DCT-REES Public Space

About

This space is dedicated to the DCT-REES ERASMUS+ project. This project aimed to develop (modular) educational materials in the Field of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, more specifically Power Electronics, Direct Current installations, components, netwerks and grids. DCT-REES means 'Direct Current Technologies - Renewable Energy Education and Skills development program The DCT-REES project targeted the development of educational materials for Electrical and/or Electronics Engineering, to support the Energy Transition and support development and implementation of renewable energy systems in South Africa. Renewable Energy generation is in many cases and examples, equipped with new, innovative Power Electronics and sometimes to Direct Current Technology applications that then become viable. Well trained and skilled Electrical and/or Electronics engineers are very much in need, , to speed up the design, engineering, implementation and maintenance of renewable energy systems in South-Africa. This t is not proceeding as swiftly as for example in the Netherlands and Belgium, despite the better yield of photo-voltaic systems, which should make the business-case better then in North-Western Europe. During the first year of the project, after many discussions, the partners agreed that is was difficult to create one module for all partners, without objectively knowing the prior knowledge and skills that were transferred in in each of their curricula. Also, of staff involved, the level of skills, competences and experience with this sort of technology differed, making it too difficult to assess. Partners then decided to develop a more flexible structure, a sort of library called the Notes Structure. This library contains so called 'Notes', consisting of validated material from research, written down in a raw form, without didactics or stylized texts. The partnering universities have access to these materials and can use the content that fits their programs, their qualifications, but also their personal skills and competences. And this is exactly what the project achieved: 1) there is a Notes Structure with, next to the technical content, Metadata such as level, study load, prerequired knowledge etc has been added, to allow staff members to search, select, compare and/or assess the contents for their own use. 2) there are 20+ Notes available as well as a library of sample materials from Bachelor and Master students, including lab blue-printed lab setups, experiments and examples. 3) there is an ICT platform where owners/authors of Notes can upload their content and can interact with colleagues who are interested in using the content. 4) demonstrators showcasing new technology. These demonstrators also indicate the need for the educational materials to understand how this technology works and to adopt and adept them for local use.