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Learning outcomes are essential to any curriculum in education, where they need to be clear, observable and measurable. However, some academics structure learning outcomes in a way that does not promote student learning. The purpose of this article is to present the analyses of learning outcomes of an Electrical Engineering curriculum offered at a University of Technology in South Africa, in order to determine if academics are structuring them in a way that enables student learning. A qualitative case study is used where the learning outcomes from 33 study guides are reviewed using illustrative verbs derived from Bloom's Taxonomy. Results indicate that 9% of all the learning outcomes are unclear, 10% are unobservable and 23% are unmeasurable. A key recommendation is to provide regular workshops to assist academics in reviewing their learning outcomes using the illustrative verbs derived from Bloom's Taxonomy, thereby ensuring that their learning outcomes promote student learning.

Academics must be encouraged to reflect on their teaching, to apply new pedagogies to support student learning and to report on the results of these actions, which really forms part of programmes relating to Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). However, there seems to be resistance among some academics to get involved in these programmes due to fear of change or discrimination. The purpose of this article is to highlight the perceptions of four academics from different engineering fields towards such a programme from a University of Technology in South Africa. A qualitative study is employed where a focus group interview was used to gather data which are correlated to the SoTL unicycle detailed in the article. A benefit of joining an SoTL programme includes "developing a teaching action plan" while a key challenge relates to time concerns. An implication may be to stimulate awareness among non-participating academics about what an SoTL programme really engenders.

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.

Poor academic success by African engineering students is currently experienced in many higher educational institutions, contributing to lower financial subsidies by local governments. One of the contributing factors to this low academic success may be the poor time management skills of these students. This article endeavours to explore this relationship by means of a theoretical literature review and an empirical study. Numerous studies have been conducted in this regard, but with mixed results. The case study of this article involves a design module termed Design Projects III, where the empirical study incorporated an "ex post facto" study involving a pre-experimental/exploratory design using descriptive statistics. The results of this study were applied to various tests, which indicated no statistically significant relationship between time management skills and the academic achievement of African engineering students. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)

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]

The purpose of this article is to present student perspectives of open book examinations, contrasting them to those for closed book examinations. Reasons and advantages of using open book examinations are offered and may be aligned with important accreditation criteria stipulated by official accreditation bodies, such as the Engineering Council of South Africa. The perspectives of senior electrical engineering students, enrolled in a telecommunications module, regarding open book examinations from two higher educational institutes in South Africa were obtained using a questionnaire survey. More than 80% of students from a residential contact university and less than 60% of students from an open distance learning institute passed their open book examination. The questionnaire survey highlighted that more than 50% of the polled students would prefer open book examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Department of Electronic Engineering at the Vaal University of Technology, South Africa, emphasizes the importance of practical instruction within a laboratory environment for engineering students, primarily through the design of electronics and telecommunication systems. This article uses the example of a module in radio engineering offered by the department to explore the importance of blending theory and practice in a curriculum for engineering students through two different approaches: presenting the theory before the practice; or the practice before the theory. The merits of both are discussed. The case study showed that either approach can be successfully implemented in a curriculum for engineering students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]