Universities’ intermediary role in the “design for sustainability” field: Case studies from the Netherlands and Turkey
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
ISSN: 1467-6370
Article publication date: 6 March 2017
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the intermediary role of universities in spreading design for sustainability into industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Three case studies were undertaken on Delft University of Technology, Design for Sustainability Program from The Netherlands; a center on sustainable consumption and production; and Prof. Göksel Demirer from Middle East Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department from Turkey.
Findings
The process and evolution of the intermediary roles of the cases are explained. Three types of structures, through which universities undertake intermediary role, are investigated via the cases studies, a program, a center and an individual scientist.
Originality/value
This study is a first attempt to investigate the intermediary role of universities in the design for sustainability field.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all interviewees (Table I), the anonymous reviewers and the editors for their valuable comments and suggestions.
Citation
Küçüksayraç, E., Wever, R. and Brezet, H. (2017), "Universities’ intermediary role in the “design for sustainability” field: Case studies from the Netherlands and Turkey", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 455-472. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-07-2015-0126
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited