Abstract:

The project PID_ODS192005 funded by the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB) proposes holding a workshop with undergraduate students from the Business Administration degree (GADE) and the Economics degree (GECO). In this workshop students can identify, through a role-playing game, business opportunities in the framework of the circular economy (CE) and tourism in order to face certain environmental challenges in a tourist destination such as the Balearic Islands and in a COVID-19 pandemic situation. It is a project related to the sustainable development goals (SDG) 6, 7, 12 and 13 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In particular, the workshop presents a new way of rethinking and redesigning our future in economic terms to the students: the circular economy and tourism, a new paradigm in the economic model applicable to tourism, and in it, through a game role play, identify economic decisions that can improve the economy of the future, the economy in which we are going to live.

Role-playing games are a form of experiential learning consisting of interpretive games where each student takes on a different role, assuming a character with certain characteristics. Each student has different skills and abilities and will defend their character according to their own criteria, there are no scripts. The objective is to achieve a common goal and for this the cooperation of all the students is needed.

The objective of the workshop is first, to understand the concept of circular economy, the variables that influence decision-making on waste management, the efficient use of resources (energy, water), responsible consumption and production, etc., the positioning and the behavior of the different actors, and second, to promote certain skills such as teamwork, the ability to argue and seek joint solutions and how to reconcile with the hygienic-sanitary conditions imposed by COVID-19, and the entrepreneurial capacity of the students.

This workshop is framed within the new teaching methodologies within the European Higher Education Area, working on a series of skills necessary for the future career performance of graduates of GADE and GECO, such as teamwork, critical analysis, and entrepreneurship. These skills are very important for the career development of GADE and GECO graduates in a globalized and changing environment.

As for the benefits of this workshop for GADE and GECO students, we can first indicate that they have been able to learn first about a new concept, which is not included in any of descriptors of the GADE or GECO subjects and which has been of growing interest for about a decade both at scientific level and at political level in terms of political strategies at the European level and in the member countries of the European Union such as Spain. Second, it has allowed to experience how to carry out a workshop in a context of a hybrid model under a pandemic situation and how to work on several skills such as teamwork, problem solving, critical analysis, oral skills, possessing and understanding knowledge about the relationship between company and its environment, etc.

Keywords:

Circular economy, tourism, COVID-19, teamwork, workshop, skills.