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The International Engineering Alliance lists 12 important graduate attributes that students must demonstrate during their higher educational career. One of these important graduate attributes is the ability to solve problems, which can be demonstrated by the use of project-based learning, case studies, and practical workshops. The purpose of this paper is to highlight student academic results of practical work done in an electrical engineering qualification that feature these three pedagogies. These three pedagogies are used in an open-distance learning environment to assess engineering students in an electrical engineering qualification involving three separate electronic communication modules. A time-lag study using a nonexperimental descriptive design is employed. Results show that the most frequent student grade for practical workshop assignments was 80%, while the most frequent student grade for case study assignments was 70%. However, the most frequent student grade for project-based learning assignments was 50%. The results show that distance learning engineering students languish under project-based learning, while they thrive in case studies and practical workshops. Possible reasons are given for this, based on the challenges faced by students engaging with these three pedagogies.

Literature states that entrepreneurial awareness is required in countries where entrepreneurship is neither publicized nor acclaimed, which is currently the situation in South Africa. Entrepreneurial skills include the ability to market one's product by means of a sales poster while problem-based learning is viewed as fundamental to entrepreneurial education. The research question arises "How may academics use problem-based learning to stimulate entrepreneurial awareness among senior African undergraduate students?" The purpose of this article is to present a practical assignment which was designed to help students think about entrepreneurship while engaging in problem-based learning. Engineering students were asked to help resolve the problem of poor television reception in the Vaal Triangle community by designing and constructing a specific antenna and then designing a sales poster to market their product. Quantitative and qualitative data reveals that students are able to engage in problem-based learning in engineering, but lack the ability to design an effective sales poster which forms part of entrepreneurial skills. Results further reveal that students were able to meet the learning outcomes for this practical assignment and really enjoyed the problem-based learning approach.

A researcher's reputation is influenced by the quantity and quality of his or her publications. A record of these publications is usually kept by an academic in a resume or on an online platform, such as LinkedIn, Google Scholar or Research Gate. The purpose of this article is to contrast the major metrics of Google Scholar with that of Research Gate of a number of engineering academics employed at a university of technology in South Africa, in order to determine any notable differences. A quantitative study is undertaken to gather the total number of citations, h-index values and Research Gate scores for engineering researchers present on both databases. Results indicate that Research Gate has the highest number of authors present from the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology at the Central University of Technology. However, Google Scholar records the highest number of citations for these authors. Only 31 out of the possible 86 academic staff members maintains a profile on both databases, where only 4 researchers have more than 500 citations. It is recommended that management mandate the presence of their academic staff on one of many available databases in this regard, thereby enhancing the visibility of the research done at the university and enabling an easier review of the achievements of staff for performance management purposes or for promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Escalating electrical energy usage and costs over the past few years has resulted in large utility bill expenses that municipalities are struggling to pay-off to National Energy Suppliers. Furthermore, some energy suppliers are struggling to meet the demand for more energy due to a variety of factors. The challenge therefore exists in identifying viable alternative power generation strategies for local municipalities to reduce their current electrical energy expenses or to provide limited power to their community when disconnected from the National Grid. An environmentally friendly renewable energy strategy method could be used to supplement the current energy requirements of a municipality during months of high energy demand. The main focus of this study will be on a small town in the Free State province of South Africa, called Koffiefontein. A battery-based solar PV system was designed in the Homer software and chosen as the renewable energy strategy to supplement the current energy needs of Koffiefontein due to its performance and cost effectiveness. The initial implementation cost of the system is $ 42 995 649.95. The cost of energy for the PV system suggested for Koffiefontein houses is $ 0.40/kWh with the yearly electricity production of 27 661 kWh. The payback period of the system is 45.3 years. The municipality needs to consider installing battery-based solar PV system to supply businesses in Koffiefontein during their high demanding hours and during load shedding as the system indicates an affordable cost of energy with high yearly production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy systems, such as photovoltaic (PV) systems, still require a great deal of research and development in order to improve efficiency, reduce overall manufacturing costs, and to become more sustainable in the future. Solar power production using PV modules has increased and is currently one of the fastest growing energy technologies worldwide, leading to speculation that it will be the main source of electrical power in future. This on-going research and implementation of PV modules and systems necessitates the effective training of technicians, technologists and engineers required to install, maintain or interface with these systems. The Department for Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering at the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) in South Africa has implemented a Higher Certificate in Renewable Energy Technologies (HCRET) in January 2014. The purpose of this article is to outline a practical innovative jig that was used to stimulate awareness and understanding of the fundamental operating principles of one specific sustainable technology, namely PV modules. Electronic measurements from this innovative jig are obtained by using an ARDUINO UNO board which interfaces with LabVIEW. Student perceptions of using this innovative jig are further presented, which indicate that the practical experiments were satisfying, challenging, relevant and applicable to PV module operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]