineering,' 'industrial engineer,' 'i4.0,' and 'Industry 4.0.' Two databases, Scopus and Web of Science, were consulted initially. A total of 29 articles were selected and utilized for the subsequent analysis. Following a comprehensive review of these 29 articles, we sought to determine how the concepts of the circular economy and i4.0 can be integrated into industrial engineering courses and their potential contributions to the implementation of circular economy business models. Results: The paper provides an overview of how the concepts of the CE and i4.0 can be incorporated into the curriculum of undergraduate industrial engineering courses, utilizing an interdisciplinary and cross-cutting approach. Furthermore, it was possible to verify that there is a strong and feasible relationship between the concepts of the circular economy and Industry 4.0. For the effective implementation of these concepts, there is a necessity to train professionals and the use of digital technologies in favor of the circular economy. Originality/value: The paper brings as contribution, the discussion about the importance of incorporating the concept of circular economy and i4.0 into the courses of future engineers, who work mainly in the management of production processes and management of resources. This is a theoretical study, not an empirical one, and perhaps this is the main limitation of the research. However, despite being theoretical, it brings as a practical contribution an important discussion about the need to train professionals, even in their undergraduate training, and the use of digital technologies in favor of the circular economy.