1 Three beneficiaries of project-oriented education in power electronics Plumier Frédéric, Geuzaine Christophe University of Liège, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, ACE, Institut Montefiore B28, B-4000 Liège, Belgium Tel.: +32 / (0) – 43.66.37.35. Fax: +32 / (0) – 43.66.29.10. f.plumier@ulg.ac.be; cgeuzaine@ulg.ac.be http://ace.montefiore.ulg.ac.be Keywords «Education methodology», «Teaching», «Industrial application», «Design», «Simulation». Abstract Power Electronics education at the University of Liège exhibits a particular feature, in that a person from industry is directly involved in the teaching of the introductory Power Electronics course since academic year 2007-2008. Together with him, we teach this subject making use of a project-oriented method. After two years of this experience, it is now of great interest to analyze the main benefits of this method for the students, the teaching team at the University and the company involved in the teaching process. In this paper we present through an example the method that is being used. We mention some interesting technical problems encountered by the students during their project work. We also present the evolution of the method from the first year of application in 2007-2008 to the forthcoming third year in 2009-2010. I Introduction “I can tell you how to get a Nobel prize”, said Paul Samuelson, Nobel prize in economy, “One condition is to have great teachers” [1]. Then we question ourselves: “how to be a great teacher in power electronics, with so many constraints: fast changing technology, limited time because of research projects to work on, limited number of persons in the research team, …?”. Though every particular case is different, the basic principles of a good education remain the same. Two characteristics seems to have the greatest importance in education: the teacher himself, and the teaching method [1]. In this paper, we focus on the project-oriented teaching method. This method has well known advantages compared to the classical teaching method. One major advantage concerns the development of the person with more soft skills as communication (written and oral), team-work, project organization and management [2]. Another advantage of the method is its realism. This means that giving a project to the students is giving them the question before the answer. In that way, we do not teach theory or knowledge for itself, but as an answer to a real problem. Trying to solve the real problem they are given, the students have to face the different aspects of power electronics such as choice of a topology, simulation of their circuit, realization and test of their prototype. During the project realization, the students encounter technical problems such as commutation transients, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), control implementation,… This needs a constant supervision in order to help them reach their final goal. And this supervision takes a lot of time. This paper presents the project-oriented approach together with a case study of a basic course on power converters and control in power electronics (30h theory + 30h practice) where someone from the industry is directly involved in the teaching process. This characteristic implies particular difficulties, but also several advantages for the students, the university research team, and the company involved in the course.
