RTU 53rd International Scientific conference, the 150th anniversary and the 1st Congress of World Engineers and Riga Polytechnical Institute / RTU Alumni Energy engineering students on their way to expertise in sustainable energy Helena Mälkki CONTENTS Aalto University Energy challenges Education challenges Sustainable energy Expertise Conclusions Discussion 1
AALTO UNIVERSITY IN 2010 AA University of Art and Design Helsinki (TaiK) Helsinki School of Economics (HSE) Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) A community of: 75,000 alumni 20,000 students 4,700 faculty & staff with 340 professors EU strategies for green growth 2
Electricity Production by Energy Sources 2011 (70.6 TWh) Coal 14,1 % Oil 0,6 % Hydro power 17,4 % Natural gas 13,0 % Wind power 0,7 % Peat 7,4 % Renewable 33 % Carbon dioxide free 64 % Bio fuel 14,3 % Nuclear power 31,6 % Waste fuels 0,9 % 19.1.2012 5 Sustainable energy a challenging combination in education Many perspectives - Social - Political - Ecological - Cultural - Economic - Technical Engineering does not cover all these perspectives! Sustainable energy solutions Sustainability tools Systemic and life-cycle approach 3
10/18/2012 Energy Tour 16.6.2012 in Lahti region Energy efficient solutions Wood chip heating Solar energy (ZENsolar house) Biodiesel production 7 8 4
9 Current state of sustainable development in higher education of technology [Takala, 2009] Views of sustainable development Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Challenges/ Threats Current state many individual solutions, many enthusiastic teachers and researchers no uniform view, different technology actors, low visibility a good basis for the systemic and life-cycle based development, strong problem solving skills taken for granted, system-level solutions 5
Expertise (Bologna process) Expertise is called employability, a definition: A set of achievements skills, understandings and personal attributes that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy. Development of expertise Formal and informal settings, developing perspectives of working life. Three dimensions (knowing, acting and being) to develop curriculum in higher education. (Barnett & Coate (2005) ). societal and working life challenges learning and sharing with others, working in networks interaction with stakeholders mastering the working environment and the tools multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary competences interdisciplinary solutions to problems Novices see only what is there and experts see what is not there (Klein & Hoffman 1992) 6
The Environment and Energy panel 10 important areas of expertise (FinnSight 2015) ecosystems, environmental management in Finland and globally, urban environments, water systems and water purification systems, biomass as an energy resource and their production systems, more efficient use of energy, negawatts, new energy production systems and their integrations, new technologies: production and use, logistics, distribution and mobile and distributed technologies as a platform for energy and environmental services. Conclusions Energy has a key role in society Sustainability issues are complex and systemic Energy engineers need expertise to solve global and local environmental problems. a holistic view on energy systems, a deep know-how of energy engineering the ability to think critically and creatively manage different tools and various cognitive perspectives Expertise should continuously be developed throughout the entire working career The integration level of energy and sustainability still seems to be low in the curriculum. 7
A number of international studies predict high rates (80-100%) for renewable energy sources in 2050 Discussion and Future Topics What kind of new energy challenges are coming in the future? What kind of energy expertise is needed in the future? What is the role of sustainability? How should sustainability be taught? Do we need visions of learning and teaching? Thank you for your attention! helena.malkki@aalto.fi 8