The E-Waste project aimed at increasing the awareness about the problem of electronic waste and by developing contents and methodologies for the purpose of enriching schools curriculum, and helping these schools connect it to the makerspace approach in education. More specifically the project aimed at responding to the identified needs by achieving the following goals: 1.Brought the electronic waste issue inside the classroom in a fun, innovative, and meaningful way by designing content, providing workshops, and capacitating teachers; 2. Offered two pathways for introducing circular economy and Ewaste in the school curricula. One was to associate teaching robotics, coding, and digital fabrication to the reuse and repair of broken electronic devices, and the 2nd was to teach sustainable design and fabrication through the reuse and upcycling of Ewaste; 3. Provided quality and accessible Elearning courses about EWaste and STEAM practices that could be implemented by schools outside the consortium; 4. Created awareness of the electronic waste problem through dissemination events and exchange of best practices and know-how.
The main reason why this project was proposed, and afterwards developed, was related with the observed lack of curriculum integration of relevant STEAM contents related to Electronic Waste and circular economy in teachers activities with students in the classrooms. Also, and while looking at the macro EU policy landscape, we also identified the need to improve school education capacity regarding the development of circular economy and sustainability topics in order to be aligned with the EU Green deal commitment and long term vision. Besides the motivation and needs just mentioned, it is also important also to refer that TransfoLAB BCN and Buinho wanted to give continuation to the exchange of good practices started in the Learning Labs initiative organized by the EU funded project Creative FLIP, and increase the scope of their practices in order to enable real transformation within schools. While Maltepe school brought us the possibility to engage and embed these innovative practices into the formal education branch, since this school is a rare example of a having a vibrant makerspace within a school.