What were some of your favorite courses and what made them valuable to you?
The best courses during my graduate studies were Applied Circular Economics and Regenerative Economics. These courses broadened my perspective and gave me hope that we can create a better world with our current knowledge.
A circular economy framework decouples value creation from resource extraction by keeping materials in use at the highest value while avoiding waste and toxicity. This shift is achieved by changing how we design products and services.
Applied Circular Economics and Regenerative Economics were valuable because they changed my mindset and offered me direction for my journey and career. They provided me with a framework that can help me direct my energy towards initiatives that can positively impact multiple levels.
On the other hand, a regenerative economy takes a step further by generating value while restoring the biosphere and its capacity to provide ecosystem services.
These courses taught me that 80% of environmental impacts come from the design phase. If products are designed to be used once, hard to repair, or disassemble at end-of-life, their materials end up in landfills instead of circulating back to the economy.
I also learned that we are too focused on reducing carbon emissions. However, there are many more impact categories we should be paying attention to. We are overshooting many planetary boundaries, such as biogeochemical flows (fertilizer run-off), freshwater change, and novel entities (new substances and materials, such as plastics, that are being used before being proven safe for us and the environment).
Applied Circular Economics and Regenerative Economics were valuable because they changed my mindset and offered me direction for my journey and career. They provided me with a framework that can help me direct my energy towards initiatives that can positively impact multiple levels.
What’s something unexpected that you learned about Harvard?
Harvard offers a vibrant and dynamic environment that fosters discussion among students from all over the world.
What are you going to miss the most about HES?
Although I can keep in touch with peers through the WhatsApp groups, I will miss access to additional services such as the Harvard Library, Adobe, and Zoom.
Describe your HES experience in one word.
Life-changing.
