Jinkai Delivers Incursions on Circular Economy to Australian Primary Schools

Our Year Two students are currently exploring the unit of inquiry “People can establish practices to sustain the environment” under the transdisciplinary theme of “Sharing the planet.” This unit primarily focuses on the concept of the “circular economy” with a strong emphasis on “Reduce, Reuse, Rethink, Recycle.” 

This Friday, we were very fortunate to have Mr. Xukai Fu, Director of Beijing Jinkai New Energy Environmental Technology, for a highly interactive online incursion. Beijing Jinkai New Energy Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. is a globally renowned circular economy company, primarily dedicated to the field of road cleaning. Their Intelligent Identification Sweeper Truck, Intelligent Identification Water Truck, and Intelligent Food Waste Treatment Machine combine artificial intelligence with traditional road cleaning equipment. In the circular economy field, Jinkai is celebrated worldwide for its energy-saving and emission reduction capabilities, resource waste reduction, effective utilization of natural resources, waste treatment, and garbage disposal technologies, along with its numerous patents.

During today's incursion, Mr. Fu began with a warm-up discussion, asking, "What do you think is the most important thing if you want to solve a problem?" The students promptly answered, "You need to find the problem first." Mr. Fu then asked, "So, how do you find the problem? What qualities does a person need to identify problems?" This sustained shared thinking not only gradually introduced the students to the day's topic but also connected to our IB Learner Profile, integrating moral and emotional education with knowledge learning.

Next, Mr. Fu brought the students' thinking into the real world around them, asking, "What challenges do we face when cleaning roads in Australia?" and "What challenges do we face in garbage disposal in Australia?" The students freely shared their observations and experiences. After listening to their responses, Mr. Fu frequently nodded, acknowledging the students' careful observations in their daily lives. Following this, he asked, "If you discover problems in your life, what should you do? Should you ignore them or take action and find solutions?" The students unanimously agreed that they should take action to solve the problems. Mr. Fu praised their scientific spirit, adding, "Our company, Jinkai, also actively researches global issues in road cleaning, and our engineers come together to write solutions based on books, data, and various experiences."

Mr. Fu then used a PowerPoint presentation to share the definition of the circular economy and discussed its principles and benefits with the students through videos of the Intelligent Identification Sweeper Truck, Intelligent Identification Water Truck, and Intelligent Food Waste Treatment Machine. The students unknowingly grasped this initially complex concept.

Finally, Mr. Fu once again praised the students for their cooperation and enthusiasm. He expressed his joy in sharing this incursion with them, feeling accomplished in helping educate the new generation about sustainable development. He also highlighted that spreading education is an important corporate responsibility. Mr. Mathew Smith, representing the Year Two teachers, thanked Mr. Fu for sharing his knowledge despite his busy schedule and expressed a desire for further collaboration in the future, utilizing Mr. Fu’s expertise to design more courses and activities to enrich the students' knowledge.

After the incursion, many students shared their enjoyment of the session, noting the strong sense of interaction despite it being online. They appreciated seeing and learning things they hadn't encountered before. The students expressed a desire to continue learning about the circular economy with Mr. Fu.

Seeing the students' satisfied smiles made us teachers very happy as well. We will contact Mr. Fu soon to share the students' positive feedback and extend a sincere invitation to collaborate on environmental activities and courses. We look forward to seeing him again in the near future!