Abstract:

In recent years, despite the introduction of new educational methodologies, university teaching remains largely content-driven, with a focus on theoretical concepts rather than real-world engineering challenges. This approach, prevalent even in technical courses, often fails to engage students with practical, multidisciplinary problems. Consequently, there is a growing need for students, particularly in fields like renewable energy, to develop the skills and tools necessary to address complex, real-world issues.

Among various strategies, both Project-Based Learning and Problem-Based Learning methodologies have been used to bring real-world problems into the classroom and motivate students. These methodologies aim to facilitate a paradigm shift from a teaching-based approach to a learning-based model, in which the student takes on a more active role, fostering engagement, while the teacher adopts the role of a 'guide or facilitator of learning' who presents the problem, suggests sources of information, and collaborates with students on emerging needs. Both methodologies, project-based and problem-based learning, share more commonalities than differences. In both approaches, cooperative work among students is essential, and in technical areas, the differences may be even more complex to distinguish because a project can rarely be divided into sub-projects, each of which can be approached as a problem.

This study presents the methodology adopted and the preliminary results of a pilot experience conducted in the classroom at the University of Jaén for the Master's program in Renewable Energies. The pilot experience was implemented in the compulsory course on Engineering of Standalone Photovoltaic Systems, in which currently half of the students are international. Students in this course, being graduates, typically show greater maturity than undergraduates. However, their diverse educational backgrounds—ranging from Electrical Engineering to Environmental Sciences—result in varying levels of basic engineering knowledge, which is crucial for the course.

In this pilot experience, the focus was placed on both the design of standalone photovoltaic systems and self-consumption systems. The objective was for students to develop a real-world project involving the design of a photovoltaic system (either standalone or for self-consumption). To this end, the project was divided into different activities, each corresponding to the components to be designed within the photovoltaic system, which are the focal points of the course (generator, converter, storage, and conductors). Prior to these activities, classroom sessions were held to cover the concepts and procedures most commonly used for the design of each component. Additionally, students were provided with short educational mini-videos covering the key concepts, which they could review as often as needed.

At the conclusion of the course, students completed a questionnaire to evaluate their satisfaction with the experience and to offer potential suggestions for improvement in various aspects. Overall, the students found the experience to be satisfactory, as the use of mini-videos and design-related activities helped them to better understand the concepts.

Acknowledgements:
The authors would like to thank the Teaching Innovation and Improvement Plan (MIMED-UJA 2021) for the concession of the project reference: PIMED42_202123.

Keywords:

Problem-Based Learning, Project-Based Learning, Educational innovation, Teaching experience.