Abstract:

Purpose:
For future logisticians, knowledge and experience about eco-friendly issues has been evaluated as a crucial skill, since freight transport is considered as an important field for sustainable development. Currently, eco-friendly transport modes such as inland waterway are underrepresented within logistics education and students are hardly familiar with their specific characteristics. Thus, integrating sustainable transport in higher education has become increasingly important in the past years. In addition, research suggests that the link between industry and education is very important in logistics education. Integrating practical experience, such as case studies, is crucial to ensure that students can apply theoretical knowledge in their later professional life.
The purpose of this paper is to describe the development process of a case study on eco-friendly transport. Target group for the case study are graduate logistics students. The aim of the case study is that students identify the main characteristics of the different transport modes in Europe through self-studying. In the course of the case study, students take the role of a new employee in the logistics department of a company which sells high & heavy machines. The task is to elaborate a sustainable transport strategy for a specific transport route in Europe. In addition, other tasks have to be accomplished, e.g. documentation of their work during the case study and presenting their solution in plenum.

Method:
As a first step, a literature review was conducted to identify the characteristics of different types of case studies (e.g. instructions and tasks). Second, expert interviews with five professors were carried out. Professors which have already elaborated or integrated case studies in their courses were defined as experts. As a result, requirements when developing a case study for graduate students in the field of logistics e.g. instructions, tasks and evaluation, were identified. Third, regular expert interviews with a representative of the company which supported the development of the case study were conducted to meet the requirements from the industry. Based on the results of the literature review and the expert interviews, a first version of the case study was elaborated. To test the usability, this version of the case study will be integrated in a graduate logistics course.

Expected results:
By conducting expert interviews with professors, we expect information about the length, verbal style and evaluation of a case study in the field of logistics. One main aspect of case studies is that students should be able to combine theoretical knowledge with important insight into practice. By integrating the industry, we expect to gain information about practical tasks required by industry. Since the case study will be integrated in a graduate logistics course in the winter semester, feedback from students will also be included as a next step.

Acknowledgements:
The results of this paper are based on work in the course of the project PROMINENT. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the cooperating partners. The PROMINENT project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No 633929.

Keywords:

Case study, eco-friendly transport, logistics education.