IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v13y2020i4p822-d320401.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Benchmarking a Sustainable Energy Engineering Undergraduate Degree against Curriculum Frameworks and Pedagogy Standards from Industry and Academia

Author

Listed:
  • Bryn Durrans

    (Discipline of Engineering and Energy, College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia)

  • Jonathan Whale

    (Discipline of Engineering and Energy, College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia)

  • Martina Calais

    (Discipline of Engineering and Energy, College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia)

Abstract

There is an urgent need for educational institutions to produce graduates with appropriate skills to meet the growing global demand for professionals in the sustainable energy industry. For universities to stay at the forefront of meeting this global demand from industry, universities need to ensure their curricula and pedagogies stay relevant. The use of benchmarking is a key means of achieving this and ensuring any gap between university curricula and the practical needs of industry is minimized. The aim of this paper is to present an approach to benchmarking a sustainable energy engineering undergraduate degree with respect to curriculum frameworks recommended by industry and pedagogy standards required and recommended by academia and education research. The method uses the Murdoch University renewable energy engineering degree major as a case study. The results show that the learning outcomes of the renewable energy engineering units, in general, align well with the recommended learning outcomes for a complete sustainable energy degree, as prescribed by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. In addition, assessment task and marking criteria for the capstone unit of the major were at Australian Universities’ standard. A similar approach to benchmarking can be adopted by developers of new or existing sustainable energy engineering degrees in order to align with curriculum frameworks and pedagogy standards required by industry and academic peers.

Suggested Citation

  • Bryn Durrans & Jonathan Whale & Martina Calais, 2020. "Benchmarking a Sustainable Energy Engineering Undergraduate Degree against Curriculum Frameworks and Pedagogy Standards from Industry and Academia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-32, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:4:p:822-:d:320401
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/4/822/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/4/822/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Negro, Simona O. & Alkemade, Floortje & Hekkert, Marko P., 2012. "Why does renewable energy diffuse so slowly? A review of innovation system problems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 3836-3846.
    2. Jennings, Philip, 2009. "New directions in renewable energy education," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 435-439.
    3. Kandpal, Tara C. & Broman, Lars, 2014. "Renewable energy education: A global status review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 300-324.
    4. Katja Brundiers & Arnim Wiek, 2013. "Do We Teach What We Preach? An International Comparison of Problem- and Project-Based Learning Courses in Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-22, April.
    5. Acikgoz, Caglayan, 2011. "Renewable energy education in Turkey," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 608-611.
    6. Rodrigo Lozano & Michelle Y. Merrill & Kaisu Sammalisto & Kim Ceulemans & Francisco J. Lozano, 2017. "Connecting Competences and Pedagogical Approaches for Sustainable Development in Higher Education: A Literature Review and Framework Proposal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-15, October.
    7. Jennings, Philip & Lund, Chris, 2001. "Renewable energy education for sustainable development," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 113-118.
    8. Xie, Yuan & Feng, Yanhui & Qiu, Yingning, 2013. "The present status and challenges of wind energy education and training in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 34-41.
    9. Lund, C.P & Jennings, P.J, 2001. "The potential, practice and challenges of tertiary renewable energy education on the World Wide Web," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 119-125.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kandpal, Tara C. & Broman, Lars, 2014. "Renewable energy education: A global status review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 300-324.
    2. Muhammad Aslam Mohd Safari & Nurulkamal Masseran & Alias Jedi & Sohif Mat & Kamaruzzaman Sopian & Azman Bin Abdul Rahim & Azami Zaharim, 2020. "Rural Public Acceptance of Wind and Solar Energy: A Case Study from Mersing, Malaysia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-24, July.
    3. Guven, Gokhan & Sulun, Yusuf, 2017. "Pre-service teachers' knowledge and awareness about renewable energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 663-668.
    4. Carbajo, Ruth & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2018. "Renewable energy research and technologies through responsible research and innovation looking glass: Reflexions, theoretical approaches and contemporary discourses," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 792-808.
    5. Keramitsoglou, Kiriaki M., 2016. "Exploring adolescents’ knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards Renewable Energy Sources: A colour choice approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 1159-1169.
    6. Karatepe, Yelda & Neşe, Seçil Varbak & Keçebaş, Ali & Yumurtacı, Mehmet, 2012. "The levels of awareness about the renewable energy sources of university students in Turkey," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 174-179.
    7. Acikgoz, Caglayan, 2011. "Renewable energy education in Turkey," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 608-611.
    8. Rahman, Abul & Khanam, Tahamina & Pelkonen, Paavo, 2017. "People’s knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes towards stump harvesting for bioenergy production in Finland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 107-116.
    9. Xiaodan Zhou & Ling-Hsiu Chen & Chin-Ling Chen, 2019. "Collaborative Learning by Teaching: A Pedagogy between Learner-Centered and Learner-Driven," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-14, February.
    10. Jennings, Philip, 2009. "New directions in renewable energy education," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 435-439.
    11. Guang Han & Robert A. Martin, 2018. "Teaching and Learning about Biomass Energy: The Significance of Biomass Education in Schools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, March.
    12. Ali, Ghaffar & Yan, Ningyu & Hussain, Jafar & Xu, Lilai & Huang, Yunfeng & Xu, Su & Cui, Shenghui, 2019. "Quantitative assessment of energy conservation and renewable energy awareness among variant urban communities of Xiamen, China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 230-238.
    13. Nicole Motzer & Aleta Rudeen Weller & K Curran & Simon Donner & Ronald J. Heustis & Cathy Jordan & Margaret Krebs & Lydia Olandar & Kirsten Rowell & Linda Silka & Diana H. Wall & Abigail York, 2021. "Integrating Programmatic Expertise from across the US and Canada to Model and Guide Leadership Training for Graduate Students in Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-20, August.
    14. Luis Cabedo & Marta Royo & Lidón Moliner & Teresa Guraya, 2018. "University Social Responsibility towards Engineering Undergraduates: The Effect of Methodology on a Service-Learning Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, June.
    15. Tomasz Rokicki & Aleksandra Perkowska & Bogdan Klepacki & Hubert Szczepaniuk & Edyta Karolina Szczepaniuk & Stanisław Bereziński & Paulina Ziółkowska, 2020. "The Importance of Higher Education in the EU Countries in Achieving the Objectives of the Circular Economy in the Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-17, August.
    16. Stamatios Ntanos & Grigorios L. Kyriakopoulos & Garyfallos Arabatzis & Vasilios Palios & Miltiadis Chalikias, 2018. "Environmental Behavior of Secondary Education Students: A Case Study at Central Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-22, May.
    17. Pastor, Rafael & Tobarra, Llanos & Robles-Gómez, Antonio & Cano, Jesús & Hammad, Bashar & Al-Zoubi, Abdullah & Hernández, Roberto & Castro, Manuel, 2020. "Renewable energy remote online laboratories in Jordan universities: Tools for training students in Jordan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 749-759.
    18. Antonietta Di Giulio & Corinne Ruesch Schweizer & Rico Defila & Philipp Hirsch & Patricia Burkhardt-Holm, 2019. "“These Grandmas Drove Me Mad. It Was Brilliant!”—Promising Starting Points to Support Citizen Competence for Sustainable Consumption in Adults," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-36, January.
    19. Ntona, Eirini & Arabatzis, Garyfallos & Kyriakopoulos, Grigorios L., 2015. "Energy saving: Views and attitudes of students in secondary education," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-15.
    20. Zyadin, Anas & Puhakka, Antero & Ahponen, Pirkkoliisa & Cronberg, Tarja & Pelkonen, Paavo, 2012. "School students' knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes toward renewable energy in Jordan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 78-85.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:4:p:822-:d:320401. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.