Renewing the Sustainable Energy Curriculum – Combining Theory and

Industry Input to Develop Multidisciplinary Tertiary Curriculum Frameworks

The Issue

1990’s – several Australian Universities developed renewable energy coursework programs – some world leading. Curriculums & course content academic driven and developed – little input from industry. Twenty years on – sustainable energy technologies, policy environment, skills and knowledge required has changed significantly – still rapidly changing. University programs and content – seen as not changed and not moved on. Student aspirations of career in industry – graduates need current knowledge and relevant capabilities.

Revising the Curriculum – How Hard Can That Be?

“Curriculum renewal in higher education can be difficult, time-consuming, and arduous, but the payoff is a curriculum that is current, responsive, proactive and effective.”

(ALTC Good Practice Report: Curriculum Renewal, Narayan and Edwards, 2011).

Ongoing curriculum renewal is more difficult but vital for programs and courses preparing graduates to work in a specialised, multidisciplinary, rapidly changing field.

This presentation follows the journey of the Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) funded “Renewing the Sustainable Energy Curriculum Project” team as they sought to develop a set of industry guided, internationally relevant, tertiary level sustainable energy curriculum frameworks.

Aim and Outcomes

Outcome:

A list of sustainable energy skills, knowledge and graduate attributes required by employers, which are formulated into curriculum frameworks with learning outcomes.

Curriculum frameworks designed to be used to assess the suitability of existing curricula and courses, guide redevelopment of the courses as required, or guide the development of new offerings.

Aim: Scope and develop sustainable energy curriculum frameworks for (Australian) higher education institutions that meet the needs of domestic and international student graduates and employers, both now and into the near future.

There are essentially 6 types of existing Sustainable Energy (SE) coursework programs:

• Named undergraduate engineering degrees (e.g. BEng in RE Engineering);

• Named undergraduate multidisciplinary degrees (e.g. BSc in Sustainable Energy Management);

• Named postgraduate engineering degrees (e.g. MEng Sustainable Energy Engineering);

• Named postgraduate multidisciplinary degrees (e.g. MSc in Renewable Energy, Masters of Energy Studies).

• Majors or specialisations in conventional undergraduate degrees (e.g. BEng Electrical – specialisation in renewable energy);

• Majors or specialisations in conventional postgraduate degrees (e.g. MEng Electrical – specialisation in renewable energy);

Characteristics of SE Programs

What is a Curriculum Framework ?

Environmental Engineering Capability Cube (From Dowling and Hadgraft, 2013)

Generic Graduate Capabilities Framework (From Macquarie University)

https://staff.mq.edu.au/teaching/curriculum_development/graduate_capabilities/gradcaps_faqs/

https://eprints.usq.edu.au/22746/1/015.pdf

Generic Capabilities

What capabilities should SE graduates have?

Curriculum Frameworks Development

Capability Cube*

Sustainable Energy Knowledge Taxonomies Sustainable Energy Capability Cloths

Sustainable Energy Curriculum Frameworks

Existing national & international program/course content, skills reports, practical industry experience – project team workshop

Graduate and industry surveys & interviews, curriculum mapping – project team workshop

*From David Dowling and Roger Hadgraft “A graduate capability framework for Environmental

Engineering degree programs. A Guide for Australian Universities”, (2013)

Generic and Discipline Capability Taxonomy

Sustainable Energy Knowledge Taxonomies

Sustainable Energy Capabilities Cloths

Curriculum Frameworks Development

Capability Cube*

Sustainable Energy Knowledge Taxonomies Sustainable Energy Capability Cloths

Sustainable Energy Curriculum Frameworks

Existing national & international program/course content, skills reports, practical industry experience – project team workshop

Graduate and industry surveys & interviews, curriculum mapping – project team workshop

*From David Dowling and Roger Hadgraft “A graduate capability framework for Environmental

Engineering degree programs. A Guide for Australian Universities”, (2013)

Generic and Discipline Capability Taxonomy

Generic and Discipline Specific Capability Taxonomies

Curriculum Frameworks - Relationship Map

The Curriculum Frameworks

Prerequisites and discipline capabilities

Introductory knowledge all SE graduates know

Gives the specialisation

Deeper knowledge

The Curriculum Frameworks

Trialled and confirmed use to:

• Assess the suitability of existing curricula and courses

• Guide redevelopment of courses as required

• Guide the development of new offerings.

Success factors

Critical Elements along the Way A project leader with significant experience in both academia and industry

Multidisciplinary team

• discipline specialists

• educational specialist (curriculum design expertise and non discipline fresh set of eyes)

• Research assistant with both a science and arts background

Existing validated framework to adapt and extend

Extensive input from both industry and graduates – gaining buy-in

• throughout the development

• for validation of the framework

Input from Industry Skill and Knowledge Requirements - Industry

Degree type*

N Not at all important

Somewhat important

Important Very important

Power Generation Technologies

Eng. 31 6% 17% 42% 35% Multi. 17 25% 6% 25% 44%

All 64 11% 11% 36% 42% Generic Skills & Professional Attributes

Eng. 31 0 9% 28% 63% Multi. 17 6% 0 31% 63%

All 64 2% 4% 33% 61% Energy Solutions for Developing Countries

Eng. 31 46% 27% 0% 27% Multi. 17 63% 13% 18% 6%

All 64 49% 22% 7% 22% Energy Efficiency Eng. 31 33% 47% 13% 7%

Multi. 17 31% 25% 37% 6% All 64 33% 37% 22% 8%

Transmission, Storage & Network Systems

Eng. 31 10% 22% 10% 58% Multi. 17 7% 33% 27% 33%

All 64 7% 28% 19% 46% Sustainable Transport

Eng. 31 13% 27% 37% 23% Multi. 17 13% 31% 44% 12%

All 64 11% 26% 39% 24% Enablers (Policy, Economics etc.)

Eng. 31 13% 13% 42% 32% Multi. 17 6% 0 44% 50%

All 64 9% 15% 40% 36%

Degree

type N Need for inclusion Core or

Elective Coverage rating

Not needed

Needed Essential Core Elect Some Medium Extensive

Power Generation Technologies - Established Renewables

Eng. 24 Essential 95% Core 90% Extensive 75%

Multi. 11 Essential 100% Core 100% Extensive 70%

Solar PV Eng. 24 Essential 90% Core 90% Extensive 85% Multi. 11 Essential 80% Core 90% Extensive 70%

Solar Thermal Eng. 24 Essential 75% Core 65% Extensive 65%

Multi. 11 Essential 65% Core/Elective

50% Extensive 70%

Wind Eng. 24 Essential 75% Core 80% Extensive 70% Multi. 11 Essential 65% Core 65% Extensive 55%

Hydropower Eng. 24 Essential 55% Core 55% Extensive 50% Multi. 11 Needed/Essential 45% Elective 65% Medium 55%

Hydro Geothermal Eng. 24 Needed 60% Elective 65% Some/medium/Extensive 33% Multi. 11 Needed 55% Elective 65% Some 55%

Biomass (including Waste to Energy) Eng. 24 Essential 55%

Core/Elective 50%

Extensive 55%

Multi. 11 Needed 65% Elective 65% Some/Medium 45%

• Online surveys (and some interviews) of graduates (via member alumni lists) and industry representatives (industry association members)

• Frameworks being validated by industry as well as academics

Barriers/speed humps

• No existing framework or methodology for mapping such a complex multidisciplinary field at Tertiary level could be found – one had to be developed.

• The multidisciplinary aspect can lead to more complexity which takes more time.

Unexpected bonuses

• Provides framework and approach for easy ongoing revision.

• Internationally significant and applicable.

• The framework and approach provides a process for others in complex multidisciplinary fields more generally.

Speed Humps and Gold Nuggets

More Information

More information. • Copies of draft SE Knowledge Taxonomies, SE

Capability Cloths and SE Curriculum Frameworks with narrative.

• Project Publications. • Blog.

on the project website: http://www.murdoch.edu.au/projects/secfp/

Contact: C.Lund@murdoch.edu.au

The Team

Support for this project has been provided by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. The views in this project/activity do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.

Chris Lund, Trevor Pryor, Philip Jennings, and Amanda Woods-McConney, Emiko Watanabe - Murdoch University Kim Blackmore - Australian National University Richard Corkish - University of New South Wales Wasim Saman - University of South Australia Wendy Miller - Queensland University of Technology