Photovoltaics Online Teaching Erasmus Project

Project Title

Photovoltaics Online Teaching

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Open and distance learning; Energy and resources

Project Summary

As Europe and the rest of the world seek to green energy supply, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are rapidly spreading and evolving to meet demand, accompanied by a commensurately growing need for skilled PV professionals. At the same time, low quality PV systems and low PV education levels persist in many countries, with significant deficiencies in practical knowledge and skills. As such, there is a demonstrable need for quality and more widespread PV education in Europe and elsewhere. Existing study programmes in Europe are limited by classroom capacity and are unable to meet existing let alone growing demand, while alternative (Coursera, Edx) PV learning resources are less sophisticated and cannot replace the learning outcomes of an accredited university. Of the few fully online PV programmes available, outcomes could benefit from broader collaboration between both teachers and learners.

Within this context, the PV-iTeach project was developed in order to train pre-career and continuing education PV professionals that would otherwise be unable to obtain an in-depth PV education in the absence of PV-iTeach. Additionally, the project seeks to establish an emerging hub of PV networks and professionals that will serve to connect PV stakeholders across Europe and around the world while establishing itself as a top destination for top-quality PV training and education.

The PV-iTeach project will be carried out by a consortium of five European universities: the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the Technical Hochschule Köln in Germany (TH Köln), the Fachhochschule Münster in Germany (FH Münster), Dalarna University in Sweden (DU), and the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg in Germany (Uni Freiburg). Each of the partner universities brings significant knowledge and experience in different but complementary aspects of photovoltaics in addition to practical experience in implementing related online learning.

The core educational output of PV-iTeach will take the form of a course catalogue consisting of a minimum of ten courses, with each course focusing on a different PV topic. Courses will be derived from existing in-person courses at each of the partner universities and enhanced for an online setting. In order to enhance online learning outcomes, a special focus will be placed on the integration of collaborative elements for students in the form of special webinars, group projects, etc. to encourage active participation of learners. A special virtual/gamified course will also be designed which will emulate real-world PV systems in a simple graphical environment. Students accessing the virtual course/game will be able to connect different PV system components, take measurements in real time, and otherwise interact with PV systems based on real world scenarios. All of the course content, collaborative elements, and the virtual course/game will be hosted on a modified and optimized version of the open-source ILIAS e-learning platform and be freely and openly available. A fee of €80 is envisioned for students wishing to receive a certificate to verify their completion of a given course. Students with less financial capacity may apply for a grant which will waive the certificate fee, with a target of 20% of participants being eligible.

PV-iTeach will be implemented on the principle of full commitment and shared responsibility among all five partners, demonstrated through a rotating Chair structure, consensus decision-making, and co-financing commitments from each partner. All partners commit to developing at least two courses per university to be available on the platform, while other project activities (e.g. project meetings, summer school, virtual/gamified course) will be led by a specific partner with support from others.

The expected impacts include i) a greater number of trained PV professionals in Europe and beyond, especially in geographic areas with a great need for skilled PV professionals but with fewer opportunities to receive training, ii) the exchange of knowledge and experience across national borders through collaborative elements, thereby enriching the experience and outcomes of learners while also allowing teaching staff to enhance course content for PV-iTeach as well as existing physical courses at their respective universities, iii) a demonstrated application of innovative online teaching and enhanced learning outcomes that can be replicated in other areas, and iv) the creation of a foundation for an ongoing hub of trained PV professionals within Europe and beyond.

PV-iTeach aims to have 1000 students taking part in courses by the end of the funded project period, with additional students envisioned thereafter. Measurement of educational outcomes will be measured through student surveys and related assessments. As PV-iTeach is envisioned to continuously grow after the project timeframe, longer term benefits related to the project objectives are expected for many years into the future.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 249015 Eur

Project Coordinator

ALBERT-LUDWIGS-UNIVERSITAET FREIBURG & Country: DE

Project Partners

• HOGSKOLAN DALARNA
• FH Münster University of Applied Sciences
• DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET
• TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE KOLN